Obama slams Republican 'apology' to BP

[sabra]

Source: AFP

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama lampooned Republicans over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill Wednesday, seeking to turn a disaster that has been a political liability for him into a political weapon.

Obama cited a gaffe by a leading Republican lawmaker who said the US government's hardline tactics were a "tragedy" for BP, to lambast the opposition party as the pace heats up ahead of November's mid-term elections.

He said some Republicans opposed raising the legal cap on liabilities BP must pay to clean-up America's worst environmental disaster and a 20 billion dollar BP escrow compensation fund for businesses victimized by it.

"The top Republican on the energy committee even had the nerve to apologize to BP for the fact that we made them set up this fund," Obama said in remarks released by the White House prior to a presidential event in Wisconsin.

"Apologize to BP! He actually called the fund a tragedy. A tragedy? A tragedy is what the people of the Gulf are going through right now.

"That's the tragedy. And our government has a responsibility to hold the corporations accountable that caused it. They want to take us backwards. We want to move forward."

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hDKq...

[opihimoimoi]

1. Them Pubs must be choking on their bile right about now

KnR

[Enrique]

2. sweet!

keep bringing it up, keep people talking about it.

[Pirate Smile]

3. Is this what he is going to say in Wisconsin later? I don't see where he said it. I know he will

be going after Boehner's ant comment.

[SpiralHawk]

4. "We apologize (for aplogizing publicly)." - Republicons

"We are sooooo sorry that our Corporate groveling drew public notice. We should have groveled before our corporate overlords occultly, as usual, behind closed doors.

- Republicons

[tweeternik]

5. Amen!!

I hope he starts "slapping" that little prick Jindl around too!

[Zorra]

6. Barton only expressed what all republicans believe. They grovel before their corporate majesties

like whupped puppies.

[BlueIdaho]

7. Rip the bark off of them Mr. President.

[and-justice-for-all]

8. Kick their ass Mr. President!!! nt

[katandmoon]

9. If "moving forward" means holding BP accountable, why doesn't it mean holding BushCo accountable?

[tom_paine]

10. The Bushigandtists in Corporate M$M keep hammering home those RW Linguistic frames

"Obama blasts"

"Obama slams"

FOX News used "blasts", because of course it connotes belligerence and cynical strategic manipulation.

You know, EXACTLY what the Rushpublics themselves are doing and have been doing since they opted for 24/7 demagoguery to much great success some 40 years ago.

Ever notice the term demogoguery and demagogue have been completely edited out of our National Dialogue?

Can't let us Plebians be exposed to any context or history or anything like that.

I will say again, the RW's Triumph of the Will is far more powerful than Hitler could ever have dreamed of. Hitler didn't have the vast array of advnaced PR and marketing tools that the modern Bushie RW, so perhaps it's not fair to compare the two.

Ed Bernays was just getting started when Hitler used his work to murder 6,000,000 Jews, 5,000,000 Poles, gypsies, gays, and 20,000,000 more with his Bush-financed War Machine.

Carl Jung was right, way back in 1910 or so when he correctly stated that future wars would not be against people, but against our own psychoses.

I might add that such psychoses have and apparently always will be, cultivated by our Aristocratic Rulers so as to keep us fighting each other like bugs in bottles and to keep them farting through silk for the rest of human history (which probably doesn't have that much longer to run, in geologic and maybe literal terms).

[Soylent Brice]

11. K&R

[groundloop]

12. Let's see the GOPers wiggle their way out of this !!!

[Arkana]

13. Good, but he should have thrown in this line to REALLY twist the knife:

After the line about tragedy: "This was a tragedy born out of a lack of oversight and a complete disregard not only for rig worker safety on BP's part, but for the thousands of people on the Gulf Coast who make their livelihoods from it as well."

[classysassy]

14. All democrats

should shift into an attack mode,they have been too quiet too long.(Mr President sic Bo on those sleezy thugs)

[newtothegame]

15. It's not a gaffe if it's what you meant to say. nt