Last year, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) — the same Joe Barton who felt the need to apologize to BP after the oil giant caused an environmental catastrophe — requested stimulus funds for NASA despite having voted against the stimulus. Last week, Barton was at it again, attending a groundbreaking “for an expansion of an Ellis County clinic” that received $250,000 in stimulus money:
“As I told the crowd at the groundbreaking, I was opposed to the stimulus bill and voted against it. It has been largely wasteful and failed to produce the jobs that were promised,” Barton, R-Arlington, said in a written statement. “However, expansion of the Hope Clinic is a worthy project that deserves our support.”
Last year, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) — the same Joe Barton who felt the need to apologize to BP after the oil giant caused an environmental catastrophe — requested stimulus funds for NASA despite having voted against the stimulus. Last week, Barton was at it again, attending a groundbreaking “for an expansion of an Ellis County clinic made possible under the law.”
As the Dallas Morning News reported, the clinic received $250,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services for the construction work. Barton tried to thread the needle by saying that the clinic is a “worthy project”:
“As I told the crowd at the groundbreaking, I was opposed to the stimulus bill and voted against it. It has been largely wasteful and failed to produce the jobs that were promised,” Barton, R-Arlington, said in a written statement. “However, expansion of the Hope Clinic is a worthy project that deserves our support.”
The construction grant “comes in addition to more than $1.4 million the clinic has received in stimulus funds, which clinic staff said was secured with the help of Barton’s office.” In fact, Lisa Caton, director of development for the clinic, said that Barton “really did play a critical role in a lot of the things that we accomplished.”
According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the stimulus will have created or saved 3.7 million jobs by September, presumably some of them for work at this very clinic. But prior to appearing at the groundbreaking, Barton called the stimulus a “boondoggle,” “a lesson in how to waste a lot of money in a hurry,” and the “most anti-competitive, anti-consumer, anti-free market piece of legislation I’ve ever seen on the House floor.”
But Barton is actually doubling down on the hypocrisy here, as the clinic will also receive money from the Affordable Care Act, the health care reform bill that Barton voted against. “There were two pieces of legislation that helped bring this about,” said Joseph Gallegos, senior vice president of the National Association of Community Health Centers. “Part of this was economic stimulus funding, and the other was in the Affordable Care Act.”
At an event in Texas last week, President Obama riffed on this blatant hypocrisy on the part of the GOP. “I have to say, though, they do show up at the ribbon-cuttings for the infrastructure projects,” he noted. “They will fulminate and say it’s going to be Armageddon if we pass all this stuff, but then they’re cheesin’ and grinnin’ right there — got the shovel all ready — sending out the press releases.”
In recent weeks, Republicans have been making headlines for their unabashed advocacy on behalf of Wall Street and big business at the expense of American taxpayers. In a recent interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) compared the financial crisis to a poor little ant, and criticized Democrats for “killing” it with a “nuclear weapon” (i.e. financial reform).
Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs went after Boehner and called him “completely out of touch with America.” A staffer for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) responded, “An ant, Mr. Boehner? It was the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression — Americans lost 8 million jobs and $17 trillion in retirement savings and net worth.”
Today at a town hall event in Racine, WI, President Obama went directly after Boehner, telling him that most Americans don’t think “the financial crisis was an ant and we just need a little ant swatter to fix this thing”:
The leader of the Republicans in the House said that financial reform was like — I’m quoting it — “using a nuclear weapon to target an ant.” That’s what he said. He compared the financial crisis to an ant. This is the same financial crisis that led to the loss of nearly eight million jobs. The same crisis that cost people their homes, their life savings. He can’t be that out of touch with the struggles of American families, and if he is, he should come here to Racine and ask people what they think. Maybe I’m confused. Do you think that the financial crisis was an ant and we just need a little ant swatter to fix this thing, or do you think that we need to restructure how we regulate the financial system so you aren’t on the hook again and we don’t have this crisis again?
When you ask men and women who’ve been out of work for months at a time, who talk about how they’ve been barely hanging on, they don’t think this financial crisis was something where you just need a few tweaks. They know that it’s what led to the worst recession since the Great Depression. And they expect their leaders in Washington to do whatever it takes to make sure a crisis like this never happens again.
Watch it:
Yesterday, ThinkProgress caught up with Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), who said that he agreed with Boehner’s comparison of the financial crisis to an ant.
Yesterday, House Republicans decided to let Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) keep his seat as the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, despite his apology to BP executives last week for the White House’s supposed “shakedown” of the company. Barton apologized to his Republican colleagues during a meeting behind closed doors, and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) apparently though that was enough to excuse Barton for his “poor choice of words.”
