Remember the Big Solyndra not-Scandal that Darrell Issa has obsessed over for months now?

Why isn’t he as concerned about Big Oil’s investments in wells that produce, you know, nothing? Why doesn’t the loss of kajillions of dollars doing just that faze him in the least?

As an acquaintance of mine points out, “most venture capital firms will make ten investments in the hope one will be a big success.  Progressives should not be defensive about investments in new technology, in general, or Solyndra, in particular.” He makes a great point, especially in light of this, via Time:

[T]he British wildcatter Cairn Energy [launched] an expensive effort to drill exploratory wells with the hope of bringing billions of barrels of oil. That’s not how it’s worked out, though. (MORE: An Oil Spill Grows in the North Sea.) After spending $600 million in a drilling campaign over the past two years, Cairn announced this week that it has come up with virtually nothing. [...]

Cairn’s Greenland programme has been an unmitigated disaster from day one and as the Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum begins negotiations with oil companies interested in drilling off the Northeast coast of Greenland, Cairn’s travails should send a clear warning that the incredible technical, economic and environmental risks of operating in the Arctic simply aren’t worth it.

But since the priority is making President Obama look as bad as possible in order to make him a one term president, Solyndra is a target and Big Oil is French kissed. There’s your tax dollars at work, GOP style.