Tag Archives: Freedom Clowns

Joe Barton Is Ashamed

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) haz a sad:

Barton came under a lot of pressure, he then retracted his apology to BP. That didn’t stop Republican leadership from trying to distance themselves from Barton:

Barton apologized to BP this morning for the “tragedy” of its $20 billion fund to pay damage claims from the Gulf Coast oil spill. Barton has since apologized for apologizing to BP. Nonetheless, Reps. John Boehner (R-OH), Eric Cantor (R-VA), and Mike Pence (R-IN) released a joint statement this afternoon calling Barton’s original statements “wrong.”

“Congressman Barton’s statements this morning were wrong. BP itself has acknowledged that responsibility for the economic damages lies with them and has offered an initial pledge of $20 billion dollars for that purpose.”

Never mind that Eric Cantor was saying the exact same thing as Barton yesterday. He just didn’t say it loud enough, I guess. But here we have the Republican Party platform in a nutshell. Corporations should be able to do whatever they want without any oversight from government.

Rand Paul: I’m MLK and Frederick Douglass

I really think Sarah Palin has previewed the strategy for Republican candidates in the future. Here are the new media rules for Republican candidates:
1) If you have a bad interview, blame the media and “gotcha” questions. You know, questions like “What do you read?” are so unfair. Also, questions about things you previously said are extremely unfair, especially if people pay attention to them and find them appalling.
2) Avoid hard questions, only take question from fawning Fox party operatives
3) Issue statements through Facebook

Rand Paul’s already at the avoid hard questions phase and now he’s issuing his own defense, this time through the Bowling Green Daily News. After accusing the media of lying for reporting what he actually said Rand Paul gives us this defense:

I am unlike many folks who run for office. I am an idealist. When I read history I side with abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglas who fought for 30 years to end slavery and to integrate public transportation in the free North in the 1840s. I see our failure to end slavery for decade after decade as a failure of weak-kneed politicians.

I cheer the abolitionist Lysander Spooner, who argued that slavery was unconstitutional 20 years before the Civil War. I cheer Lerone Bennet when he argues that the right of habeas corpus guaranteed in the Constitution should have derailed slavery long before the Civil War.

Only when the brave idealists, the abolitionists, finally provoked the weak-kneed politicians into action, did the emancipation proclamation come about. Our body politic has enough pragmatists, we need a few idealists.

Segregation ended only after a great and momentous uprising by idealists like Martin Luther King Jr., who provoked weak-kneed politicians to action.

…

For example, I am opposed to the government telling restaurant owners that they cannot allow smoking in their establishments. I believe we as consumers can choose whether to patronize a smoke-filled restaurant or do business with a smoke-free option.

Smoking – it’s just like Civil Rights! I totally see that parallel. Paul is just like MLK, except he supports legal segregation. I’m sure the King family is preparing their endorsement announcement as we speak.

What depressing to me is that Rand Paul is still the favorite to win that Kentucky Senate seat.

Additional: Ph.D. Octopus explains how Paul gets the history wrong on William Lloyd Garrison.