This morning on MSNBC, Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) defended his party’s decision, claiming Barton “is not the issue.” Host Joe Scarborough — a former Republican congressman from Florida — repeatedly pressed Cantor on the decision, noting that Barton’s comments are important because he is the “most powerful Republican” on energy issues. The best Cantor could muster was to brush off Barton’s apology to BP as a mere gaffe, comparing him to Vice President Biden:
SCARBOROUGH: But why is Joe Barton allowed to keep his job when Joe Barton apologized to a corporation that is destroying my hometown and its economy and destroying the environment across the Gulf coast?
CANTOR: Joe, listen. Joe Barton is not the issue.
SCARBOROUGH: He kind of is, though. If he is the most powerful Republican on the Hill right now when it comes to energy, he is the issue, isn’t he?
CANTOR: No, he is not. [...]
SCARBOROUGH: Eric, I press you respectfully here, but it was a written statement. You and I both know that sometimes you get tired. Sometimes you say stupid things. I spoke, of course, of myself. I say it every day. You’re like, oh, God, I shouldn’t have said that. You kick yourself. Joe Barton is sitting here reading a statement ‘I apologized to BP!’
MIKA: He’s calling it a poor choice of words.
SCARBOROUGH: That was a calculated statement that shows a troubling mindset and I know you agree with me. You just can’t say it.
CANTOR:Joe, listen. If the standard for resignation is a YouTube moment or an inappropriate statement, wouldn’t you think the Vice President would be handing in his letters twice a week? I mean, come on!
Watch it:
Barton’s comments were no “gaffe.” As Scarborough noted, Barton was reading from a written statement, not making an off-the-cuff remark. “That was a calculated statement. That shows a troubling mindset,” Scarborough said to Cantor.
Cantor’s attempt to deflect attention from Barton by comparing him to Biden’s gaffes is laughable. While Biden is known for his “verbal miscues,” as the Hill noted, Biden’s “most notable gaffe as vice president may have been when he whispered into President Barack Obama’s ear while next to a live mic that passing healthcare reform legislation was a ‘big f—— deal.’” Biden’s comment was made off-the-cuff, when he didn’t think anyone could hear him, and reflected a non-controversial position. Barton spoke from a prepared statement, during an official House hearing, fully aware of what he was saying.
Despite Cantor’s protests, Barton’s apology to BP is an “issue” because it reflects what manyconservativesbelieve — Barton just had the guts to come out and say it.
Update
DNC National Press Secretary Hari Sevugan issued the following response: “We don’t say this often but, Eric Cantor’s right – Joe Barton’s not the issue. The issue is a broader Republican culture of not just apologizing to the oil industry, but defending them and their other corporate benefactors at every turn and at the expense of middle class families and small businesses.” More from Jed Lewinson.
Shortly after Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward for what he called a White House “shakedown” of the oil company, the Texas congressman apologized for apologizing. “I apologize for using the term ‘shakedown’ with regard to yesterday’s actions at the White House this morning, and I retract my apology to BP,” he said in a statement.
But today on his official Twitter page, Barton appeared to take back that apology, linking to an article on the conservative American Spectator website saying “Joe Barton Was Right”:
As Dave Weigel notes, the Spectator article “is a robust defense of what Barton said, knocking the Obama administration for ‘Alinsky’ tactics and hatred of business.” But Barton has since deleted the tweet. Greg Sargent reports that a Barton spokesperson is claiming responsibility:
Guilty as sin, your honor. Without thinking about it much, I added a headline from one of the daily news clips to a website that is, in turn, linked to the congressman’s Twitter account. I won’t be doing that again.
A new survey from Public Policy Polling finds that Barton’s fellow Texans are overwhelmingly siding with the President:
Texans think that Barack Obama’s right and Joe Barton’s wrong when it comes to BP’s responsibility for cleaning up the oil spill, and a plurality of voters in the state think Barton should lose his leadership post on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Only 18% of voters think that BP deserved the apology Barton sent its way last week to 65% who think it did not. Barton doesn’t even get much support from Republican voters on that front – only 23% of them say it was right to apologize to BP. With Democrats and independents the numbers are even lower at 17% and 12% respectively.
The poll also found that the “episode is having a negative impact on how Texas voters perceive Barton overall. Only 21% have a favorable opinion of him while 28% see him negatively.” Meanwhile, 64% of Texans think Obama was right to ask BP to compensate victims of the oil spill with only 27% opposed to that move.
“[I]f you’re scoring at home,” ABC News’ Rick Klein tweeted, “Joe Barton has now unapologized for apologizing for his apology.”
After Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward last week for what he said was a “shakedown” when the White House got British oil company to set up a $20 billion escrow fund, the three top House Republican leaders issued a statement calling Barton’s comments “wrong” and then forced him to apologize. On his radio show yesterday, Rush Limbaugh defended Barton, saying that “it was a shakedown pure and simple and somebody had the audacity to call it what it was.”
On CNN last night, John King asked Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) if Rush was right or if the House GOP leadership was right. Coburn refused to take a definitive position, though he faintly argued that the White House didn’t engage in “fair negotiations”:
KING: Rush right or is the Republican leadership in the House right?
COBURN: Oh, I don’t know. I think it’s the cynicism of our politics today. Nobody in either party wants to be vulnerable on any issue and where’s the real leadership? You know what we lack is where is the clarity of purpose. Nobody disagrees that BP is going to be held accountable. The question is how and when and that’s a small matter right now in terms of the problem that we have.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Do you have any problem with the White House negotiating this deal?
COBURN: Well I’m not sure it’s fair negotiations because you’re dealing with one very strong party and one very weak party in terms of public relations. But you know basically holding them accountable is where we want to be and this is one way of doing it.
Watch it:
It’s not surprising that Coburn would decline an opportunity to disagree with Limbaugh, since most Republicans are loathe to cross the right-wing talker. In early 2009, RNC Chairman Michael Steele called Limbaugh’s shtick “incendiary” and “ugly,” but then quickly recanted, calling Limbaugh a “very valuable conservative voice for our party.” Other conservative leaders, like Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS), Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA), and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford have bowed before Rush after expressing public criticism of the hate radio host.
When asked yesterday on ABC’s This Week about Rep. Joe Barton’s (R-TX) accusation that the White House engaged in a “shakedown” of BP, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel noted the remark was “not a political gaffe,” but rather a statement based on “prepared remarks.” He linked Barton’s comments to the GOP’s “larger philosophy,” saying it “is an approach to what they see. They see the aggrieved party here is BP, not the fisherman. And remember, this is not just one person.”
Conservative pundit Sarah Palin quickly blasted Emanuel’s comments on Twitter, calling them “shallow” and “irresponsible.” Parroting Rep. Joe Wilson’s (R-SC) rant against Obama, Palin said “Rahm, u lie”:
The right-wing echo chamber was quick to back Palin’s assertion. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said Emanuel’s statement that Barton reflects GOP philosophy “couldn’t be more wrong.” On Fox News this morning, conservative pundit Andrea Tantoros said “Palin is absolutely right” that Emanuel “has not a leg to stand on.” Watch it:
Despite the conservative howls, some in the media havefailed to note that Emanuel’s assertion is evidenced by the Republican Study Committee (RSC). Composed of over 115 Republican congressional members, including House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Chairman of the House Republican Conference Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), the RSC presented a collective view of what it saw as a White House “shakedown”:
BP’s reported willingness to go along with the White House’s new fund suggests that the Obama Administration is hard at work exerting its brand of Chicago-style shakedown politics. These actions are emblematic of a politicization of our economy that has been borne out of this Administration’s drive for greater power and control. It is the same mentality that believes an economic crisis or an environmental disaster is the best opportunity to pursue a failed liberal agenda. The American people know much better.
If a chorus of over 115 Republican members agreeing with Barton isn’t a reflection of GOP philosophy, what is?
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and member of the RSC, even described how he would put that philosophy into action. As the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent notes, Issa said in a recent speech to fellow conservatives that, were the GOP regain a majority in the House and should he get the power of subpoena, he “won’t use it to have corporate America live in fear that we’re going to subpoena everything. I will use it to get the very information that today the White House is either shredding or not producing.”
While Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) has been mostly lampooned for apologizing to BP for the White House’s alleged “shakedown” of the company to create a $20 billion escrow fund, some conservatives have been willing to defend the congressman.
Today, Kentucky Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul — the tea party darling who has himself faced criticism for defending BP — offered his sympathies to Barton, saying he knows “what it is like to be piled on.” While Paul stopped short of endorsing Barton’s point of view, he suggested that the criticism of Barton was “over the top,” and said that Barton “should be given the chance to explain himself”:
“I don’t know about that,” Paul said, when asked about Barton’s statement during an appearance on WVLK-AM radio on Friday. “I don’t want to pile on him. … I know what that feels like. What I will say is I have never liked the tone of the president when he said things or his administration says things like he is going to put the boot on the throat of BP.” [...]
