Oil and Idiots and Obama, Oh My!

Is Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) an idiot?

That is the question on the lips of every talking head and politician of every stripe. Conservatives and radical leftists alike are debating endlessly about his speaking his mind during the recent hearings on the Gulf spill. And thanks to a media who are generally supportive of El Presidente, we’re all supposed to believe that it is worthy of conversation, as well. So what is the answer? Is Joe an idiot?

And the answer is…’yes’. That is, he was an idiot, but not for the reasons the Far Left would have you to believe.

You see, Rep. Barton had the right sentiment. MSNBC this week gleefully bragged about how their boy in Washington 'shook down' BP for the fund. And the congressman is familiar with the tactics of the White House, and more importantly, with the Chicago-style politics practiced by Obama and those of his ilk. In their political world, persuasion is accompanied by threats and other strong-arm methods. Think Rahm Emmanuel, Obama’s right hand man, who is known throughout the political landscape as a hardballer. Think Rod Blagojevich, who apparently demanded political contributions before he would release federal funding and who may have extorted reporters as the Chicago Tribune. Think Bill Ayers: terrorist with whom Obama is sure he never met. In Chicago. Never-ever.

Barton was correct in thinking that Obama may have applied some Windy City pressure to BP to get them to front the $20 billion claims fund to help folks affected by the oil spill. The president had already ratcheted-up his rhetoric against British Petroleum in order to cap the huge leak in his poll numbers. But even threats from the White House aren’t enough to get that kind of scratch from any business in one 15 minute meeting.

The fact is that BP knew they were helping their own cause by offering the money for the claims fund and Obama would be able to look as if he was actually doing something. This move was most likely in the works for some time, as well. BP knew they would pay the money anyway, and this way they appeared more compassionate.

So what of the good congressman?

He was an idiot by giving the administration something useful to divert attention from their own lack of action. Barton took something that should be preordained for a catastrophe such as this and turned it into a chance for the Left to make his party look like they were in the backseat with Big Oil, getting all handsy and such. Since those stupid remarks left his mouth, it has been a daily political sleight-of-hand from the White House.



It would have been better for Barton to acknowledge that BP was absolutely culpable, and then he could have moved on to the fact that the administration has failed us yet again. How about how the administration’s insistence on ‘greening’ America apparently doesn’t mean anything when it comes to upholding drilling regulations? Or how about the entrenched bureaucracy at the Minerals Management Service was allowed to be lax on a company who continuously violated its own policies on offshore platform drilling? How about how Obama has been like a deer in the proverbial headlights when failing to react as soon as he could to this disaster? Or how nothing Obama has done has kept one bit of oil from continuing to flow into the Gulf?

Finally, where is the discussion about Obama making a speech, ostensibly about the spill, where he mainly touts yet another bloated and corrupt government program accompanied by some additional taxes?

Now, for almost the past week, the conversation was allowed to drift from these salient points…all because Rep. Barton tried to score some cheap political points. BP, and our government, are equally guilty. And by him lowering himself to the level of the Left, we again see that politics can still trump real need – just pay no attention to that oil spill behind the curtain.