Joe Barton: Moron

[nathanm]

WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - A Texas Republican apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward on Thursday for having to set aside $20 billion for Gulf of Mexico damage claims, drawing ridicule from Democrats and embarrassing Republicans.

Barton stuck to his position. "I just think it is very un-American to have the president of the United States demand $20 billion and have a company agree without being able to exercise all its rights under our system of laws and precedents," he told Reuters.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1721590120100617

What, exactly, is unamerican about asking someone to do something voluntarily? How does that prevent them from going to the courts (unless they agreed to contract away their rights). Speaking of which, if Joe Barton is so against choosing not to exercise one's rights, why again is he on the side of big business, most of which require us to contract away our rights if we want just about any sort of service?

[Conan71]

The $20 bln is all theatrics to start with.  They are not making a $20bln cash deposit this week.  My understanding is that they will also encumber assets such as oil leases.

[nathanm]

The $20 bln is all theatrics to start with.  They are not making a $20bln cash deposit this week.  My understanding is that they will also encumber assets such as oil leases.

I wouldn't go so far as to say "all" theatrics, as it should result in a more fair claims process if the guy Obama appointed to oversee the fund is as good as he's been said to be. It is true that they're not fully funding the escrow account immediately, but in chunks over the next couple of years. I don't think BP would have done this voluntarily if Obama had asked for $20 billion up front, since they don't have that much cash on hand and their credit rating downgrade is making it expensive for them to borrow at the moment. Even if they had been willing, I think it's better if we don't drive them out of business.

A lot of it is about perception, however.

[Conan71]

$20 bln is an impressive number, though not as impressive as it once sounded 20 years ago.  The government loves to let people know it's spending billions on their behalf.  I still recall VP Biden, freshly off his journey calling for $1 bln in aid to war-torn Georgia when he was still a Senator.  How did he quantify that they needed $1 bln?  Why not $356 million or $1.9 bln?

It's a PR matter with politicians.

[Gaspar]

Barton's an idiot for apologizing to BP.  This $20b will have no affect on them.  It will simply be shifted from investors.  39% of those are American workers.  40% are British workers.

This money ultimately comes from people who own stock or mutual funds with energy stocks in them.  If BP was a privately held company this would be a victory. 

I think it was clever PR for BP who for years has positioned themselves as the Green Energy Company.  BP uses the PR firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.  This is their style. 

Unfortunately I think they were hoping for a better reaction from the sheep, and if The President had done a better job in his address, I think it would have had more impact.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that it will provide some relief, but don't think BP is being fleeced.

[nathanm]

$20 bln is an impressive number, though not as impressive as it once sounded 20 years ago. 

$20 billion is more than the State of Oklahoma's entire budget in 2001.

Gaspar, this $20 billion isn't extra, they would have had to pay it anyway. It doesn't change anything for the shareholders. I don't get what your point is about where the money is coming from, unless you're trying to say BP shouldn't be responsible for cleaning up its mess, which I don't think you're saying.

[Gaspar]

$20 billion is more than the State of Oklahoma's entire budget in 2001.

It doesn't change anything for the shareholders.

Oh, yes it does.  It means around 22%.

. . . and I do think they should be responsible, but this is merely a game of grab-a$$ between the admin and BP.

They publicized this as Obama playing hardball.  BP came to the table with this.  Greenberg Quinlan Rosner is already churning out ads that you should be hearing about ever 20 minutes on radio and TV.

BP, contrary to current events, is typically a very environmental focused company, because it's profitable for them.  They are huge fans of the Cap and Trade bill because they have significant control over some of the best natural gas reserves available.  They've spend over $15 million over the last year lobbying for Obama's energy policy.

This is one hand slapping the other and investors (who had nothing to do with the spill) get to pick up the check.

[we vs us]

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that it will provide some relief, but don't think BP is being fleeced.

Agreed.  If BP is willing to pony up $20bil as a PR sop, they obviously believe that the potential damage must be far more than that. 

[Gaspar]

Agreed.  If BP is willing to pony up $20bil as a PR sop, they obviously believe that the potential damage must be far more than that. 

Far far more!

[nathanm]

Oh, yes it does.  It means around 22%.

Please explain how it makes one lick of difference to the shareholders whether some of the claims are paid by way of the escrow account rather than paying it directly out of cash. Your contention is nonsensical. It's not like BP is paying an extra $20 billion.

