Flaming Douchebag of the Week: Joe Barton
Rep. Joe Barton (R—Shitbucket) is deeply concerned about the BP oil spill. Wait, no, he’s not concerned about the worst ecological devastation in America’s history. He doesn’t give a fuck about millions of lowly working-class types whose livelihoods are gone.
But he’s having a tantrum because our Kenyan Muslim Socialist president said mean things to BP.
Obama is requiring BP to establish a $20 billion fund to help compensate the people whose careers and lives have been destroyed by BP’s negligence. Barton called it a “$20 billion shakedown” of BP, and said: “I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House.”
For the past year and a half, rightwing bloggers’ favorite soundbite has been “apologizing for America.” That’s exactly what Joe “I bend over for oil companies” Barton has just done. So far there hasn’t been a peep out of the Right, for some odd reason.
Massachusetts Democrat Ed Markey told Barton to bring his knees back together, get up off the floor and quit humping the oil industry (in so many words).
He said the $20 billion compensation fund was “not a slush fund, not a shakedown. ... It was the government of the United States working to protect the most vulnerable citizens that we have in our country right now, the residents of the Gulf. It's BP's spill, but it is America’s ocean, and it is America's citizens who are being harmed. ... No, this is not a shakedown of the company. This is, in my opinion, the American government working at its best.”
Labels: “$20 billion shakedown”, BP $20 billion, BP oil spill, Ed Markey, Joe Barton
posted by Tom Harper @ 1:31 PM
20 Comments:
Yep, Tom, this guy is an oil money receiving whore. I gave him the Head Up My Arse Award today...with a five star cluster attached.
BPs stock price went up this morning after promising the $20 billion, but they won't pouring all the cash in at once, but over the years. That's why their stock price went higher, it means they are being allowed to survive as a business entity. The Obama administration achieved two things, the establishment of the fund and giving BP the ability to pay it and survive. $20 billion is 3 or 4 years profit at current prices.
Are we talking 20bil in today's dollars, or 1972 dollars? Because I don't see 20bil lasting that long, or going that far.
As far as shakedown, Barton is indeed a flaming douchebag. The shakedown was in 2009, when the price of gas doubled per gallon. Then the price of food doubled in most cases, and tripled or quadrupled in many more cases. Those are only portions of the real shakedown.
Hey, Barton's just speaking up for one of the Big Oil corporations he works for. He's just being a loyal employee.
What? You think he's supposed to speak up for the the taxpayers and voters he represents? He can't; he's from Texas!
This was quite a day! The perfect gift to the Democrats. Ahh yes thank you Joe. Even his own turned on him.
It was great. Now let's see if Rushbo turns on him. I think not...I think that's where the talking point originated.
jadedj: He's definitely the top choice for Head Up My Arse Award.
Holte: That sounds like a good balance to me -- getting the money out of BP but allowing them to pay it over time, so they won't go under.
SW: Speaking up for taxpayers and constituents instead of Big Oil? LOL, good one.
Tim: No doubt the GOP will be squirming over this. Not because they disagree with him; they're just embarrassed that he came out and said what they were thinking.
then he comes back to give the non apology apology for giving the apology he says was misconstrued. My head was spinning. If the dems cannot come up with ads for this they deserve a loss in November.
Bee: Sorry I didn't answer you earlier; your comment just now appeared. (I guess that's why everyone's switching from Blogger to WordPress.) They've probably got it calculated to 25th century dollars.
You're right, the real shakedown was the sky high gas prices.
Jess: LOL. You're right, if the Democrats can't make political hay out of this, they deserve to lose.
If he gets reelected something is seriously wrong but we knew that already.
Jess, you're so right. If the Dems can't absolutely make a meal out of this -- just HANDED to them on a tray -- then they deserve to be beaten.
But I think maybe they are going to make use of this one. :)
Thanks for posting. I had this on my list of things to rant about. My blood pressure thanks you ;-)
This dim-wit backed off his statement, and has now apparently retracted it. Too late for that fuckin' piece of shit.
I'm with Screamin' Mimi - if the Left doesn't ride this horse until it's dead, they will (and will deserve) to lose.
Posts like this are why I [heart] you, Tom. :-) The scathing satire makes my day every time.
