Barton: White House Shut Out Bachus

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) says that the failure so far of the Bush administration to win support from GOP House members has much to do with their decision not to consult them.

"You should start by putting a package together that your own party can support," said Barton. "And they haven’t done that."

Barton is the ranging member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. "I just spoke with [Rep.] Spencer Bachus [R-Ala.], and he’s ranking member of Financial Services, and he has never been asked to a meeting where anybody from the administration asked for his input," said Barton. "He’s been invited to meetings where he’s been told this is what had to be done.

"We all admit that the executive branch has the ability to bring in non-elected experts in the technical merits of the market mechanism, but they should admit that somebody who’s good enough to get elected by half a million people or more at least knows the mood of the country and has enough brain power to be a part of the solution process."