Not Wanting To Take On The Big Fur Hat Here. . .

Posted on | June 17, 2010 | 38 Comments

by Smitty

Everyone, by now, has heard that Representative Joe Barton, from Texas, apologized to BP’s Tony Hayward for the “shakedown” they received from the Obama administration.
Geez. Talk about a tin ear. Barton, everyone but BP and their family wants BP to pay for the clean up, so, you lost everyone with your “apology” to Hayward. For style points alone you get the raspberry.

Is the ear really tin, or is Barton just dispassionate? All of the evidence thus far points to a colossal screw-up on BP’s part. And they’re not going to spend significant cash to make amends sooner than required. So it can be seen as a Not Bad Thing that BHO spared 20 minutes of golf time to offer encouragement.

But wait. Have all survivors been interviewed? Have they raised the Deepwater Horizon, to ensure we’re not remembering the Maine here?

You’ll notice, if you check out Daniel Foster’s live blog, it took the WH ~.5 hours (as opposed to 5 weeks) to hammer Barton, emphasis mine:

11:54 A.M.: The White House issued a response to the Barton statement. “What is shameful is that Joe Barton seems to have more concern for big corporations that caused the disaster,” than for its victims, the White House said. “Most Americans know that the real tragedy is what men and women of the Gulf coast are going through right now.” The statement goes on to say that both parties should “repudiate” Barton’s comments.

No, Barton was concerned with due process.

Now, granted, BP isn’t a private citizen of Louisiana destroyed by all this, and Barton isn’t the ACLU, but the Obama Administration couldn’t lead two nuns in one minute of silent prayer, to say nothing of handling the Federal end of a disaster relief operation.

The final report, after a thorough investigation, could very well show that $20B is merely an overture. However, if this incident proves as steeped in creepy as everything else from the past 18 months, we’re better off awaiting the results of that investigation. Oh, wait: Eric Holder is on the case? That knob can’t even manage a blatantly obvious election case. OK, we’re tubed.

Oh, and the BlogProf notes that the people who’re going to pay the $20B are British pensioners. Let’s here it for the “special relationship”, shall we?

Update: check Ace’s Alternate Reality Version.

Category: Barack Obama, Blogging

Comments

38 Responses to “Not Wanting To Take On The Big Fur Hat Here. . .”

Danby
June 17th, 2010 @ 10:41 pm

No, Barton was concerned with due process.</blockquote?

Sorry Smitty, but no. Barton was concerned with the tens of thousands of his constituents that are BP employees. And the tens of thousands more that are employees of other oil companies. And the tens of thousands that are being laid off due to the Obama administration's decision to stop all offshore drilling. Justice and due process had nothing to do with it. It may not play well in DC or NY, but I'm sure his apology played well in Houston.
Danby
June 17th, 2010 @ 6:41 pm

No, Barton was concerned with due process.</blockquote?

Sorry Smitty, but no. Barton was concerned with the tens of thousands of his constituents that are BP employees. And the tens of thousands more that are employees of other oil companies. And the tens of thousands that are being laid off due to the Obama administration's decision to stop all offshore drilling. Justice and due process had nothing to do with it. It may not play well in DC or NY, but I'm sure his apology played well in Houston.
Joe
June 17th, 2010 @ 10:51 pm

Danby’s right. Barton is cocerned about his constituents who depend on the oil industry as a whole. Hell, Mary Landrieu has said as much (at least in a general sense). Barton’s comments play well in Houston.

Where Barton is screwing up is trying to defend BP–which politically is insane for the party. This is Obama’s problem. The last thing the GOP needs to do is get in Obama’s way. Which is why John Boehner took Barton to the woodshed.
Joe
June 17th, 2010 @ 6:51 pm

Danby’s right. Barton is cocerned about his constituents who depend on the oil industry as a whole. Hell, Mary Landrieu has said as much (at least in a general sense). Barton’s comments play well in Houston.

