Haley Barbour, Mississippi GOP governor, just one of many GOP living in a dream world. Do they not watch NEWS? Do they not venture out their back doors? This wacko rightwinger says the national press corps is the problem in the Gulf region, not this little oil gusher and the minuscule tar balls washing ashore in his beautiful state. It's those pesky news people down there reporting, getting all the tourists scared and going elsewhere for vacation this summer. The PRESS is INFLATING this massive oil spill, DAMN THEM!!
"The truth is," Barbour said, "we have had virtually no oil. If you were on the Mississippi Gulf coast anytime in the last 48 days you didn't see any oil at all. We have had a few tar balls but we have had tar balls every year, as a natural product of the Gulf of Mexico. 250,000 to 750,000 barrels of oil seep into the Gulf of Mexico through the floor every year. So, tar balls are no big deal. In fact, I read that Pensacola or the Florida beaches when they have tar balls yesterday didn't even close. They just sent people out to pick them up and throw them in the bag."
"The biggest negative impact for us has been the news coverage," Barbour added. "There has been no distinction between Grand Isle and Venice and all the places in Louisiana that we feel so terrible for that have had oil washing up on them. But to the average viewer [of] this show thinks that the whole coast from Florida to Texas is ankle-deep in oil. And of course, it's very, very bad for our tourist season. That is the real economic damage. Our first closure of fisheries in Mississippi waters came just earlier this week after about 45 days. So it may be hard for the viewer to understand, but the worst thing for us has been how our tourist season has been hurt by the misperception of what is going on down here. The Mississippi gulf coast is beautiful. As I tell people, the coast is clear. Come on down!"
This guy is dreadful, a moron for sure. How embarrassing for the thousands and thousands who have had their livelihood ripped out from under them by this horrific disaster! Even if Mississippi hasn't felt the full brunt of the oil spill, surely he has seen the pictures on TV, good grief the guy's making a fool of himself!
Barbour has been one of the most defiant skeptics about the impact of the crisis in the Gulf, comparing the spill, early on, to the sheen commonly found around ski boats.
On Sunday, Barbour joined a growing chorus of Republican lawmakers to criticize the president for putting a moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf. An investigation as to what went wrong with the BP well may not be completed. But the likelihood of another accident was statistically small, he stressed. And by the time the six-month suspension of drilling had ended, companies will have gone looking for oil off of different coastlines.
"They'll be in West Africa, Indonesia, in China, and drilling oil wells elsewhere in the world," said Barbour. "And the loss of production that we're going to suffer will make us even more dependent on the Middle East, on Venezuela, on people that aren't our friends. let me tell you one other little thing environmentalists ought to think about. The ten worst oil spills in American history, seven of them were from ships."
Barbour has skipped out on 2 meetings with President Obama but has this to offer...
As for the job that the administration was doing in handling the spill, Barbour insisted that he wanted to remain above the partisan fray. After, all, he added (with a wink and a nod) what kind of politician would he be to get in the way of another's self-destruction?
"The American people are making up their minds pretty clearly about what they think of the administration's performance in this disaster," said Barbour. "And I'll let it stand at that. You know, Napoleon said never interfere with the enemy while he's in the process of destroying himself."
What an ASSHOLE!! Oh, and one more thing, as Barbour was suggesting President Obama was "destroying himself" by not adequately responding to the spill, he had nothing negative to say about BP. For you see Barbour received $1.8 million from oil and gas companies for his gubernatorial campaign......
9 hours ago
29 comments:
Your last sentence says it all. Barbour is not only an idiot but he is also an oil whore, sucking up oil money like it was beer.
I think someone should take him out in the Gulf and drop him overboard right in the heart of the spill. And then pull him up and see if he can flap his mouth with all that oil in it.
Yes, and those birds in the photos in the post below this one are just imagining things.
"And I'll let it stand at that. You know, Napoleon said never interfere with the enemy while he's in the process of destroying himself."
I couldn't have said it better myself. Barbour's words will come back to haunt him the next time he runs for re-election.
It's so true about these GOP thugs, they don't care in the least about this disaster in the Gulf and the people affected by it. I just visited 2 conservative blogs, NOT ONE single blogger in their long blogrolls has a post up about the oil gusher. They are talking about Obamacare and immigration. What can they say about the Gulf anyway, they don't give 2 shits except to complain about the presidents reactions to it.
