Who are the BP Republicans?
It’s really a shame that BP has been left all alone, standing in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico holding the million-plus-gallon barrel of oil that gulf has become. We really should have more sympathy for the likes of Tony Hayward. After all, his personal life has been seriously disrupted by all this. Now, to make matters worse, the Obama administration continues to push for a moratorium on all new offshore drilling and BP has been “forced” to set aside $20 billion (and probably more) for clean-up and relief to affected Gulf residents.
Fortunately for BP, the company still has some loyal friends in high places, there to nurse their scapegoat back to health even if it means wide public embarrassment and ridicule by anyone who isn’t completely blind to BP’s culpability in the worst oil disaster in U.S. history.
These are the BP Republicans. These are the poor saps who are either so deep in Big Oil’s pocket or unfathomably detached from public opinion and solid politicking that they remain staunchly in BP’s corner. Indeed, the oil that once quietly lined their pockets now drips from their ears.
Now you may have heard these greasy stalwarts expressing their love for BP on the airways, especially lamenting any recourse to make BP pay for its mistakes and negligence. But just in case you’re not sure exactly who is and who isn’t prestigious enough to be a BP Republican, the Democratic National Committee has been sporting enough to give them their very own website, complete with complementary list as follows:
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Rep. Joe Barton: The unassailable king of the BP Republicans, this Congressmen openly apologized to BP executives and called the $20 billion relief fund a “tragedy of the first proportion,” “a shakedown” and cutely iced his cake with these words for BP’s Tony Hayward: “I apologize. I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong, is subject to some sort of political pressure that is, again, in my words, amounts to a shakedown. So I apologize.” A beautiful apology by the Joe the Oil Barton.
Rep. Steve King: Defending his fearless leader, Representative Steve King noted in a radio interview on the Laura Ingraham Show that Joe Barton was “spot-on.” Hailing from Colorado, King now sits on the House Transportation and Energy Committee — a good Republican for BP to have.
Rand Paul: This Kentucky Republican is running for Senate this year and running to the defense of BP, reportedly calling President Obama’s attempt to hold BP responsible “un-American.” As much as I hate to say it, based on the majority of what we’ve seen come out of Congress in recent years…he may be right.
Sharron Angle: Another Senate candidate, this time from Nevada, Sharron Angle is understandably upset by the tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico. That “slush fund” is unconscionable! “Government shouldn’t be doing that to a private company,” she asserted on talk radio. The only answer, says Nevada’s “slickest” Senate nominee, is to further deregulate the oil industry — the perfect solution to our energy crisis, which by Sharron’s angle appears to be any payment by an oil company for anything they do wrong, regardless of effect on 
Rep. Michelle Bachman: The queen of the BP Republicans has taken that awesome, super-relevant anti-Chavez-ian stance that the BP relief fund is (gasp) a “redistribution of wealth.” This is masked politi-speak for Pinko-Commie-revenge game, or something like that. Michelle has also claimed that global warming is a hoax and that “Carbon dioxide is not a harmful gas, it is a harmless gas.” (Posted on July 13th in Solar Politics by Dan.
July 13th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
But isn’t it Obama who got the most money from BP in his campaign, of anyone?
Seems a bit disingenuous, this write up.
July 14th, 2010 at 6:17 am
How handy for you. As you stated the “Dems” provided this. Reads more like the DNC attack list. Please get your facts correct then lets have a two way dialog, not a one way blind attack.
July 14th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Obama did receive a large amount of money linked back to BP, but those were individuals who worked for BP, not on behalf of the company. The actual contribution from oil companies was quite small (although quite large for a Dem candidate). There are many more Senators and Reps who annually pull in contributions that make his seem like pocket change.
Mark, yes it is definitely a DNC attack list. That is the point of it because these are elected officials who would rather support BP in this mess than the thousands of people in the Gulf region who are actually being affected by the spill. Last I checked both parties are guilty of doing things like this, it’s part of campaigning and life in politics. This blog just happens to side with the party that supports clean energy in this country (since clean energy is paying the bills AND saving our planet).
July 15th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Good job Taylen, I salute you! Thank you on behalf of those of us who did not write what you did but agree with you!
July 16th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Obama has been a coward since the spill started and has shown now leadership. How about showing all who has taken money from oil companies. This is a poor display of one sided ignorant journalism. Having a welfare state is going to make everyones lives without any hope, and just change in our pockets.