No champion of laissez-faire capitalism, BP is a rent seeker

... BP is no laissez-faire champion. For years, BP has lobbied for climate change legislation, until recently running around with the U.S. Climate Action Partnership. BP lobbyists, such as Obama friend Tony Podesta, advocate oil subsidies, including a cap on liability for economic damages.

Congressional Quarterly reports that BP supports higher gas taxes because that would mean more highway spending, and thus more driving. And because BP produces natural gas, the company advocates subsidies for utilities to close coal-fired power plants in favor of gas-fired ones.

BP is boosting investments in solar energy, an industry that needs -- and gets -- billions in government subsidies. BP has asked for and received federal oil-drilling subsidies, such as a $160 million loan guarantee from the Export-Import Bank to finance a Caspian Sea drilling project.

And there's no such thing as "laissez-faire" when it comes to drilling on property that belongs to the federal government. The government is necessarily involved.