Joe Barton's Apology Continues to Spark Uproar

AP

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) stole the spotlight from BP CEO Tony Hayward yesterday when, in a congressional hearing, he apologized to the oil executive for the White House's treatment of BP.

Barton caused a firestorm when he said BP only agreed to contribute $20 billion to an escrow fund for damages from the oil spill after getting a "shakedown" from the White House. He apologized later Thursday -- at the threat of having Republican leadership revoke his important position as top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, CBS News confirms.

That didn't stop Democratic political operatives from exploiting the incident or keep pundits from all sides from weighing in.

While the White House released an official statement calling the remarks "shameful," the president's campaign arm of the Democratic National Committee, Organizing for America, sent its millions of e-mail subscribers a message called "Apologize to BP?" The e-mail says Barton should step down from his chairmanship and urges readers to sign an open letter saying, "The American people support holding BP accountable -- and we won't apologize for doing so."

After Barton said later in the day that his original apology was a "misconstrued misconstruction," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs posted on Twitter, "MICONSTRUCTED?!" Later, Gibbs tweeted the growing Democratic meme, "Who would the GOP put in charge of overseeing the energy industry & Big Oil if they won control of Congress? Yup, u guessed it - JOE BARTON."

Meanwhile, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a Facebook ad that leads to a petition denouncing Barton's remarks.

"The DCCC will hold these out-of-touch House Republicans accountable who have no shame when it comes to jumping to the defense of BP and Big Oil," DCCC spokesman Ryan Rudominer said.

Meanwhile, the GOP establishment is seeking to distance itself from Barton's statement; House Republican leaders released a statement calling his words "wrong," while some Republicans even agreed with Democrats that Barton should relinquish his chairmanship. Yet liberal commentators are insisting Barton was simply saying out loud what most conservatives really think.

"Barton's quasi-retracted remark was no accident; it was an airing of strong partisan and ideological sentiments shared by his GOP comrades," David Corn of Mother Jones magazine wrote at Politics Daily.

The Republican Study Committee, comprised of more than 115 House conservatives, agreed in a statement with Barton that the escrow fund amounts to "Chicago-style shakedown politics."

Meanwhile, Conn Carroll penned a column for the Heritage Foundation called, "Joe Barton is Right: There Was a $20 Billion Shakedown in the White House."

Daniel Foster at the National Review Online also sided with Barton.

"Oh, and for the record, I agree in part with Rep. Barton that the establishment of the escrow fund -- over and above the claims process that is already in place, and run by an Obama administration hack sold as an "independent third party" -- is, if not illegal, than at least extra-legal," Foster writes, "and another example of Democrats' selective disdain for the rule of law when it gets in the way of a government-run redistribution scheme."

Judson Phillips, the leader of Tea Party Nation and chief organizer of the upcoming National Tea Party Unity Convention, told the Washington Post that the escrow fund was "extortion."

Meanwhile, comedians are having a field day with the incident. Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's "Daily Show" tore into Barton, jokingly portraying him reading a copy of "Disdainful A**hole Digest" -- which featured a picture of Barton on the cover.

The inevitable website JoeBartonWouldLikeToApologize.com has popped up, which features the phrase "Joe Barton would like to apologize to," followed by a series of rotating phrases such as, "Goldman Sachs. Our economy wasn't that important anyways. Go nuts."

This name of BP's CEO was corrected in this article on June 21. His name is Tony Hayward, not Tony Hayworth.

[govmess]

Read the international newspapers and almost everyone of them report that Obama strongarmed BP by threatening to take away their licenses. This is going to haunt Obama before this whole thing is overwith. All he knows is lawsuits and has no leadership abilities...even the left is now saying this...let the whole world watch while he plays golf.

[user000049586849302948602]

Looks to me like Obama has done a pretty good job LEADING the nation back from the brink of ruination where Bush and his cronies had led us. You just sound like another talibagger blowhard.

[steeepe]

Obama has probably spent more time on the job than Bush spent in 8 years. Don't you remember the incessant vacations that Bush took? Who cares if Obama strongarmed BP? If he did, I'm glad he did. Bush would have let BP off the hook and forced US taxpayers to pay, all the while profusely apologizing to BP that the US didn't have a back-up plan to come to their rescue. Man, your priorities are twisted! By the way, the world likes Obama much better than that jerk Bush who tarnished the White House for way too long.

[vista8635]

Help baby. Help!

[whosaid1]

So,...one has to wonder...which apology should we as Americans, be most concerned about ??..... Rep. Joe Barton's ill advised, but, "unimportant" one,... or, the multiple "one's" made by our President to foreign countries apologizing for "us" being AMERICANS.

[vista8635]

BP did not care about environmental damage to the U.S.; they treated the USA like a Third World country. So one has to wonder why on earth Barton would apologise to BP, and not to the citizens of this great country.

[steeepe]

America needs to apologize after that whackjob Bush screwed up the world for 8 years.

[euge005]

Oily Joe's comment is what one has to expect from a clown that is owned body and soul by the same energy industry that owns Bush and Chaney. The same industry that has the main responsibility for our being 20 years behind Brazil and Canada in alternate energy. Figures that it is Texas that sends a sold out energy lobby ***** like this to Congress. With their education system, most of the white trash there do not know any better.

