While Jim the Douche was forced to retract his apology, here is what his supporters back home in Dallas and Tarrant Counties had to say: "We are supportive of Barton's [original] remarks."
Stephanie Crick, Chairwoman of Tarrant County GOP
Stephanie Crick...
.jpg)
Posts
You might need your skills to photoshop this guy's face on a horse's ass:
ReplyDeleteFrom http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/06/17/gop-congressman-calls-on-barton-to-step-down-from-ranking-committee-membership/
This has snowballed. Jeff Miller (R-FL), a Republican Congressman from the Pensacola area (one of the places hit hard by the oil spill), has publicly called for Joe Barton to step down in the wake of his comments apologizing to BP for their “treatment by the White House.”
Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), whose Pensacola district is among the most affected 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 said in a statement. “He should step down as ranking member of the Committee.”
Michael Burgess (R-TX), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, also distanced himself from Barton’s remarks, saying “He made it quite clear he was speaking only for himself.”
John Cornyn (R-TX), on the other hand, tried to equivocate, saying he “share(s) the concern” of Barton while agreeing that it was hopeful that BP created the escrow account.
This will now be the question asked to every Republican official down to dog catcher: Do you agree with Joe Barton that America should apologize to BP?
Harry Reid’s spokesman Jim Manley put it this way in an email:
“It takes an appalling amount of chutzpah for Congressman Barton to apologize to the BP CEO this morning about Democrats’ efforts to hold BP accountable. Where is his apology for the families of the 11 men who lost their lives and the industries along the Gulf that have been devastated because of this disaster? Where is his sympathy for the ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico that will be damaged for generations because of BP’s negligence? And shouldn’t he be apologizing to the people of the Gulf Coast for decades of Republican policies that ignored oversight and accountability for the oil industry?
Interesting to see a hissy fit on the Democratic side, for once.
UPDATE: The DCCC has set up a petition demanding that Barton retract his statement.
UPDATE II: That was quick. Barton, taking the mic at the continuing House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, just walked back his remarks. He said he wanted the record to show that he thought BP was responsible for the spill, and he apologized to people in the Gulf Coast region in a roundabout way, saying “if anything I have said this morning has been misconstrued … I want to apologize for that misconstrued misconstruction.”
The CFO of one company that I worked for had a favorite t-shirt saying: "Fuck you, you fucking fuck!" that I think would be appropriate in this case.