Recently, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill let the national media know she was fighting mad by a pernicious attack on our state.

“This regulation is a new assault by the Biden administration and misguided climate activists, funded by interest groups to shut down the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries in Louisiana and this nation,” Murrill said.

The Biden administration’s great sin against the Bayou State?

Tightening regulations on petrochemical refineries so they spew less cancer-causing pollution into the air and water damaging the health and shortening the lives of Louisiana residents.

How dare they!

To be clear, the regulation will not shut down those industries. Indeed, oil and gas production has reached record numbers since Biden became president just as they did during the Obama administration. And this occurred during an era of increased regulations because — as always — production is determined by the world market.

But Murrill’s outrage is no surprise. She was groomed to be AG by Jeff Landry, her former boss at that office and now our governor who seems to have one mission in life: Protect oil and gas profits.

For eight years as our AG, Landry helped lead a crew of AGs from fossil fuel states in battles against federal regulations to reduce pollution on their fellow citizens. If a new regulation could save lives but might increase expenses for oil and gas companies, these AGs rushed to the barricades.

Murrill was often Landry’s lead attorney representing Louisianans who — to hear them tell it — were equally outraged at this economic and even cultural attack.

As he did in his inaugural address, Landry often suggests federal regulations for cleaner air and water are part of a plot by (always unnamed) outside forces who hate our way of life because we’re a fossil-fuel-producing state. Now he’s been joined by many in the Legislature in an effort to turn Louisiana to “Oilyana” regardless of the costs to human health.

And when locals push for cleaner air and water and equal footing with the oil and gas polluters, Landry and his acolytes fall back on this deceptive excuse: Their victories at the polls mean this is what the voters want.

It’s deceptive because Landry — and those legislators — did not tell voters they would oppose a rule that will reduce by 96% the number of adults and children with increased cancer risks related to air toxics in communities within 6 miles of large plants.

They never said they would try to make the Coastal Protection and Restoration Agency organizationally subservient to the agency promoting Landry’s “drill-baby-drill” offensive on the coast.

They never promised to support a rule removing local communities from a role in regulating the flood of carbon sequestration projects in their own parishes.

They never said they would kill public disclosure laws so they would not have to reveal who they were consulting — and what promises were made. They never said they would decide what we need to know — and when we need to know it.

For that matter, Landry never said he would refuse a federal grant to provide summer lunches for $450,000 poor children. And lawmakers didn’t promise they would oppose lunch breaks for child workers.

Like most folks, I always thought when politicians boasted about being “public servants” they meant they served the public.

But it seems our governor, AG and many legislators suffer from dyslexia when they mouth that phrase.

They think it means the public serves them and their friends in oil and gas — especially when it comes to making those respect the public’s air, water and land. Why else would they oppose regulations to raise Louisiana from near or at the bottom of almost every national measure on health impacts from toxic pollution?

And if they really think this is what their voters want, here’s a solution that can clear up any questions: Put each of those issues above to a statewide referendum.

Of course, they’ll have to check with the people they really serve before attempting that.

So, keep holding your breath.