Great NYT read on BARTON BACKPEDAL

[quiet.american]

Republican, Under Pressure, Backpedals From Apology to BP
By JACKIE CALMES
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/us/politics/18barton.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

snips:
WASHINGTON — Representative Joe L. Barton had to be truly sorry by the time he apologized for his apology on Thursday.

In the four hours between his televised apology to BP — for what he called a $20 billion “shakedown” by President Obama for loss claims in the gulf oil spill — and his apology for that apology, Mr. Barton, a Republican from Texas, had been pummeled in the blogosphere, assailed by Democratic Party operatives and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and, in the blow that landed, threatened by Republican leaders with being yanked from the party’s top seat on the powerful House energy committee.

Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader, and Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the Republican whip, summoned Mr. Barton and he “was told to apologize, immediately, or he would lose his spot, immediately,” a senior aide said. “We’ll see what happens going forward.”

The Democratic National Committee quickly produced a YouTube video that repeatedly shows Mr. Barton, in a split screen with the BP chief, saying, “I apologize.” The White House piled on. The press secretary, Robert Gibbs, issued a statement calling Mr. Barton’s comments “shameful” and later wrote on his Twitter account: “Who would the G.O.P. put in charge of overseeing the energy industry & Big Oil if they won control of Congress? Yup, u guessed it — JOE BARTON.”

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I guess Barton thought his buds had his back - surprise! - maybe not.

Kudos to Gibbs et al. for jumping all over this like like the gift it was - a free buffet on Christmas Day.

[Cha]

1. Thanks QA...

"Of the five Gulf Coast states, Mr. Barton’s Texas is the only one whose beaches, fisheries and tourist haunts are not threatened by oil spewing from BP’s ruined well. Republican lawmakers from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida quickly disavowed Mr. Barton’s apology to BP, and one was the first to call for stripping Mr. Barton of his committee seat."

This needs to go viral along with that youtube the Dems made.

If some giant oil disaster happened in bachmann's district and Obama got money for the residents for it..she wouldn't be out there acting like a selfish assbite either.

[quiet.american]

2. Well how about that... surprise, surprise, surprise.

What a piece of work this guy is. He's the stereotype of a -- well, I'll leave it at that.

[Born_A_Truman]

3. But he was only passing on his talking points from Rush! n/t

[grantcart]

4. The ending paragraphs were devistating

The shakedown, in the eyes of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which monitors campaign contributions to lawmakers, is actually the pitches by lawmakers for oil industry donations.

Individuals and political action committees in the oil and gas industry have been Mr. Barton’s biggest source of campaign money, it reported, contributing $1.4 million since the 1990 election cycle.