Republican's oil spill gaffe hands advantage back to administration
By Michael O'Brien and Ben Geman - 06/17/10 02:38 PM ET
The top Republican gift-wrapped a gaffe about the oil spill and handed it to President Barack Obama on Thursday, ceding the GOP's advantage on a disaster that has plagued the administration for weeks and called its competence into question.
Rep. Joe Barton (Texas), the senior GOP lawmaker on the House energy committee, apologized to BP and accused the White House of a "$20 billion shakedown" for forcing the oil company to set up a vast clean-up and compensation fund.
Democrats, who have been reeling for weeks over the unstinting disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, seized on Barton's remarks to BP chief executive Tony Haward and swiftly turned the news cycle into one about Republicans being buddies with Big Oil.
The Republican leadership, caught flat-footed by Barton, immediately distanced themselves from Barton, who told a congressional hearing that he was "ashamed" of the Obama administration's treatment of BP.
“It is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown, in this case a $20 billion shakedown,” Barton said during opening remarks at the Energy and Commerce Committee hearing where Hayward was giving testimony.
The White House and leadership offices in Congress immediately pounced on the comment, looking to tie the GOP to the comment, and forcing Republicans to disavow his sentiments.
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http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/103915-republicans-oil-spill-gaffe-hands-advantage-back-to-the-administration
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