The Deepwater Horizon oil rig drilled down a mile beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico in order to find oil before the rig exploded and sank. The political consequences of the resulting oil spill, which appears to be already larger than the spill from the Exxon Valdez, will certainly penetrate much further than that.

How far, though, will the political impact of the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe be felt in this year’s elections? Some members of Congress are speaking out on the disaster, while others are remaining silent, waiting to see which way the wind blows before they take any action.

Among the silent is incumbent Blue Dog Democrat Tim Holden, who represents the 17th congressional district in Pennsylvania. In the 12 days since the Deepwater Horizon exploded, Congressman Holden hasn’t done anything but pretend that the disaster doesn’t even exist. Holden hasn’t introduced any legislation to deal with the crisis. He hasn’t issued a press release or written a blog article. Representative Holden has not even released a statement of condolence for the families of the eleven workers killed when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded.

Unfortunately, Tim Holden’s opponents in this year’s election haven’t been any more responsible. Republican challenger Frank Ryan has failed to speak on the offshore drilling disaster of the Deepwater Horizon, but Ryan has strongly promoted a program of expanding drilling for oil along with a loosening of federal regulations. He writes, “To ensure proper supply government should get out of the way. Prohibiting drilling on federal lands is silly at best.” How many Americans really would support seeing the government get out of the way in the effort to contain the giant Gulf of Mexico oil spill, allowing BP to deal with the problem in its own sweet time?

Republican candidate Allen Griffith is likewise completely silent on the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe. He does, however, promote “development of our own petroleum, coal and natural gas resources” without any mention of reform or restraints to prevent another blowout.

Another Republican challenger, Dave Argall, hasn’t provided any updates to his campaign since the beginning of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill at all. He has not written any campaign position about fossil fuels, or even written about energy or natural resources in general. The only time Argall has used the word “environment” is to write about his interest in creating a legislative environment in which “businesses are doing business”.

Like all the other candidates, Holden’s fourth Republican challenger, Josh First, has had nothing at all to say about the Deepwater Horizon calamity, though it’s been the nation’s top news story for almost two weeks now. Mr. First has been on the record as a supporter of expanding offshore drilling, however, stating that “I believe strongly that we should drill in the OCS [Outer Continental Shelf] as well as in certain areas of the Great Lakes.”

Sheila Dow Ford is challenging Tim Holden from within the Democratic Party. However, she has failed to differentiate herself from Holden on the offshore drilling issue, although it has suddenly become the dominant energy and environmental issue of the day. On the issue of energy, she vaguely states, “We must start using energy of all types, in ways that respect our health and the environment.” Does Sheila Dow Ford contend that oil obtained through offshore drilling is good for our health and the environment?

For those residents of the 17th district in Pennsylvania who have been disturbed by the tremendous pollution that has resulted from the self-destruction of the Deepwater Horizon, it doesn’t seem that there is a single candidate who will step forward and speak for their concerns.