[Palin_for_Presidentess]

Once again, here's the link provided by CBS to Organizing America:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/noapology/?source=20100617_DP_in&keycode=

[shareef75]

grcac, all day I keep hearing whites insinuating that our president is a "thug" or Homey as you quoted above. How can we not look at this blind hatred for our president as nothing more than racists who can not stand the thought of a black man holding the most powerful reigns in the world? If the president had the tax payers to pay for this oil spill, then racists would say he is destroying our country with his weakness by having the tax payers to pay for someone's mess. But he convinced the people who caused this spill to pay for the mess they created and people like you compare the first black president (a Harvard educated man) to a "homey". As an educated black person myself, people like you are the reason I will never vote Republican. Your blind racism and disrespect for our president because of his skin color is insulting. I never heard Reagan, Bush etc. called a homey or a thug. I am beyond tired of hearing this race related disrespect thrown casually at this man. If he can be called a "homey" then what would you call me?

[euge005]

I wonder how long grcac has been on the GOP pay roll. They hire people to write derogatory blogs about anyone trying to be responsible in our government. It makes them look bad and with nothing, but Bush 1.3 to offer they find any distraction is better for the GOP than honesty.

[macadou]

Your black educated president is leading this country into socialism faster then chavez did in venezuela

[grcac]

I just couldn't help but make another comment after reading some from the Magic "O's" fans. Several have noted how "stupid" Barton looks. I won't argue the merits of this charectorization.

I'll just say, take a good, really long look at the Lord of the Flies Henry Waxman. If this guy isn't an absolute MORON, I'm stunned. Watching his questioning during BP's testimony, it was clear he only knows how to ask questions his staff writes and throw hissy fits on cue. He is as dumb as a stump. He did not care what anybody said but himself.

So, I'm thinking it will be more than the black panthers at the voting booths this time.

Congrats Obama, you make Hugo Chavez look reasonable. In less than 2 years you've taken the US to near communism... Way to go homey...

[Palin_for_Presidentess]

Yeah right. Seems like Bush and his cronies are the one's who took this county to the brink of ruin and Obama as done quite a bit to bring it back despite repugnitard's wanting him and the country to fail for no other reason than they don't like the fact that we now have a black president.

[tonyatq]

grcac: Please get back on you meds.

[grcac]

The problem I suspect Barton was pointing out is, the US used to be a nation of laws. Now that we are a nation of Homeboys, it's clear we are now a nation of arm twisting thugs. Retired people had their GM and Chrysler investments in bonds stolen from them and given to Union Thugs, the cause of GM's and Chryler's failed.

I can't wait to see some of the Magic O's decisions end up in court. He has surrounded himself with a bunch of half wit elitest twits, who evidently could not hold down real jobs, instead of inviting exceptional accomplished people to help out. They clearly are people who are able to write about things, but cannot for their lives achieve anything except words on a page. Highly educated incompetents.

The Obamaniacs make Bush look incredibly competent and reasoned. While the magic O can read a good speech, he clearly cannot accomplish any real task.

[euge005]

Nation of lawsw? You must mean pre-Bush. Bush ignored the law and the Constitution when ever it suited his handlers. You decry the advisors. But for a change most of them are working for the people not big oil. You compare ineffectiveness in fixing the energy company's disaster with incompetency while for getting that Nreo's party's cost a lot less then clening up Rome after it burnt. The derision you make of the (legitimate) President is laughable. You better pray that he does have some magic to save the gulf and to save this country from both big energy and the GOP. To say that Bush was competent, haha - funny, as if he were making decisions or policy. After all, that was big oil's job until 2008.

[tonyatq]

Nation of law, Bush broke every law that could be broken. Where were you when Bush was in office? BP broke laws and should be in jail.

[P0ST1ING_AWAY]

by fairfaxjoe June 18, 2010 3:10 PM EDT
John, the keyboard you are typing on is made of plastic. Where does that come from?
================================
You are a world-class DOOFUS.
Keyboards (like many other things) can be made from recycled plastic.
"Recycled" is a word that Tea-Bagging MORONS do not understand.
Use the tool that the "IDIOT-IN-CHIEF, George Bush" called
"the Google" and research the topic.

[ohyes1234]

Rep Barton's thought long and hard before he made his apology. He was hoping to become Republican or Tea Party Darling. He should have given American people's intelligence more credit. He really echoed Rand Paul who said President Obama is too tough on BP. But others at Republican Party gave it good twist. They did not support BP. They are trying to oppose the President from stopping the big corporations to ruin the environment; instead of supporting him to pass the energy bill. They are trying to confuse the public.

[euge005]

You are right, but let us understand why. The tea bag folks might be 3 or 4% of the electorate. In areas with low participation that can turn the tide in a primary. However they have little $$. So, anti-progress forces that want to be elected turn to their traditional sources for dotations at thelevel neede to run a State or nation wide election. Those sources are big pherma, big energy, big insurance and the religious right. In most ststes the electorate is not stupid (SC seems to be joining Texas as exceptions). Their refusal on the right to do anything to help the general public means they get near nothing in donations from the rank and file voters. Those funds put Obama in the white house. Thank God.