Where Barton is screwing up is trying to defend BP–which politically is insane for the party. This is Obama’s problem. The last thing the GOP needs to do is get in Obama’s way. Which is why John Boehner took Barton to the woodshed.
Stogie
June 17th, 2010 @ 11:00 pm

Well Rush Limbaugh today clearly agrees with Smitty. Obama is shaking BP down for $20 billion without due process or a court hearing or anything else. And you can bet BO will spend that huge fund on reelecting Democrats.
Stogie
June 17th, 2010 @ 7:00 pm

Well Rush Limbaugh today clearly agrees with Smitty. Obama is shaking BP down for $20 billion without due process or a court hearing or anything else. And you can bet BO will spend that huge fund on reelecting Democrats.
BigFurHat
June 17th, 2010 @ 11:21 pm

I see Barton’s point. And I think a case can be made that Obama “shook down” BP.

But a beautifully played pure violin note bowed at the wrong measure is a liability to the movement.

I don’t care if in principle Barton is correct, the overall picture was, as perceived by Joe Six Pack, that BP polluted the Gulf, Obama wasn’t doing enough to help, both were equally inept (if not evil), Obama finally did something and secured some money to alleviate some of the fiscal worries over this. Then Barton apologized to BP for what Obama did, an action that non-inside baseball America will see as a good thing, not a shakedown.

So, politically speaking (and I’m only discussing this from the perspective of dispassionate politics) the Republicans were in a very advantageous position as observers and peanut gallery razzers.
Barton injected himself into the mix, muddying the narrative, for the worse, setting himself up, unnecessarily, as a razzing recipient.
Stupid move.

Especially since he went rogue, obviously. He needs censuring and censoring, and duct taping.
BigFurHat
June 17th, 2010 @ 7:21 pm

I see Barton’s point. And I think a case can be made that Obama “shook down” BP.

But a beautifully played pure violin note bowed at the wrong measure is a liability to the movement.

I don’t care if in principle Barton is correct, the overall picture was, as perceived by Joe Six Pack, that BP polluted the Gulf, Obama wasn’t doing enough to help, both were equally inept (if not evil), Obama finally did something and secured some money to alleviate some of the fiscal worries over this. Then Barton apologized to BP for what Obama did, an action that non-inside baseball America will see as a good thing, not a shakedown.

So, politically speaking (and I’m only discussing this from the perspective of dispassionate politics) the Republicans were in a very advantageous position as observers and peanut gallery razzers.
Barton injected himself into the mix, muddying the narrative, for the worse, setting himself up, unnecessarily, as a razzing recipient.
Stupid move.

Especially since he went rogue, obviously. He needs censuring and censoring, and duct taping.
nicholas
June 17th, 2010 @ 11:32 pm

“What is shameful is that Joe Barton seems to have more concern for big corporations that caused the disaster”

– White House

So the White House has set the puppet stage for us dope constituents, and guess what, BP execs and the dreaded corporate types get black hats,while Barry gets a nice white one, and heaven forbid anyone upset this theater of the absurd.

I am embarrassed, flat out embarrassed and ashamed at the way this presidency deals with crisis (delay and politicization for some issue of secondary gain), with private industry (demonizes, extorts, threatens and nationalizes) and with the American people.

Barton may be defending constituents and at the same time placing his party on the wrong side of the us vs them game the Dems are playing, again, and I think Danby and the boys are on the money as far as that goes, but to tell you the truth the whole thing makes me sick. The crass debasement of the White House, the manipulation of the American people, the subversion of American values …. this isn’t the nation I was raised in. I want that nation back, and those that don’t can take a hike.
nicholas
June 17th, 2010 @ 7:32 pm

“What is shameful is that Joe Barton seems to have more concern for big corporations that caused the disaster”

– White House

So the White House has set the puppet stage for us dope constituents, and guess what, BP execs and the dreaded corporate types get black hats,while Barry gets a nice white one, and heaven forbid anyone upset this theater of the absurd.

I am embarrassed, flat out embarrassed and ashamed at the way this presidency deals with crisis (delay and politicization for some issue of secondary gain), with private industry (demonizes, extorts, threatens and nationalizes) and with the American people.

Barton may be defending constituents and at the same time placing his party on the wrong side of the us vs them game the Dems are playing, again, and I think Danby and the boys are on the money as far as that goes, but to tell you the truth the whole thing makes me sick. The crass debasement of the White House, the manipulation of the American people, the subversion of American values …. this isn’t the nation I was raised in. I want that nation back, and those that don’t can take a hike.
jefferson101
June 18th, 2010 @ 12:00 am

While I lean toward thinking that Barton was basically right in his objections to Obama making and declaring law, let us be a bit less histrionic about the poor British Pensioners, please.

