It now appears that Judge Martin Feldman, who issued a temporary injunction against the administration’s moratorium on deep water drilling, has perhaps more than one conflict of interest. Other judges who, like Feldman, have money in oil and gas, recused themselves from lawsuits related to the Gulf Coast oil spill.

Republicans are engaging in follow-up demagoguery, or perhaps it isn’t follow-up. Judge Feldman’s arguments in this case could have been scripted by the oil and gas industry or by Louisiana Republicans, with press releases like this one flooding the Internet for weeks now.

I’m sure many of my persuasion will react with distress at the administration’s apparent lack of anger, especially in the face of demagoguery that blames the administration for the oil spill, itself. But I suspect pragmatism is better policy in the long run.