Last night, the Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest caucus of Republican House members, fired off a statement declaring that the $20 billion dollar negotiated by BP and the Obama administration for victims of the oil catastrophe in the gulf is a “Chicago-Style Political Shakedown.” Echoing this sentiment, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) told BP executives that he is “sorry” for Obama’s “shakedown” of their company.
This morning, ThinkProgress traveled to Capitol Hill to interview lawmakers about the escrow fund. Several members of Congress, like Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), agreed with the RSC’s criticism of the fund. Even though Fleming’s home state of Louisiana has been devastated by BP’s spill, Fleming attacked the administration for not trusting BP and for daring to “take control of all the money from BP.” Asked about Barton’s apology to BP, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) said any lawmaker has a right to “do what they want”
Let's be clear, rightwingers are screaming President Obama hasn't been a true leader during this Gulf disaster. They are screaming how incompetant our president has been these past 50 plus days, they say he is partying, he is playing golf, he is entertaining thugs at the White House while the Gulf is in peril!!
Wingnuts are saying this agreement with BP will lead to the Obama administrations TAKEOVER of BIG OIL!! "BP agreed to paying all costs for this disaster, so why did Obambi(thats what they call our president)have to resort to a "shakedown" with BP?" OKAY, so wingnuts trust BP, they think an agreement, a handshake, will be good enough. An AGREEMENT with BP is NOT a BINDING CONTRACT. What President Obama did yesterday was worthy of praise and wingnuts will go down in flames for this criticism. They are standing with big oil and slapping the faces of the people in the Gulf whose lives are changed, probably forever!
TP: He announced the $20 billion dollar escrow fund, funded by BP, to compensate some of the victims of this catastrophe. The Republican Study Committee put out a press release last night saying it’s a Chicago style power grab, do you agree with that sentiment?
FLEMING: I do because what we have seen from this administration is whenever something like this happens — look at automotive industry, financial industry — what they do is take control of dollars then they begin to disperse them along political agendas. And we’ve seen this happen before, and it looks like its the development here. BP has said, time and time again, that they will process all legitimate claims, we have no reason to believe they won’t. Why does the administration feel like it’s got to take control of all the money from BP?
TP: So Congressman, the Republican Study Committee last night said that the $20 billion dollar escrow fund is just another Chicago style politics kind of power grab. Do you agree with that, do you think that’s a fair characterization?
JORDAN: I’m, look, I’m always worried about this unprecedented involvement by the government in the private sector and look, BP obviously made some mistakes, but do we really believe the Federal government is going to do a better job?
TP: What do you think about Joe Barton in the hearing this morning, he said ‘I apologize’ to the BP executives for the escrow fund, saying again it’s a shakedown [...] Do you have any kind of reaction to a member of Congress apologizing to BP executives?
NUNES: Look, every member of Congress represents seven, eight hundred thousand people and they can do what they want.
Wingers wanted President Obama to be involved, to be a leader and take control, but when he does and does a good job they backtrack and start the criticizing. No oil company with the terrible record that BP has deserves to be trusted by our government and our people. What Obama did was the right thing and the wacko right can keep screaming, all of America can hear them! YAY!!
26 comments:
Good post, Sue. I just hope people remember this when they go to the polls. I'm sure residents along the Gulf Coast will. As far as I'm concerned, they're a train wreck about to happen and they're too clueless/arrogant to see it.
Yes, well they are backtracking at this very hour. Barton was told in no uncertain terms that he would lose the chairmanship of this committee if he didn't apologize for apologizing. Of course Bachmann, and Limpnuts are backing his original statement.
As to trusting BP...get a fucking life. Have we forgotten that some 20 odd years later that Exxon has yet to reimburse the victims of that disaster?
You go Obama.
we can hope Leslie, that's all we have is hope that our fellow Americans see the light!
JJ, the wingnuts really do think we should shake the hand of big oil and then say "be on your way, do as you always do, do whatever the fuck you want"...
You go Obama!
All the wingers do is complain about everything. Whatever Obama does, they are against...which makes them irrelevant.
They should be ignored like a pile of dog shit on the sidewalk of life.
Jerry, I think they all have PMS.
Jerry we can't ignore them even tho they are irrelevant. We have an obligation to spread the word, rightwingers are CRAZY STUPID!!
PMS, pitiful, mindless stupidity
Great, now they'll accuse us of namecalling...
You don't do it by fiat, like a tin pot dictator, you do it through the courts. We're still a country of laws last time I checked.
So what happens when a Greenpeace protest goes horribly wrong during a rightwingconservative presidency and a similar oil spill happens?
Can the rightwingconservative president order Greenpeace to give until he decides it's enough?
See where this ends?
Have an investigation, file charges as necessary, and collect damages through the courts.
I know you liberals are clamoring for a dictator, but we're not there yet.
Silverfiddle,
Just what Greenpeace protest are you talking about the would, or even could, result in a deep water oil well blowout? Your analogy makes not sense.
And, money is placed in escrow all the time to insure payment as required. BP is doing this voluntarily, albeit with the insistence, but not the requirement, of the US government.
It's an what-if analogy, Jerry, not beyond the pale. ELF has committed arson here in Colorado.
It is an escrow account against future liability judgments, I'll give you that. So finally after two months he put down the golf clubs and did something. Hooray!
I don't agree with ELF's tactics but this is one left-leaning domestic terrorist group amongst how many such right-wing groups?
WHAT??? Did we break silverfish?? He is coming around SLOWLY and praising Obama??
silver the courts take too long, you know that. People whose livelihoods are destroyed can't wait 10 years for compensation. And yes compensation is warranted. BP should be thrown off our seas, the track record for violations is astounding!