If BP screwed up and gets hammered, so be it. Nobody worried about the “Poor American Retirees” when Fannie and Freddie took a total nosedive, now did they?

You pays your money and you takes your chances. I’m sorry for them that BP was the only game in town, but that doesn’t change the picture much for me. My retirement moved back five years because of the late and still ongoing issues with our market. Why should I pay to clean up the Gulf so that BP investors in the UK don’t have to? Can I keep working until I’m 75 to support them?????

Inquiring minds want to know!
jefferson101
June 17th, 2010 @ 8:00 pm

While I lean toward thinking that Barton was basically right in his objections to Obama making and declaring law, let us be a bit less histrionic about the poor British Pensioners, please.

If BP screwed up and gets hammered, so be it. Nobody worried about the “Poor American Retirees” when Fannie and Freddie took a total nosedive, now did they?

You pays your money and you takes your chances. I’m sorry for them that BP was the only game in town, but that doesn’t change the picture much for me. My retirement moved back five years because of the late and still ongoing issues with our market. Why should I pay to clean up the Gulf so that BP investors in the UK don’t have to? Can I keep working until I’m 75 to support them?????

Inquiring minds want to know!
smitty
June 18th, 2010 @ 12:04 am

@jefferson101,
Point taken on Fanny/Freddy. Redirect to you on the bondholders in GM and Chrysler, whose situation more closely resembles the BP shareholders, AFAICT.

It’s one thing to take risk and lose in a fair market.

It’s quite another for some gangster to distort that market and pick your pocket, when he also owns the court and the media.

Welcome to totalitarianism. “Freedom _from_ choice is what you got.”–Devo
smitty
June 17th, 2010 @ 8:04 pm

@jefferson101,
Point taken on Fanny/Freddy. Redirect to you on the bondholders in GM and Chrysler, whose situation more closely resembles the BP shareholders, AFAICT.

It’s one thing to take risk and lose in a fair market.

It’s quite another for some gangster to distort that market and pick your pocket, when he also owns the court and the media.

Welcome to totalitarianism. “Freedom _from_ choice is what you got.”–Devo
nicholas
June 18th, 2010 @ 12:17 am

“It’s one thing to take risk and lose in a fair market. It’s quite another for some gangster to distort that market and pick your pocket, when he also owns the court and the media.”

On the money, Smitty. And the US citizenry gets to play the part of willing dupes. It’s disgraceful.
nicholas
June 17th, 2010 @ 8:17 pm

“It’s one thing to take risk and lose in a fair market. It’s quite another for some gangster to distort that market and pick your pocket, when he also owns the court and the media.”

On the money, Smitty. And the US citizenry gets to play the part of willing dupes. It’s disgraceful.
BigFurHat
June 18th, 2010 @ 12:50 am

Smitty’s point could have been made without Barton adding the APOLOGY part to BP. That part was totally unnecessary and completely trumped the point he was making, that Obama is a thug.

If he wanted to apologize to BP he could have said, “I’m sorry that environmental whackos on the left pushed you guys into outer space which exacerbated this tragedy, which in turn Obama, one of the whackos, now exploits to try and bankrupt or control yet another private sector industry.”

There. That’s an apology to BP that can’t be exploited by the left.
BigFurHat
June 17th, 2010 @ 8:50 pm

Smitty’s point could have been made without Barton adding the APOLOGY part to BP. That part was totally unnecessary and completely trumped the point he was making, that Obama is a thug.

If he wanted to apologize to BP he could have said, “I’m sorry that environmental whackos on the left pushed you guys into outer space which exacerbated this tragedy, which in turn Obama, one of the whackos, now exploits to try and bankrupt or control yet another private sector industry.”

There. That’s an apology to BP that can’t be exploited by the left.
Adobe Walls
June 18th, 2010 @ 12:52 am

We are at the mercy of a regime that believes that due process of law or right and wrong for that matter are what ever they need it to mean at the moment. How scary this is depends on how tough one believes restoring this nation inevitably becomes.
As BP had already sold their soul to the Bolsheviks on Cap and Tax I’ll shed no tears for them. I get that they believe that some how by kowtowing they get to survive to make money again someday. At least when the previous administration with Haliburton et al engaged in their bundled soul derivative swaps they kept their commitments to each other. Does any one actually believe that in the end BP gets to survive assimilation with any assets intact now that the Social Democrats have them at their mercy?
Adobe Walls
June 17th, 2010 @ 8:52 pm

We are at the mercy of a regime that believes that due process of law or right and wrong for that matter are what ever they need it to mean at the moment. How scary this is depends on how tough one believes restoring this nation inevitably becomes.
As BP had already sold their soul to the Bolsheviks on Cap and Tax I’ll shed no tears for them. I get that they believe that some how by kowtowing they get to survive to make money again someday. At least when the previous administration with Haliburton et al engaged in their bundled soul derivative swaps they kept their commitments to each other. Does any one actually believe that in the end BP gets to survive assimilation with any assets intact now that the Social Democrats have them at their mercy?
smitty
June 18th, 2010 @ 12:55 am

@BigFurHat
Smitty’s point could have been made without Barton adding the APOLOGY part to BP. That part was totally unnecessary and completely trumped the point he was making, that Obama is a thug.

I think you’ve split the argument admirably here, sir.
smitty
June 17th, 2010 @ 8:55 pm

@BigFurHat
Smitty’s point could have been made without Barton adding the APOLOGY part to BP. That part was totally unnecessary and completely trumped the point he was making, that Obama is a thug.

I think you’ve split the argument admirably here, sir.
Stupidest Statement Of The Year? : The Other McCain
June 17th, 2010 @ 9:22 pm

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jefferson101
June 18th, 2010 @ 2:00 am

Smitty:

Fannie/Freddie, or GM/Chrysler? Different coins, but both the same “Heads I win, Tails you lose” attitude on the part of the .Gov, as far as I see it. The outcome is the same regarding who gets ripped off, which would be the “Pensioners” in British language.

Did I hear the same concern for the Exxon retirees when our .Gov was trying to clean them out?

Not to put too fine of an edge on it, but when I do retire, all my holdings are going into Cash or commodities. Money, monetary metals, and other readily convertible assets.

I’m also adding brass, copper, and lead to the mix, just in case.
jefferson101
June 17th, 2010 @ 10:00 pm

Smitty:

Fannie/Freddie, or GM/Chrysler? Different coins, but both the same “Heads I win, Tails you lose” attitude on the part of the .Gov, as far as I see it. The outcome is the same regarding who gets ripped off, which would be the “Pensioners” in British language.

Did I hear the same concern for the Exxon retirees when our .Gov was trying to clean them out?

Not to put too fine of an edge on it, but when I do retire, all my holdings are going into Cash or commodities. Money, monetary metals, and other readily convertible assets.

I’m also adding brass, copper, and lead to the mix, just in case.
theCL
June 18th, 2010 @ 2:07 am

When I heard the statement I took it completely different from everybody here. I thought “good for him for saying it!”

I watched some of the congressional circus today. What an embarrassment. These people aren’t qualified to question 3rd graders on what they had for lunch, let alone a major oil exec about a problem they clearly don’t understand. I detailed the governments involvement in this spill on my blog. I want to know when they will be held responsible. For anything.

And don’t give me any grief over “taking sides,” there’s a lot of blame to go around. If it were up to me, there’d be no liability caps, etc. But watching those clowns in Washington grill BP made me sick. Why don’t they try pointing those fingers in the mirror?

Shakedown … Look, that’s exactly what happened. The Obama regime would make Al Capone proud. It’s one thing to want BP to pay for what they should pay for, but it’s an entirely different story when they’re being robbed. If Americans on the right support such gansta methods as this … I don’t know this country anymore.

And the politics … Look, if the right can’t speak up and speak the truth until it penetrates through, why speak at all? Why play the game by the left’s rules? Then again, I’m the last of the genuine limited government types out there. Canada is starting to look freer by the day.
theCL
June 17th, 2010 @ 10:07 pm

When I heard the statement I took it completely different from everybody here. I thought “good for him for saying it!”

I watched some of the congressional circus today. What an embarrassment. These people aren’t qualified to question 3rd graders on what they had for lunch, let alone a major oil exec about a problem they clearly don’t understand. I detailed the governments involvement in this spill on my blog. I want to know when they will be held responsible. For anything.

And don’t give me any grief over “taking sides,” there’s a lot of blame to go around. If it were up to me, there’d be no liability caps, etc. But watching those clowns in Washington grill BP made me sick. Why don’t they try pointing those fingers in the mirror?

Shakedown … Look, that’s exactly what happened. The Obama regime would make Al Capone proud. It’s one thing to want BP to pay for what they should pay for, but it’s an entirely different story when they’re being robbed. If Americans on the right support such gansta methods as this … I don’t know this country anymore.

And the politics … Look, if the right can’t speak up and speak the truth until it penetrates through, why speak at all? Why play the game by the left’s rules? Then again, I’m the last of the genuine limited government types out there. Canada is starting to look freer by the day.
H. G. Fielding
June 18th, 2010 @ 2:52 am

jefferson101,

brass and lead are excellent hedges against instability of any kind –particlularly when enclosing a smokeless, explosive propellant.
H. G. Fielding
June 17th, 2010 @ 10:52 pm

jefferson101,

brass and lead are excellent hedges against instability of any kind –particlularly when enclosing a smokeless, explosive propellant.
Estragon
June 18th, 2010 @ 3:38 am

If Obama can demand a $20 billion “fund” from BP and put a crony in charge of it, and his FCC can in effect seize the broadband internet industry by decree as they say they will do Friday, we are a few more steps down the road to dictatorship.

Barton was right in the first place and should not have apologized. Politically it may be expedient to throw BP to the bloodlust of the mob, and they are not worthy of the sacrifice necessary to stand up for them, but sometimes the truth simply must be told. “First they came for BP and I did not speak out . . .”
Estragon
June 17th, 2010 @ 11:38 pm

If Obama can demand a $20 billion “fund” from BP and put a crony in charge of it, and his FCC can in effect seize the broadband internet industry by decree as they say they will do Friday, we are a few more steps down the road to dictatorship.

Barton was right in the first place and should not have apologized. Politically it may be expedient to throw BP to the bloodlust of the mob, and they are not worthy of the sacrifice necessary to stand up for them, but sometimes the truth simply must be told. “First they came for BP and I did not speak out . . .”
nicholas
June 18th, 2010 @ 3:57 am

Canada does not look free by comparison CL, and you are not the last of the limited government types.
nicholas
June 17th, 2010 @ 11:57 pm

Canada does not look free by comparison CL, and you are not the last of the limited government types.
Cousin Sam
June 18th, 2010 @ 5:40 am

The problem is not that he apologized to BP, the problem is that he phrased it wrong.

“On behalf of America, I, Joe Barton, apologize to the thousands of employees of BP who stand to lose their jobs to pay for this extortion by the White House”

Had he said it that way, there could be no misrepresentation of who he was apologizing to or why he was apologizing. When he just says “BP”, the White House is free to mis-characterize it as “the rich executives of BP”.
Cousin Sam
June 18th, 2010 @ 1:40 am

The problem is not that he apologized to BP, the problem is that he phrased it wrong.

“On behalf of America, I, Joe Barton, apologize to the thousands of employees of BP who stand to lose their jobs to pay for this extortion by the White House”

Had he said it that way, there could be no misrepresentation of who he was apologizing to or why he was apologizing. When he just says “BP”, the White House is free to mis-characterize it as “the rich executives of BP”.
Blake
June 18th, 2010 @ 3:12 pm

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Blake
June 18th, 2010 @ 11:12 am

Check out this take on President Obama and his actions:

http://tinyurl.com/27qaafe
Sandy Goodman Thinks The BP Squeeze Was Not ‘Fascism-Fascism’ : The Other McCain
June 21st, 2010 @ 7:02 am

[…] useful idiot, David Brooks, for his PBS NewsHour appearance Friday night.At issue is whether the Joe Barton apology can be seen as standing up for the rule of law. Goodman:Those laws, Brooks reminded us, protect the […]