“I think it’s a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation would be subjected to what I would characterize as a ‘shakedown,’ – in this case, a $20 billion shakedown.” – Joe Barton, R-Texas. What a great way to obtain national media exposure!
His apology for those words was weak at best. After all it was taking back the words he really believed. I have not heard about any subsequent interviews with him. The conundrum is that the Gulf coast relies on oil drilling and extraction as much as fishing and tourism for its economic well being.
I am far removed from the Gulf coast but I do appreciate the ecological impact of the continuing oil spill. After all if both James Carville and Mary Matalin are upset about the impact of the spill, this situation really does rise above politics. (Digression: How did those two ever get married?)
NPR reports that Joe Barton has received $100,470 in campaign donations from oil and gas interests since the beginning of 2009, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The same group reported that since 1990, political action committees of the oil and gas industry and people who worked for it have given more than $1.4 million to Barton’s campaigns, the most of any House member during that period.
Coast Contact 