There are times when reading essays from blogger Terrence Heath that can get depressing. His discussion of the party of GO(B)P is one of them. Before I went on vacation Rep. Joe Barton made a big deal about apologizing to BP for the "shakedown" the oil giant got from Obama. Some GOP officials demanded Barton apologize for those remarks, which he did. But a lot more GOP lawmakers embraced Barton's position. As we've essentially known for a long time, the GOP is merely puppets for Big Oil and this crisis is only making it well known.
That puppetry leads to some outlandish (in the ears of this progressive) statements that BP should in no way be held accountable for the spill (it will lead to tyranny, don'tcha know) and if affected citizens can't absorb the losses, well, it's their own fault. Government isn't supposed to help them and the GOP will do all it can to make sure BP doesn't either. Lawsuits? BP has pockets deep enough it can outlast just about anyone and can probably pick a sympathetic judge. One only deserves as much justice as one can afford.
All this noise from conservatives has one basic purpose: cloud the issue, make debate impossible, and hide the way conservatism's failures and complicity have contributed to the disaster.
The GOP is handing the Dems an issue that should reap a bonanza in November. But only if the Dems have the guts to use it to its full potential. I have my doubts.
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