From CNN's Charles Riley
Sarah Palin took to Facebook on Friday to comment on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
(CNN) - As thousands of barrels of oil leak into the Gulf of Mexico, and a massive oil slick approaches the Louisiana coast, Sarah Palin weighed in on the environmental nightmare.
In a Friday post on her Facebook page, the former Alaska governor expressed shock and sadness for the 11 men presumed dead from the April 20 oil rig explosion. And Palin said that her "heart breaks" for Louisiana's coastal residents who are "facing fears of the unknown impacts of the oil spill."
She also called for increased government accountability in the oil industry, saying that while accidents will always happen, companies "must be held accountable."
"It is inexcusable for any oil company to not invest in preventative measures," Palin wrote, while also mentioned her experience as an oil and gas regulator.
But Palin is standing by the rally cry she helped popularize during the 2008 presidential campaign.
"I repeat the slogan 'drill here, drill now' not out of naiveté or disregard for the tragic consequences of oil spills – my family and my state and I know firsthand those consequences," Palin wrote. "
ncreased domestic oil production will make us a more secure, prosperous, and peaceful nation."
Palin has long said that energy independence and security are linked, an argument she repeated Friday.
"We need oil, and if we don't drill for it here, we have to purchase it from countries that not only do not like America and can use energy purchases as a weapon against us, but also do not have the oversight that America has."
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/30/palin-weighs-in-on-louisiana-oil-spill/?fbid=UtHyQ5nqket