Recognize this clown? In case you don't (and there's no reason you should) his name is Joe Barton. Joe, who like many of my other favorite Americans, does not deserve to be referred to as Mr. or, in his case, Congressman, is just that, a Congressman from Texas. Perhaps it is no surprise that the state with the strongest connection to the oil industry elected a former oil engineer to office, and perhaps it's no surprise that Joe still cares more about protecting big business than the people, but you'd think he'd know better than to say it out loud. After all, the people we elect may be scumbags, but they're hardly idiots right? Wrong.
Joe has an issue with BP $20 billion compensation fund, set up to help alleviate the suffering of Americans who have been affected by the nation's worst environmental disaster (more on that in a few moments). Says Joe,
"I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation would be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown -- in this case a $20 billion shakedown," Barton said.
"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," the 13-term congressman said. "That…amounts to a shakedown. So I apologize."
Chew on that America. One of our elected officials has just apologized to the corporation responsible for the worst environmental disaster in our history for...get this...for setting up a fund to help the victims. If you don't find that appalling, go make sure you still have a pulse.
It is worth noting that Joe and fellow Republican (surprise!) Roy Blount of Missouri are the only members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that receive six figure campaign donations from the oil and gas industry. I'm going to reiterate that Joe is a former oil industry employee.
The only word that comes to mind here is shameful. One of the people we have elected to protect us has shamefully put the interests of a major corporation over the well-being of the people of the United States of America. I'm embarrassed.
Another funny story, Congressman Parker Griffith, an Alabama Republican, thinks cigarettes are a greater environmental threat than the oil spill. Where do we find these people? Are they all exports from Arizona? Come on Republicans, surely you're better than these guys...Rand Paul...I'm out of gas for today.
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