Oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill floats on the water of Barataria Bay off the coast of Louisiana on Monday. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage –

Congressman Don Young got a lot of people’s attention with his statement that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill “is not an environmental disaster.” It’s been replayed in blogs and op-ed articles nationally, something his opponents in this year’s election are more than happy to see.

Sheldon Fisher, running against Young in the Republican primary, put out a statement calling Young foolish. “Young’s comments are out of touch with Americans. Like Alaskans during the Exxon Valdez Crisis, Americans are sickened by the ongoing release of crude in the Gulf. There is not a fisherman in Alaska that doesn’t feel a kinship with the families whose livelihood – their very way of life – is imperiled by this crisis.”

Republican candidate John Cox and Democratic candidate Harry Crawford have also criticized the statement, with Crawford telling the Alaska Public Radio Network that “the man is an ostrich.” Here’s exactly what Young said:

"This is not an environmental disaster, and I will say that again and again because it is a natural phenomena. Oil has seeped into this ocean for centuries, will continue to do it. During World War II there was over 10 million barrels of oil spilt from ships, and no natural catastrophe. It looks bad to us. It’s a bad thing to see. We will lose some birds, we will lose some fixed sealife, but overall it will recover."

Click here to listen to APRN audio of Young's remarks.

Young’s spokeswoman, Meredith Kenny, had this to say to the Fairbanks News-Miner:

“Rep. Young has acknowledged publicly that what is happening in the Gulf right now is tragic,” said Kenny, who noted that some good came out of the Exxon Valdez oil spill with the Oil Pollution Act. “It is tragic because 11 lives were lost and because it is having dire economic consequences for the people who work and live in the Gulf region.