[Red Arrow]

Ultimately, purchasers of BP products will pay the bill.  (Unless BP has access to our money printing presses.)   Trying to boycott them or run them out of business is not in our best interest.  Well, at least until the mess is cleaned up and the Gulf shores are back to normal.  Good luck with that.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Same BP that bungled the Exxon Valdez spill and only had to pay about $4 billion to cleanup the sound.  Which is still a mess...kind of like a waste land.  Give it another 80 to 100 years and it will be ok.

Hey, I got an idea!  How about requiring them to adhere to environmental and safety laws??  Remember the 750+ serious violations they have accrued?  Versus 6 or 8 for Shell, Conoco/Phillips, Sunoco.

[Gaspar]

Hey, I got an idea!  How about requiring them to adhere to environmental and safety laws??  Remember the 750+ serious violations they have accrued?  Versus 6 or 8 for Shell, Conoco/Phillips, Sunoco.

Great idea!  Too bad it took something like this to make that happen.  BP has been a very close buddy of the DNC over the past 15+ years as a stratagem to impact environmental law in their favor, and they don't deny this.  They have been instrumental in the election of many Dems that are now decision makers on environmental policy.  They wanted Obama's energy policies to pass because it would put them in the drivers seat for natural gas.

In fact, they share the same marketing group, PR firm (Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, mentioned above) and through that 3rd party they provide huge perks to Dems responsible for making environmental policy.  This helped BP to slip by when other energy companies got squeezed.  In the marketing world the term "Greenwashing" was coined in response to Greenberg's actions.
 
They even provided Rahm with a ritzy Washington townhouse in 2006.  The major partner in the group, Greenberg, works for the DNC as a pollster, and his wife is a Connecticut Congresswoman.

BP is Greenberg's largest client and the source of most of their income.  Financed by BP, Greenberg partnered with James Carville and advised the campaigns of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and John Kerry.  Kerry was their greatest hope to steer environmental policy in their favor, until his loss, but he has continued to work for them in making policy that has been adopted by the Obama Administration.

Some are beginning to think that this quick 20 Billion pledge was to avoid a backlash of investigation that would uncover ties to the administration that both the White House and BP would rather not answer questions about. 

Things are really getting interesting now. . .

[we vs us]

Great idea!  Too bad it took something like this to make that happen.  BP has been a very close buddy of the DNC over the past 15+ years as a stratagem to impact environmental law in their favor, and they don't deny this.  They have been instrumental in the election of many Dems that are now decision makers on environmental policy.  They wanted Obama's energy policies to pass because it would put them in the drivers seat for natural gas.

In fact, they share the same marketing group, PR firm (Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, mentioned above) and through that 3rd party they provide huge perks to Dems responsible for making environmental policy.  This helped BP to slip by when other energy companies got squeezed.  In the marketing world the term "Greenwashing" was coined in response to Greenberg's actions.
 
They even provided Rahm with a ritzy Washington townhouse in 2006.  The major partner in the group, Greenberg, works for the DNC as a pollster, and his wife is a Connecticut Congresswoman.

BP is Greenberg's largest client and the source of most of their income.  Financed by BP, Greenberg partnered with James Carville and advised the campaigns of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and John Kerry.  Kerry was their greatest hope to steer environmental policy in their favor, until his loss, but he has continued to work for them in making policy that has been adopted by the Obama Administration.

Some are beginning to think that this quick 20 Billion pledge was to avoid a backlash of investigation that would uncover ties to the administration that both the White House and BP would rather not answer questions about.  

Things are really getting interesting now. . .

Since you don't like to source your allegations, I took the liberty of doing some googling and found out that the font of this convoluted Rahm Emmanuel conspiracy theory is none other than Mr. Jerome Corsi, author of "Obama Nation" and, my personal favorite, "Unfit for Command."  In other words, this comes straight from the disgusting maw of the guy who invented swiftboating.  

So, maybe we should just go ahead and disregard, hm?  

[Gaspar]

Since you don't like to source your allegations, I took the liberty of doing some googling and found out that the font of this convoluted Rahm Emmanuel conspiracy theory is none other than Mr. Jerome Corsi, author of "Obama Nation" and, my personal favorite, "Unfit for Command."  In other words, this comes straight from the disgusting maw of the guy who invented swiftboating.  

So, maybe we should just go ahead and disregard, hm?  

Thanks!  Actually that's not where I found the info at all.  It was from a few Washington Examiner stores but this is great. 

After reading it, I think he did a better job of putting it all together than anyone else has.  It's getting some play now, and I anticipate it will get deeper. 

Nothing here is refutable, it's all documented and the players haven't denied any of it.  If I was a Liberal this would make me even more upset.  I am not, so it just makes me disappointed.