“I’m not really in a position to know about what they should do to [Barton] personally. I do know what it is like to be piled on,” he said. “I do know that people sometimes can go over the top and I think he should be given the chance to explain himself.“
Paul joins a host of conservative pundits who have come to Barton’s defense, praising his “courage” and “legitimate point[s].” Meanwhile, the right-wing media’s fearless leader, radio host Rush Limbaugh, threw his weight behind Barton yesterday as well. As the Washington Post’s Dave Weigel noted, “Discussing Barton’s comments, Limbaugh repeatedly called the fund a ‘shakedown,’ [and] worried that it was a plot by Obama to ‘redistribute that money to ACORN.’” Limbaugh said the “shakedown” showed the Obama “regime” was behaving like “a branch of organized crime”:
LIMBAUGH: Joe Barton apologized to BP executives on behalf of himself, the American people, for the shakedown. … The United States government may as well be a branch of organized crime the way that it is being conducted and the way it’s doing business, and the way it’s looking out for itself and no one else. … Organized crime. It’s the closest thing I can think to analogize what’s happening here. And even these guys that are being shaken down, they’re paying protection money, and it isn’t enough. It isn’t enough.
Though Barton eventually apologized for his apology, Paul and a large swath of the right’s punditry appear set on defending Barton’s outrageous position. Responding to callers who challenged him for “defending BP,” Limbaugh explained that he was “trying to defend the US Constitution, the American way of life, American exceptionalism, [and] what it was that made this country great.” Many Gulf residents would likely disagree that apologizing to the company that ruined their economy and ecology made this country great.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) has been widelycondemned for telling BP executives yesterday that he is “sorry” for the Obama administration’s “shakedown” of their company, which resulted in a $20 billion escrow fund help Gulf families suffering from the oil spill. While the Republican leadership realized the potential political fallout and quickly distanced themselves from Barton’s comments, right-wing pundits rushed to Barton’s defense:
– PAT BUCHANAN: “Barton made a very courageous statement in my judgment. … To have anyone stand up and even indirectly defend [BP] and say that they were a victim of a shakedown shows some political courage.”
– INGRAHAM: “I think Joe Barton, before he apologized, had a legitimate point.”
– NAPOLITANO: “That is a classic shakedown. The threat to do something that you don’t have the authority to do. ”
– KILMEADE: “One Congressman calling the BP compsensation fund a ‘shakedown,’ but does he have a point?”
– GINGRICH: “The president is directly engaged in extorting money from a company.”
– VARNEY: “It is Hugo Chavez-like, is it not? To sieze a private company’s assets.”
Watch a compilation of conservative pundit Pat Buchanan, Fox News analyst Laura Ingraham, Fox News Business host Andrew Napolitano, Fox and Friends host Brian Kilmeade, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Fox News Business host Stuart Varney, and right-wing radio host Mark Levin:
Levin went on to say that GOP leadership’s treatment of the Barton incident made him fear the “Republican party in the House will not have the courage to do what needs to be done should it win the majority in November” to resist the “increasingly tyrannical administration.”
Vice President Biden stopped by today’s White House press briefing to talk about the Recovery Act. While there, however, reporters encouraged him address Rep. Joe Barton’s (R-TX) apology to BP for the fact that the Obama administration is making the company set up a fund to pay individuals and businesses that are suffering because of the oil spill. Biden angrily responded to Barton, calling his comments “astonishing” and “outrageous”:
BIDEN: There’s an entire way of life in jeopardy. This is just not about jobs. This is just not about whether or not the waterfowl is polluted and you can’t — this is an entire way of life that’s in jeopardy. And to sit there and say that we’re being — in effect, as I understood the statement — that he was ashamed we’re being tough on an oil company who caused the problem — I mean, I — look, I just think that it’s pretty important to the people of Louisiana all the way through Florida and even in his home state of Texas that people disassociate themselves from that.
That’s not the role — there’s no shakedown. It’s insisting on responsible conduct and a responsible response to something they caused. And I find it outrageous to suggest that if, in fact, we insisted that BP demonstrate their preparedness, to put aside billions of dollars — in this case, $20 billion — to take care of the immediate needs of people who are drowning — these guys don’t have deep pockets. The guy who runs the local marina, the guy who has one shrimping boat, the guy who has one small business — he can’t afford to lose $10,000, $12,000, $15,000, $30,000 a month. [...]
What is wrong with that? How is that a shakedown? I mean, I just — I don’t know, I find it pretty astounding, the comment.
Last year, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) — the same Joe Barton who felt the need to apologize to BP after the oil giant caused an environmental catastrophe — requested stimulus funds for NASA despite having voted against the stimulus. Last week, Barton was at it again, attending a groundbreaking “for an expansion of an Ellis County clinic” that received $250,000 in stimulus money:
Last year, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) — the same Joe Barton who felt the need to apologize to BP after the oil giant caused an environmental catastrophe — 
In recent weeks, Republicans have been making headlines for their unabashed advocacy on behalf of Wall Street and big business at the expense of American taxpayers. In a recent interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) 
While Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) has been mostly 