Stop the stupid Beck talking points and accusations, it makes you look uneducated.
I don't listen to Glen Beck, so I don't know what you mean about Beck talking points.
I am glad Obama is taking Jindal's lead. Obama is not quite up to the governor's intellect, stature and leadership, but at least he's trying.
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/bp-oil-spill-gov-bobby-jindals-wishes-crude/story?id=10946379&page=2
then Beck reads your blog and quotes you. You're saying the same things.
Cooooooool....
"Wingers wanted President Obama to be involved, to be a leader and take control..."
No. They. Don't. We must not forget that before Mr. Obama even took the oath of office, Limbaugh and his mindless followers wanted Mr. Obama to fail. "Wingers" want to make noise and oppose every action this president takes.
They're not an opposition anymore, they're just plain obstructionists. I hope every Democratic candidate for office runs the video of Rep. Barton defending BP. Barton is an example of what the GOP has become: craven and obstructionist.
SF wrote: "You don't do it by fiat, like a tin pot dictator, you do it through the courts. We're still a country of laws last time I checked."
Really? So you'd be for giving BP the chance to hire the wiliest lawyers their deep pockets can buy to litigate this for years while the poor people who have been hurt the most get nothing?
The president, BTW, broke no laws.
SF wrote: "Can the rightwingconservative president order Greenpeace to give until he decides it's enough?"
Um. Tell us exactly how this is a hypothetical comparison. Greenpeace, as far as I can determine, has never been responsinble for a monumental disaster that ruined and affected millions of people's lives and possibly killed off most of the ecology of the Gulf.
You and others in the GOP don't like Mr. Obama and have been against everything this man has tried to do for this country.
The GOP has become the Cry Wolf Party. At some point the American people will turn it's babbling and whining off. Barton's horrendous gaff may have been the tipping point.
Really? So you'd be for giving BP the chance to hire the wiliest lawyers their deep pockets can buy to litigate this for years while the poor people who have been hurt the most get nothing?
If it's good enough for murdering terrorists, it's good enough for despoilers of the environment.
The point is, we are a democratic republic ruled by laws, not presidential fiat. Bad people have a right to hire wily lawyers.
Having said that, escrow accounts such as this are legal.
I just find it funny how Obama "ordered" it like some tinpot caudillo and the masses lap it up like the sweaty hordes who keep such demagogues in power.
The Greenpeace question is called a "hypothetical." I can't help it if you are too obtuse to understand that.
Oh come on, Silvefiddle, another bad analogy. You can do better than that.
Shaw I agree. Let me rephrase it...wingers SAID they want the president to be involved, asked where the hell is the president in this time of need. SAID he was too slow, he was not sending help fast enough. This is being said by the nuts on the rightie blogs. Yes of course we all know they want him to fail but that doesn't stop them from the screaming idiots they are in their criticism.
there have been so many red flags up for the American people, showing them the real rethug party....and this from Shaw,
"The GOP has become the Cry Wolf Party. At some point the American people will turn it's babbling and whining off. Barton's horrendous gaff may have been the tipping point."
We can only hope the people wise up, wake up and smell the thugs before its too late...
OK. Here's something concrete for those who cannot think abstractly:
Governor Jindal had those barges sucking up oil and the coast guard stopped them because they wanted blueprints and a count of fire extinguishers and life vests.
That is the kind of crap a president who is a leader steps in and puts an immediate end to.
Jindal wanted barriers built. It took Obama's government weeks...
And on and on... Even the Obama-lama-ding-dongs at MSNBC and the NY Times are expressing disappointment at the total incompetence and complete lack of leadership.
Oh come on. The barges were stopped for a day for SAFETY inspections and there is a lot of controversy about the effectiveness of Jindal's barriers.
I think "total incompetence and complete lack of leadership" is a bit of an overstatement.
silverfish is fishin' for dirt. There are times things won't go smoothly SF. We aren't the ones calling Obama the Messiah, you are. There are thousands and thousands of people working very hard in the Gulf. Just let them work without criticism. The president doesn't need to jump in and take command of every single situation, there are grown-ups working down there, not school kids.
Just let them work without criticism
You and yours are the ones blogging and screaming about it, not me...
Having served in the military in war and in peacetime, I know that there's a time for dotting the i's and crossing the t's and a time for throwing that crap out the window.
Barton did NOT apologize for the apology. He retracted it.
The Joe Barton quote and several others from Sue's post, are included in my commentary on the topic, which I titled "Conservatives Heart Bailouts".
My conclusion is that, since nobody in the Republican Party believes that BP should pay even a fraction of the total cost of the spill, obviously they believe the taxpayers should pay. Many have said as much, although that is usually followed by a retraction or a "clarification".
Jan Schakowsky's (D-IL), on the 6/17/2010 broadcast of the Rachel Maddow show, observed, "What Joe Barton said, even though it does reflect what they really believe, was not a good thing to put out there".
Exactly.
Silverfiddle is just echoing the Right wing talking points. They'd love for this to be tied up in the courts for the same amount of time the Exxon case was.
They also know that the settlement would ultimately be severely reduced, same as with the Exxon case.
What the Right is leaving out is the fact that the Establishment of the account was a result of "negotiation session" between BP, White House in which "both sides got what they wanted" [Link].
BP was NOT forced by a "dictator" to establish the fund. BP could have said NO and fought this in court. They most likely will have to go to court, although I imagine that anyone who accepts settlement money will have to agree not to sue.
um wrong SF, your side is screaming and we are highlighting the absurdity of the screams.
w-dervish, EXACTLY RIGHT! Or I should say CORRECT!
Barton made sure his apology was worded exactly right as to NOT be a real apology, what a snake..
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