GOP Lawmaker Apologizes for Apologizing

Yahoo/AP ^ | June 17, 2010 | Laurie Kellman

[Past Your Eyes]

WASHINGTON – Who's sorry now? Rep. Joe Barton, that's who. The Texas Republican, the House's top recipient of oil industry campaign contributions since 1990, apologized Thursday for apologizing to the chief of the British company that befouled the Gulf of Mexico with a massive oil spill. His double mea culpa plus a retraction, executed under pressure from fuming GOP leaders, succeeded in shifting attention from the tragedy, BP's many missteps and the stoic British oil chief at the witness table, to his own party's close connection to the oil industry. Barton started the ruckus at midmorning when he took aim at the $20 billion relief fund for victims of the spill sought by the White House and agreed to by BP. "I apologize," Barton said to BP CEO Tony Hayward, who was sitting at a witness table for another of Congress' ritual floggings of wayward corporate heads. "I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong is subject to some sort of political pressure that is — again, in my words, amounts to a shakedown," Barton said. "So I apologize."

[MozarkDawg]

The jellyfish strike again.

[Publius6961]

The Texas Republican, the House's top recipient of oil industry campaign contributions since 1990...

An odd statement to make in a news report, but perfectly logical in a hit piece, complete with utter lack of documentation.

Actually, if memory serves me right, Bawney Frank was the greatest recipient of oil industry campaign contributions during that twenty year period.

As well as the largest recipient of campaign contributions from the Gay Mafia.

[Publius6961]

"I find it incredibly insensitive, incredibly out of touch," Biden told reporters. "There's no shakedown."

It's good to know that old "foot-in-mouth" is a pathological moron in addition to being a liar.

If he can come up with a section of the Constitution that gives the executive branch the power to bypass all the legal principles of due process, I might take this clown seriously.

If Hussein can do it to the CEO of BP (and gets away with it,) he can do it to anybody.

The Farm Pigs are underscoring the delusion that they are more equal than us other animals.

[Publius6961]

The stupid ass should have just kept his mouth shut in the first place.

I assume you're referring to Joe Biden...

[Publius6961]

This is why the GOP is always at a disadvantage. The Dems are relentless at going for the jugular; Pubes crap themselves when they see shadows....

Do you suppose if we arrange to publish this useful book in comic-book form that the GOP might be able to grasp it?

Personally I doubt it, but it might be worth a try.
Nothing else seems to work.

[Publius6961]

You don’t apologize to the company which is responsible for this tragedy. People have lost lives, many more are losing their livelihoods.

If you can't see what was properly the reason for the apology, no explanation is possible.

If you think that blame for the accident is the only important issue currently on the table, you justly deserve the political, financial and social piano which is about to land on you.

Courtesy of abuse of power and Chicago criminal thug politics.

Me?
For the first time in my life I am truly ashamed and embarrased for (collectively) my country's elected representatives.

[Intolerant in NJ]

If Hussein can do it to the CEO of BP (and gets away with it,) he can do it to anybody...He already did it to GM and Chrysler - to their bondholders and GM CEO more specifically - and to bank executives whose pay he now thinks he can dictate - the CEO of BP is just one more victim of this lawless thug...and still people get upset with those who challenge his lawlessness and not with Obama - after awhile just watching what is going on literally starts to hurt.....