Steve Hoffacker's Sales Quips

Governor Charlie Crist, taking a page from the Obama playbook, wants to permanently ban all offshore drilling in Florida. Mind you, he can't stop other countries from doing it - just us.

He has convened a special session of the legislature - at an expense of time and money we don't need.

The best thing for Florida would be for the legislature to meet, recess, and go home - with no action taken. They can do this. I hope they do.

Otherwise, they are supposed to draft a proposed Constitutional Amendment for the November ballot.

Let's call this Crist's Folly.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2010. All Rights Reserved.

After I posted my article on "Charlie Crist Doesn't Get It" concerning his attempt to permanently ban offshore drilling in Florida and the resultant economic harm such a decision would have, I received a newsletter from Steven Rosenblum, Republican Candidate for Florida House District 89. He echoes my comments, so here is yet another argument against Charlie Crist's political agenda. If you're in Florida's House Distric 89, support Steven.

Governor Crist has stated that he wants to call a special legislative session to draft a constitutional amendment that would permanently ban drilling off Florida's coasts, "For love of Florida".

Really? If he is doing it for love of Florida and not for pure political theater, then why didn't he demand that his buddy, President Obama, lift the Jones Act and bring every skimmer, every bit of boom and every other available technology into the Gulf 80 days ago?

The oil and tar balls never should have reached even one of Florida's beaches. But if they hadn't, then the Governor wouldn't get the photo-op of him kneeling on the beach looking concerned about the oil on our beaches.

Crist, like Obama, is stuck on stupid when it comes to this issue. We absolutely should not permanently ban drilling in our shallow waters, instead we should lift the current ban. Drilling in 500 feet of water off our coasts would be far safer than importing foreign oil via tanker (where most accidents actually happen) and would bring much needed jobs to Florida, instead of sending those jobs to Brazil, South Africa, Cuba, China, Russia and Venezuela. That and we wouldn't be sending American dollars to countries that support terrorism and hate us!

I have no doubt that both of my potential Democrat opponents favor the Governor's special session. In fact the current holder of this seat, Mary Brandenburg, whose husband is one of those potential opponents, has already said as much.

This special legislative session is nothing but political theater, designed to make it look like Governor Crist is actually doing something to help Florida and boost him in the polls in his U.S. Senate race.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entreprenuers, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2010. All Rights Reserved.

When the State of Florida is already strapped for cash, Governor Crist wants to call a special session of the legislature to authorize a constitutional amendment for the November ballot that would permanently ban offshore drilling in Florida.

Crist is reacting at knee-jerk speed to the BP leak - the only one recorded so far.

Crist is ready to prohibit the economic benefit to the State from the drilling.

Crist is ready to open the doors to other countries to drill in our waters - just as long as Floridians don't benefit from it.

Crist is oblivious to the fact that banning drilling does nothing to deter international concerns who could easily have a leak and impact us just the same.

Forget the drilling ban, save the time and money from the special session, and get back to work.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entreprenuers, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2010. All Rights Reserved.

Finally some good news on offshore drilling. It's back on. After Obama issued a 6-month moratorium on all offshore drilling - not just in the Gulf - with the hopes that he could extend it to a permanent ban in favor of solar, wind, and other non-oil related energy sources, it has been reversed - twice.

A federal courst ruled to lift the ban, the government appealed to reinstate the ban, and the federal appeals court upheld lifting the ban. Obama says he's not done trying to keep the ban in place.

In the meantime, this is a victory for America, but oil and gas companies are slow to reopen their projects with the uncertainty that prevails knowing the government is still trying to shut them down permanently.

Drill baby drill.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entreprenuers, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2010. All Rights Reserved.

Did you hear Obama's news conference earlier today on the oil spill - now the largest in US history?

It was a mixed message, but he did not sound like the confident leader that one might expect in this situation. He sounded miffed, irritated, and almost angry. He admitted that each day that goes by without a solution makes him more angry and more frustrated. I sense it doesn't take much to make him angry anyway.

But here was the telling part that was easy to miss for its significance. He said that BP is not allowed to do anything - and he stressed that - without approval from the Administration. Here, we have been thinking that BP was doing all they could, and now we find out that they are only doing what they are being allowed to do.

The President wants the oil spill stopped - so he says. They are doing everything conceivably possible - so he says. BP is doing all they can - so he says, and we now know it has to pass muster with the White House first.

MMS (Minerals Management Services) Director, Elizabeth Birnbaum, resigned today after it was first reported she was fired. This is a convenient scapegoat for the Administration. It had oversight responsibility for approving, promoting, and regulating the offshore drilling - admittedly with a conflict of interest and responsibilities.

In addition to the Congressional hearings, the President has created the "National Commission on BP Exploration and Offshore Drilling." Just what we need - another commission.

Then, the President got into his political message, and this is why I label this his perfect storm.

He is using this oil spill to stop offshore drilling.

He has suspended or canceled the following programs: 2 wells off of Alaska, proposed drilling off of Virgina, additional drilling in the Gulf, and 33 wells already in various stages of construction. Therefore, there is no more offshore drilling in America - maybe not until after 2012. No other permits for any drilling applications will be allowed for at least 6 months.

Then he urges development of clean energy and passage of the cap and trade by the Senate (although he used a code name for it).

Does he have a screenwriter on his team?

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entreprenuers, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2010. All Rights Reserved.

One month ago, on April 20, the oil rig in the Gulf operated by British Petroleum had a catastrophic failure and exploded, later sinking. The worst part of this is the loss of life. The second worse part is the nonchalance in the response - from BP and the Administration. The third is that this is an all too convenient excuse to ban offshore drilling.

Think Katrina. Even mention of the name conjurs up strong feelings of how the feds "dropped the ball" and were slow to respond to an emergency for which they were not the first responders. George Bush was dogged by the event the last 3 years of his Presidency, yet it was not a federal response issue initially.

After the outcry from the media, FEMA and other agencies got involved, but never to the level people would accept.

So where is the federal response here? Oh sure, Congress has held hearings. That hasn't plugged the leak or stopped the flow toward the shoreline.

BP has tried a few times to stop the leak. You'd think they'd want it stopped so much that they would try everything conceivable and would have used their manpower, money, equipment, and other resources to have stopped this in the first few days.

No end is in sight for stopping the flow, and no one seems that upset. The media reports on it like last night's baseball scores. The President only talks off-topic about how bad the Arizona law is. BP isn't saying anything although they apparently are doing something.

And so it goes.

Solve this, but keep drilling.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entreprenuers, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2010. All Rights Reserved.