Out of laziness, I have copied my response to Mr. Anderson from his excellent blog posting on the similar topic:
http://wpblog.ohpinion.com/2010/06/16/better-to-be-big-about-bp-chairmans-gaffe/
"I don’t know if the BP accident was caused by negligence, human error, forces of nature etc. and as of yet neither does ANYBODY else. The fact is that it does appear to be an accident, regardless of the initial cause, does not remove any responsibility from BP to fix this mess and make any and all reparations. Further, to my knowledge, BP has never said anything contrary to this.
Obama sits on his thumb for nearly two months before even meeting with the BP CEO, refuses to waive the Jones Act so that foreign help can assist with the disaster (thus protecting his union contributors), and then puts forth publically his Jesse Jackson-type shakedown to get money from BP the day BEFORE ever meeting with them.
Now what do you think Obama’s response would have been should BP said no to his plan and said they would rather pay the bills through existing legal frameworks? The public relations nightmare it would cause for BP would have only exacerbated the situation.
I could be more sympathetic with Obama if BP had categorically denied that they would be held responsible or limited in their responsiblities financially, but such is not the case. Obama is posturing for public consumption and is therefore setting up EXTRA-LEGAL mechanisms to obtain monies when legal avenues already exist to do this. What is the purpose of this, other than to be seen as finally “doing something”?
I wouldn’t care normally, but Obama has shown a complete disdain for private property and companies with his take over of automakers, banks etc. He has fired executives, dictated what pay will be for his chosen replacements, and said what products and services these formerly private companies will now produce. Had Bush done such a thing, the left would understandably and justifiably be mad as hell.
The fact that Obama seems to govern by fiat, especially where private companies are concerned, gives me great pause as I see him doing this once again to BP.
I am not sticking up for BP in their culpability in this accident and indeed they should pay every red cent for which they are responsible, but they don’t need Obama creating extra hoops to jump through simply to burnish his image.
Anonymous: Yup, something is most seriously wrong if he gets elected.
SM: I agree the Dems deserve to lose if they can't make a meal out of this, since it was served to them on a plate.
Carlos: I think Barton's "apology" just made him look worse. Even the headlines looked like "Congressman apologizes for apologizing," and all sorts of variations. This could be the new "he was for it before he voted against it."
Miss Kitty: Thank you!
TP: I'm lazy too, so I'll refer to Leslie Parsley's excellent answer to your comment at that same post.
T Paine said:
"I wouldn’t care normally, but Obama has shown a complete disdain for private property and companies with his take over of automakers, banks etc. He has fired executives, dictated what pay will be for his chosen replacements, and said what products and services these formerly private companies will now produce. Had Bush done such a thing, the left would understandably and justifiably be mad as hell."
I appreciate your consistent stance on Government "interference with private business" in your post. You have always talked about letting the free market doing it's job, but I have to ask you this:
Wasn't it also interfering when Bush waived the bidding process under law and gave groups like Haliburton exclusive and huge no-bid contracts in Iraq?
Or when Cheney was actively involved with Enron using his influence to help them corner the energy markets taking my state of California for Billions?
Conservatives never get mad over Corporate Welfare
The one and only true Anonymous
Erik
On a lighter note, I think Obama is in trouble as BP has hired as its spin doctor a man with a long resume in these matters:
Former Ambassador to China
Former Governor of American Samoa
Former President of the Baby Doc College of Medicine in Haiti
Former General Manager of the Washington Redskins
Former Writer of the Rolling Stone
Former Iranian Hostage
Former Proconsul to Panama
Former NRA Lobbyist
Doonesbury’s Uncle Duke
I shudder
Erik
Erik, as to your question, I will remain consistent in my answer. Hell yes it was wrong for Bush and Cheney to do what they did with no-bid contracts etc. They deserved to get called on the carpet for those things and too bad not much was made out of it.
Great minds, indeed, Tom. :-)
Not to defend Barton, but he was just spouting the GOP party line, probably under orders to do so., since their study commission, which includes all the leadership, came up with the same conclusion. Only after they saw the vehemence of the public response against it did they lie and say Barton did not represent their view.
TomCat: I wouldn't doubt that a bit. Joe Barton was the bad cop, and all the rest of the Republican talking heads had a chance to play good cop.
Bingo!
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