Shocker: Blunt Doesn't Want Oil Company Donors To Be Penalized For Oil Spills

UPDATE: Meanwhile, The Star's Dave Helling notes Blunt's "puzzling" reluctance to let people know what he thinks about legislation to expand the cap on oil company damage liability, despite "several requests for comment."

The Post-Dispatch's Jake Wagman reports from today's St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association meeting:

On the spill, [Roy] Blunt cautioned against overreacting— increasing penalties for companies that spill oil, he said, will decrease competition and ensure only large companies access to deep-sea reserves. (Are there small companies with ocean drilling platforms?)

I think Wagman asks a reasonable question here: How many "small" companies can finance a deep sea drilling rig?  And why shouldn't we expect the responsible parties to give up some of their obscene profits if taxpayers are required to pay for all or part of  the problems they caused? 

In completely unrelated news, Blunt is one of the "the all-time Top 10 recipients" of BP oil money in the House, and happens to be a "Washington Superstar" when he appears at a DC gala sponsored by Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and ConocoPhillips.

Other completely unrelated stories:

• Oil Executives for Blunt fundraiser tonight
• Today in History: Roy Blunt Stands Up for Exxon Mobil Profits
• Bring Your Checkbook: ExxonMobil, Marathon and Devon schedule new Blunt fundraiser
• Oil Companies Show Early Love For Blunt
• Big Oil Fundraiser for Blunt Tomorrow Morning