A GOP chorus of Joe Bartons on the BP oil spill
Joe Barton is not alone. The Texas congressman’s lavish sympathy for BP — which he sees not as perpetrator of a preventable disaster but as victim of a White House “shakedown” — is actually what passes for mainstream opinion among conservative Republicans today.
It’s amazing how well rooted the “Chicago-style shakedown politics” meme is among the self-declared conservatives in this country.
I agree with Robinson when he says:
Yes, President Obama used the power of his office to pressure BP to set money aside for compensation. If Republicans believe he shouldn’t have, then by all means they should speak up. Come November, the voters will be able to decide who’s right.
Since it appears so many Republicans and their supporters believe in the “Chicago-style shakedown politics” meme let them run on it; The RNC and the Senate and House GOP leadership shouldn’t be disingenuous about the beliefs of so many of their fellow Republicans.