Free Republic

Why is the incandescent light bulb ban such a lightning rod for Tea Party-inspired remorse from big government Republicans? Simple: it's a liberty-stealing assault on our privacy and common sense, outrageously expensive, and doesn't solve any of the problems it's intended to fix. That's only for starters. The most egregious feature is that the ban makes fools of the American people who willingly succumb to such nonsense from Washington, DC. Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI) campaigning to advance his chances in ascending the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee now says he'd open hearings to reconsider the phase out...

Uh oh. Fred Upton, a Republican from Michigan, is insisting he is worthy to chair the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and has written an Op Ed in the Washington Examiner titled, “Rep. Fred Upton: A new majority for America.” In it, he describes what he will do if in fact he is chosen as chair, and reiterates his manly chainsaw approach to the budget, and unfortunately, uses the words, “shine the spotlight” on the Obama-Pelosi regulatory policies. Hang on, check the spotlight bulb first, is it the government-mandated type? But the kicker was when he said, “I also look...

There is no greater injustice than punishment of a man for doing something good, and no more loathsome cowardice than when those responsible for defending good sacrifice their cause to accommodate an uncompromising evil. But this type of betrayal is not uncommon for the Republican leadership, and it happened again last week in Congress. Thursday's House committee hearings with BP CEO Tony Hayward consisted mostly of the empty political grandstanding one would expect from this type of proceedings, characterized by Mark Levin as Soviet-style show trials. There was an exception, however, when Representative Joe Barton spoke out against the Obama...

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on Sunday ratcheted up the Democrats' effort to turn a House Republican's apology to BP into a political pivot point, saying last week's comments by Rep. Joe L. Barton (Tex.) were a reminder of the "governing philosophy" that Republicans would bring into power if they win big in November

An unusual faux-populism is widespread in the United States, where standing up for "the people" seems to mean cowing to corporate interests, big oil (including apologizing to BP, the perpetrators of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill), and fighting against universal health care coverage that would benefit millions of Americans. Sarah Palin's "drill baby drill" mantra, which supports oil industry goals of increased drilling in protected areas - including offshore - is symptomatic of this faux populism, as is her uninformed condemnation, during the health-care reform debate, of "death panels" that would kill seniors, when in reality this was just...

The former governor of Alaska is apparently outraged over Emanuel telling ABC’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that Republican Rep. Joe Barton’s apology last week to BP was not a slip of the tongue, but a reflection of the “philosophy” of the Republican Party...

Rep. Jo Bonner, an Alabama Republican, is calling on Rep. Joe Barton to step down as the ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Bonner is the second Republican, following Florida Republican Rep. Jeff Miller, to call for Barton to step aside. In a lengthy statement, Bonner said his colleague’s Thursday comments regarding BP “sadly fell short of an appropriate response.”

Under pressure from Republican leaders who threatened to remove him from a ranking committee position, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) late Thursday retracted his apology to BP CEO Tony Hayward for the way his company has been treated by the U.S. government -- a comment that had drawn heavy criticism from both parties. Barton made that apology to Hayward in his opening statement Thursday morning before Hayward's testimony to the House subcommittee, in which Barton decried the Obama administration for pressuring BP to open a $20 billion escrow account and to suspend dividend payments for the rest of the year. The...

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In a display that was indicative of political opportunism at best and hypocrisy at worst, members of the House committee on energy ripped into BP as if Congress is the shining example of honesty and integrity. Time for a serious fact-check. Congress has no moral authority to rip BP if they do not include themselves in the blame-game. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon). BP CEO Tony Hayward with Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California, one of the worst of the extremist environmentalists in Congress. Some of the very ones on the committee who did the most moralistic sermonizing to BP CEO Tony Hayward are...

SNIP "I apologize for using the term 'shakedown' with regard to yesterday's actions at the White House in my opening statement this morning, and I retract my apology to BP..." SNIP "I regret the impact that my statement this morning implied that BP should not pay for the consequences of their decisions and actions in this incident."

WASHINGTON — A day after top BP officials met with President Barack Obama at the White House and agreed to set up a $20 billion compensation fund, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas called the money a "shakedown" of the company and apologized for the president's action. Barton, the ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce committee, told BP CEO Tony Hayward Thursday morning that he was sorry about what the president had done. The money is a "slush fund," Barton said, and "unprecedented in our nation's history." "I do not want to live in a country where anything a citizen...

Rep. Joe Barton apologized to BP chairman Tony Hayward for what he called a ’shakedown’ from the White House for the $20 billion in funds to cover the likely expenses of the Gulf oil spill. Barton later apologized for the remarks. “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 characterize as a shakedown.” Here...

Rep. Joe Barton apologized to BP chairman Tony Hayward for what he called a ’shakedown’ from the White House for the $20 billion in funds to cover the likely expenses of the Gulf oil spill. Barton later apologized for the remarks. “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 characterize as a shakedown.” Here...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The first apology that rang out in a congressional hearing about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill on Thursday was not from BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward. It was from Texas Republican Representative Joe Barton, who apologized to Hayward for BP's having to agree to a deal with President Barack Obama to set up a $20 billion fund for Gulf damage claims. "I'm speaking totally for myself, I'm not speaking for the Republican party ... but I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday," Barton said. He called it "a tragedy of the first proportion,...

A Republican lawmaker from a district affected by the oil spill called on Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) to step down as the ranking member of his committee. Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), whose Pensacola district is among the most-impacted areas in the Gulf by the oil spill, condemned Barton for apologizing to BP CEO Tony Hayward during a committee meeting on Thursday. "I condemn Mr. Barton’s statement. Mr. Barton’s remarks are out of touch with this tragedy and I feel his comments call into question his judgment and ability to serve in a leadership on the Energy and Commerce Committee," MIller...

There are few things more aggravating than witnessing a conservative who praises free markets, small government and individual liberty be elected to office only to have him transform into a sanctimonious busybody who knows no restraint in interfering with the private affairs of free citizens.  A spectacular example of this took place this week in Washington D.C. “What can we say — it’s December and the BCS is in chaos again,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He said the BCS system is unfair and won’t change...

A GOP counter-delegation is forming to undermine the Obama administration's work on an international climate change agreement in Copenhagen, warning that the president is poised to make commitments he can't keep and drawing heightened attention to controversial leaked e-mails. A GOP counter-delegation is forming to undermine the Obama administration's work on an international climate change agreement in Copenhagen, warning that the president is poised to make commitments he can't keep and drawing heightened attention to controversial leaked e-mails. At least a half-dozen Republican senators and representatives are planning to head to Denmark next week, as part of the overall U.S....

The House Democratic healthcare reform bill is going to "ream" the American people, according to Energy and Commerce ranking member Joe Barton (R-Texas.) House GOP leaders were quick to march an entire hardcopy of the Democrats' nearly 2,000 page healthcare bill before TV cameras to denounce the measure for raising taxes, creating mandates and cutting medicare. "Nineteen hundred and ninety pages, that¹s about four reams of paper, I can say that the people who are getting reamed are the American people," Barton said at a press conference surrounded by fellow top-ranking House Republicans.

Republicans will repeal healthcare reform legislation if they win control of Congress because of that bill, a key Republican pledged late Sunday. The health bill is "dead on arrival" in Congress, said Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce committee, said during an interview on Fox News. "If they somehow manage to get the votes and get enough Democrats to walk the plank and commit suicide, in the next Congress, I'll be chairman Joe Barton of the Energy and Commerce committee, and we'll repeal it," Barton said. Republicans have shown optimism at picking up...