Some on the right have said repeatedly that Obama embarrasses America by showing too much respect or deference to some foreign leaders, instead of the bully-swaggering of Duhbya [spit on the ground], when he wasn’t kissing Saudi princes. Now we see a Republican stick his head out of BP’s ass in order to kiss it. Pretty embarrassing, I think.
Think Progress » Joe Barton to BP: ‘I apologize’ for the White House ‘shakedown.’
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) speaking to BP CEO Tony Hayward:
“I’m speaking totally for myself, I’m not speaking for the Republican Party, I’m not speaking for anybody in the House of Representatives but myself. But I’m ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday. I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown, in this case a $20 billion shakedown…
“So I’m only speaking for myself, I’m not speaking for anybody else, but I apologize, I do not want to live in a country where anytime a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong is subject to some sort of political pressure that is again in my words amounts to a shakedown. So I apologize.”
[NOTE:] Barton has taken $1.4 million from the oil and gas industry, including $27,350 from BP.
Think Progress » Joe Barton to BP: ‘I apologize’ for the White House ‘shakedown.’
Remember the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez: Through a decades-long process in court, penalties were steadily whittled down to a trifle, even as Exxon’s profits rose ad nauseum. Corporations rule, and Republicans salute.
[Updated 9:47pm]
Last night, the Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest caucus of Republican House members, fired off a statement declaring that the $20 billion dollar negotiated by BP and the Obama administration for victims of the oil catastrophe in the gulf is a “Chicago-Style Political Shakedown.” Echoing this sentiment, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) told BP executives that he is “sorry” for Obama’s “shakedown” of their company.
Texas rep. Barton backs off defense of BP « New Mexico Independent
After perhaps underestimating the amount of populist ire directed towards BP, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, has now apologized for apologizing to BP chairman Tony Hayward. Reports indicate that Barton was forced to apologize by GOP leaders or face losing his spot as ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Texas rep. Barton backs off defense of BP « New Mexico Independent