I hope the words of ALL the GOP are sinking in the brains of Americans.
What the real truth is is this... No matter who was in the Oval office the results thus far would be about the same.
But I can't help but remember the beating Bush took over Katrina and his response to the samre.
Politics as usual and what goes around comes around.
Guess everyone has tar balls in their eyes these days.
And the world turns.
But I can't help but remember the beating Bush took over Katrina and his response to the samre.
Because providing disaster relief after a hurricane and closing down an oil gusher under one mile of water are two completely different problems. The former is something any halfway competent national government should be able to do. The latter requires specialized technology and expertise which only oil companies, not the government, have -- which is why Obama has rightly left BP in charge of trying to do it.
If Bush were in office now, he'd be doing the same as Obama -- letting BP handle it -- because there's nothing the government can do about a problem like this.
Guess everyone has tar balls in their eyes these days.
There should be a fairly good Nikki Haley joke in that somewhere.....
Annette I believe the president is doing all he can too, the right expects miracles but only from a dem president. If it was a GOP president they would be silent as they are now but for a different reason.
RN you totally miss the point. I wasn't saying anything about the response of the president and whether or not a GOP prez could do a better job with PR. That is so immature for you on the right to keep harping on what goes around comes around. How about treating each president as they deserve to be treated, Obama does NOT deserve the same criticisms as Bush.
Infidel is correct, Katrina and oil gushes are 2 different things. This administration is not stupid, they are handling it as best they can.
"What the real truth is is this... No matter who was in the Oval office the results thus far would be about the same."
This summed it up, the opening and closing all in one.
Yes all presidents deserve to be treated based on their performance.
Bush is gone fortunately. However the replacement is no bargain trade off IMO.
Of course BP has to handle this. The government has no expertise or ability to resolve it. Especially community organizers and attorneys.
It's probably Barbour's way of saying "come down to Biloxi and spend money". Probably the casinos are taking a hit, and the fishing industry must be down as well; the waters may be open and not tainted off of Mississippi just yet, but there is no way of knowing if fish or shrimp caught in those waters may be contaminated because they came FROM contaminated areas.
By his downplaying the threat to his coastline (ask him again in August when he gets hit with a few tropical systems in the Gulf) Haley Barbour again has proved that he is the biggest, fattest GOP gasbag this side of the bigger and gassier Governor of New Jersey Who's Name I Shall Not Repeat.
(Sorry...sometimes I just can't help myself).
like we don't have any gassbags in DC.
Infidel753 said "Guess everyone has tar balls in their eyes these days.
There should be a fairly good Nikki Haley joke in that somewhere....."
I think there is a teabagger joke in there also.
Boner and McConnell do come to mind lisa, gassy as all hell!
BP has received many helpful ideas from very competent people but they choose to fix it themselves, that's not very smart of them or of President Obama to allow them this time to piddle and ponder.
Hugh don't get me started on our blowhard gasass gov. What a disgrace he is!
Sue I meant the "Lecturer in Chief" who seems to forget he isn't standing n front of a classroom any more.
Or Pelosi and Biden when they are off their meds.
Another over-reaction, Sue. What Mr. Barbour was really saying is that some places along the gulf who are fortunate enough to NOT be coated in crude oil are suffering a loss of tourism due to reports that make it sound as if the whole gulf coast is one big oil slick.
He knows the magnitude of the tragedy there, but he is only trying to help those areas who are still able to accomodate tourists to get the message out.
Can't you just report the story with a little more accuracy? It would be nice if you would try that...really nice.
Linda,
What did Sue write that was not accurate? Did she not quote him correctly?
What I am saying, Jerry, is that she is misrepresenting what he said. Her title alone gives a misrepresentation of his point. H. Barbour is perfectly aware that the oil leak is a grave situation and a huge tragedy to the economy and to the wildlife in the area. His intent was merely to point out that some places are suffering even though the oil has not surfaced around them. He was not trying to minimize the impact of the oil on the places it has affected, but rather to help those places which have no oil as of yet.
"Of course BP has to handle this. The government has no expertise or ability to resolve it. Especially community organizers and attorneys."--RN
I wonder what the two oil men, Cheney and Bush, would have done to stop the oil from flowing into the Gulf. How would their expertise in having secret energy meetings with multi-national oil companies have stemmed the gushing destruction of the Gulf?
The bad guy in all of this is BP.
It is a very rich, very powerful corporation--4th largest in the world, and it has behaved in the past [and now the present] like the Mafia with British accents.
Bush and Cheney, because they're oil men, palled around with these criminals.
I thought they use to pal around with Bill Ayers.
Linda,
What you disagree with is Sue's opinion and interpretation of what he said. That is neither inaccuracy nor misrepresentation.
It is a very rich, very powerful corporation--4th largest in the world, and it has behaved in the past [and now the present] like the Mafia with British accents.
It's important to remember not to tar (so to speak) the whole country of Britain with BP's behavior, just because it's a British company. (Shaw, I know you weren't doing that -- this just reminded me that I've been concerned that it could happen.) Ordinary British people and even the British government have no more control over what BP does in other countries than we do over what American companies like Halliburton do overseas. Any country with a big enough economy to have multi-national corporations will probably have some bad ones.
BP does have a horrible record (see post).
over reaction Linda?? What I posted here are Barbour's own words! He is more concerned with BP and what their outcome is than the thousands who have lost their livelihoods because of a Gulf FULL of OIL! For someone who blames Obama for the disaster you have a hell of a nerve woman....
Sue where did Linda blame Obama for the disaster?
Anyway the blame was already made by Arianna Huffington. She said George Bush was responsible for the disaster.
I guess if that's the case then we can blame Clinton for the levees oh and while we're at it 9/11 too.
Sue ~ This is copied directly from your post...
"The truth is," Barbour said, "we have had virtually no oil. If you were on the Mississippi Gulf coast anytime in the last 48 days you didn't see any oil at all. We have had a few tar balls but we have had tar balls every year, as a natural product of the Gulf of Mexico. 250,000 to 750,000 barrels of oil seep into the Gulf of Mexico through the floor every year. So, tar balls are no big deal. In fact, I read that Pensacola or the Florida beaches when they have tar balls yesterday didn't even close. They just sent people out to pick them up and throw them in the bag."
"The biggest negative impact for us has been the news coverage," Barbour added. "There has been no distinction between Grand Isle and Venice and all the places in Louisiana that we feel so terrible for that have had oil washing up on them. But to the average viewer [of] this show thinks that the whole coast from Florida to Texas is ankle-deep in oil. And of course, it's very, very bad for our tourist season. That is the real economic damage. Our first closure of fisheries in Mississippi waters came just earlier this week after about 45 days. So it may be hard for the viewer to understand, but the worst thing for us has been how our tourist season has been hurt by the misperception of what is going on down here. The Mississippi gulf coast is beautiful. As I tell people, the coast is clear. Come on down!"
You tell me where my statements were wrong. It is EXACTLY as I stated.
By the way, I have never at any point stated that I blamed Obama for the disaster...that is a ridiculous accusation for you to make. I don't blame him for the leak, but I do question his slow response to the pleas for help in stopping the oil from reaching land...period! Get your facts straight, please.
I stick by my post, Barbour is a buffoon and an ASSHOLE...
yes you do question his SLOW response and that is rediculous!
From Linda's blog post today:
This clip shows him to be defensive and making excuses for his administration's ineffective and late response to helping the people in the Gulf. He may not be able to stop the oil leak, but he could have made sure that the people in the area had more of the resources they needed to try to keep the floating oil away from their coastlines. Instead, he has been vacationing, hosting music events, playing golf and basketball, and telling the American people how "hard" he is working to stop the leak. This interview with Matt Lauer shows us his angry defensive side. The American public deserves a better role model as well as a better representative of our nation. More dignity....PLEASE!
Please give ME a break! Which leads me to my next post, Obama has been on this disaster from day one...
he was there in between Kelly Clarkson,Faith Hill,Paul McCartney,fund raisers,White House Parties and countless golf games.
Glad some people can afford to have so much fun.
Sue ~ ...and your point is???
I said that I did not blame Obama for the disaster, but that I found his response to be slow and too little to help keep the oil away from shore.
the left invited the blame game after all the Bush bashing after Katrina and because the lack of competence of the NO Governor and Mayor and their failure to evacuate their city.
Assholes couldn't even stock the Superdome with water but they can supply it with food and drink for 50,000 people for a football game.
The left destroyed the focus from the victims because they sound just like their now Blamer in Chief.
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