Looks like Joe Barton's Energy Committee seat is safe

[housewolf]

NRCC chairman Pete Sessions, whose job it is to increase GOP ranks in the House, says Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) will likely retain his post as the top Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Asked last night after a House vote if Barton may face further repercussions for apologizing to BP CEO Tony Hayward, Sessions told reporters that Barton's already paid his penance.

"I don't think that's the direction we're headed in," Sessions said. "...I believe that Joe has adequately addressed the issue."

Sessions noted numerous times that he was speaking as a member of the GOP leadership team (he is the fourth ranking Republican under Minority Leader John Boehner, Whip Eric Cantor, and Conference Chair Mike Pence ) and not as a rank and file member of the House. Boehner, Cantor and Pence organized last week's rapid response to the Barton flap, in which anonymous GOP leadership aides left the door open to further recriminations.

This week, Sessions was fairly adamant that the party would take no further action againts Barton. Expect the Democrats to have a lot of fun with this one.


http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/nrcc-chair-pete-sessions-says-no-further-punishment-for-barton.php?ref=fpb

[gratuitous]

1. Barton hewed his party's line

He was in no danger at all at any time. Oh, there was some unpleasantness about how baldly stated the party's fealty to corporate overlords was, but all in all, Barton articulated with his apology to Tony Hayward precisely what the GOP stands for. Ask your Republican friends and acquaintances how they feel about that. If Barton's craven apology was so repugnant to them and their party, why didn't anything happen to him?

[Subdivisions]

2. It's a weak man that can't stand behind his own words. n/t

[grantcart]

3. "Its starting to look alot like Christmas"

[AndyA]

4. Good. Gives the Democrats something to point out during the election this fall.

Pretty clear where the Oil/Big Business/Fuck America Republican Party stands.

Should be a good election for Democrats. If the GOP keeps it up, I'm going to guess the Dems gain seats in both houses, because the Pukes sure don't have anything to get excited about.

[demwing]

6. Truly. Dems won't have to WIN anything

It looks as if we just have to step aside and let the GOP implode their way into permanent opposition party status.

[KharmaTrain]

5. Barton's A Hero...

Tweety for all his warts pointed this out yesterday when he had a rushpublican congresscritter on and tried to get him to say something bad about El Rushbo...this shitstain kept saying "I speak for myself"...meanwhile you could see the strings being pulled.

If you listen to any white wing hate radio (it's gone off the right wing edge), Barton's a hero...BP or no BP, these fukwads are so conflicted they see this as more "socialism". The word "Shakedown" was a big time dog whistle...a reference to the attempts by Jesse Jackson and PUSH to harass businesses to get better job opportunities for blacks but ended up taking cash to go away instead. This story and others have been perpetuated to the "dittoheads" over the years and why this word as well as "Chicago Style Politics" are used.

One would hope the Democrats can tie the GOOP and BP and use Barton as a poster child...