Gulf oil spill puts industry-friendly Republicans in tight spot

[ProSense]

Source: Washington Post

Who says there's no such thing as loyalty in politics?

Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Tex.), who has received more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from the oil industry during this election cycle, revealed Thursday that he may be the only person in America who believes that BP deserves an apology for the way it has been treated during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Although Barton later retracted his suggestion that BP was the victim of a White House "shakedown" -- after House GOP leaders threatened to take away his position as ranking Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee -- the episode showed the uncomfortable spot in which some Republicans find themselves.

This is not the moment to be seen as coddling Big Oil. The GOP leadership has laid out a set of talking points that spread blame in all directions -- toward the company, the White House and the regulators who looked the other way.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/17/AR2010061705992.html?hpid=topnews

[KT2000]

1. They have made themselves

very vulnerable. They are blatant in their support of corporations over people. I just hope most of the country is listening to them.
Dem politicians need to point that out often.

[Lasher]

2. They can't un-say the things they've said before.

"Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholder's equity – myself especially – are in a state of shocked disbelief." - Alan Greenspan, libertarian Republican

Big oil doesn't self-regulate very well either. Could be there's something wrong with basic Repbulican ideology. Ya think?