A GOP chorus of Joe Bartons on the BP oil spill (Eugene Robinson)

[Rhiannon12866]

By Eugene Robinson
Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Joe Barton is not alone. The Texas congressman's lavish sympathy for BP -- which he sees not as perpetrator of a preventable disaster but as victim of a White House "shakedown" -- is actually what passes for mainstream opinion among conservative Republicans today.

The GOP leadership came down hard on Barton after he apologized to the oil company for the beastly way it was being treated by the White House, saying he was "ashamed" that BP was being pressured to put $20 billion into a "slush fund" to compensate victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Barton was reportedly threatened with losing his powerful position as ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee if he didn't retract his words, and pronto.

But Barton was only echoing a statement that Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) had issued a day earlier in the name of the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of House conservatives whose Web site claims 115 members. The statement groused that there is "no legal authority for the president to compel a private company to set up or contribute to an escrow account" and accused the Obama administration of "Chicago-style shakedown politics." Just to review: A group constituting roughly two-thirds of all Republicans in the House takes the position that President Obama was wrong to demand that BP set aside money to guarantee that those whose livelihoods are being ruined by the oil spill will be compensated. In other words, it's more important to kneel at the altar of radical conservative ideology than to feel any sense of compassion for one's fellow Americans. This, ladies and gentlemen, is how today's GOP rolls.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/21/AR2010062103699.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

[DebbieCDC]

1. K&R

Gene Robinson nails it again.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. Thanks, and I agree.

Whenever Gene speaks, in print or on the air, I know that this is something I need to hear... :thumbsup:

[Dennis Donovan]

4. HIs Pulitzer was deserved and far overdue!!

(ahem... kick:))

[Rhiannon12866]

6. It sure was. He's the best...

[Dennis Donovan]

3. Kicking and recommending. Gene R's a national treasure...

Great thread!:thumbsup:

[Rhiannon12866]

5. Thank you.

And I certainly agree. :fistbump:

[HillbillyBob]

7. it really pisses me off that our employees apologize to bp

et al for us getting pissed off because they pollute our air and water what the fuck is wrong with this picture, shouldn't those sonsabitches be apologizing to US?!

[Rhiannon12866]

8. Well, I certainly agree with you, my friend, but remember...

These are the Republicans. They are so determined to undermine this president that they go so far as to vote against bills that they've sponsored, if the president is for them... :grr:

How are your pups? :hi:

My rescue pup, Jack, just turned four... :loveya: