"The Apology" Was Just Basic Republicanism

I'm sure you have probably heard about Rep. "Smoky" Joe Barton (R-Texas) and his little faux pas by now. The corporate-owned congressman apologized to BP for getting "shaken down" by the Obama administration (because the president convinced them to put $20 billion into an escrow account to pay for damages caused by their disastrous oil leak). He thought BP was being mistreated because the president wanted them to pay for the damages they caused to the Gulf and its coastline.

Frankly, this "apology" didn't surprise me at all. The Republican Party has always sided with the corporate interests against ordinary Americans. They defended the huge insurance and pharmaceutical companies during the debate over health care. They are currently defending the big Wall Street banks and trying to defeat the re-regulation of Wall Street. It only makes sense that they would leap to protect the big oil companies during the current crises in the Gulf.

But this time they got called on their defense of corporate interests over citizen interests because the American people are paying attention to the Gulf's destruction by Big Oil. And it didn't take them long to realize they had a publicity nightmare on their hands. A huge majority of Americans are in no mood to let BP off the hook or listen to any apologies to them by politicians. Americans rightfully want BP to pay for the damage they have caused.

So the Republicans are now trying to back-pedal. Their leadership got "Smoky" Joe (pictured) to apologize for his apology and now they are trying to act like this was just a mistake by one Republican and not a position of the party (or at least a majority of the party). But that is just not true.

The fact is that the Republican Study Committee (the conservative caucus of House members) actually took this position before Barton's ridiculous apology. Barton may not have phrased it well, but he was just touting the party line. Here is what the Republican Study Committee said:

BP’s reported willingness to go along with the White House’s new fund suggests that the Obama Administration is hard at work exerting its brand of Chicago-style shakedown politics. These actions are emblematic of a politicization of our economy that has been borne out of this Administration’s drive for greater power and control. It is the same mentality that believes an economic crisis or an environmental disaster is the best opportunity to pursue a failed liberal agenda. The American people know much better.

And don't think this is a position taken by a small group of Republicans. There are at least 115 Republican House members in the Republican Study Committee and they all agreed to the release of that statement. That sounds like a clear majority of Congressional Republicans to me. Here is a list of those 115 House members.