Good news for oil companies, drillers, and Smokey Joe himself.
Because, really, who better to represent the Republican Party on the Energy and Commerce Committee -- which deals with oil companies -- than an obsequious little slaveboy to Big Oil? Putting the fox in charge of the henhouse is the GOP way, after all.
Talking Points Memo:NRCC chairman Pete Sessions, whose job it is to increase GOP ranks in the House, says Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) will likely retain his post as the top Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Asked last night after a House vote if Barton may face further repercussions for apologizing to BP CEO Tony Hayward, Sessions told reporters that Barton's already paid his penance.
"I don't think that's the direction we're headed in," Sessions said. "...I believe that Joe has adequately addressed the issue."
Sessions noted numerous times that he was speaking as a member of the GOP leadership team (he is the fourth ranking Republican under Minority Leader John Boehner, Whip Eric Cantor, and Conference Chair Mike Pence ) and not as a rank and file member of the House. Boehner, Cantor and Pence organized last week's rapid response to the Barton flap, in which anonymous GOP leadership aides left the door open to further recriminations.
Because, really, who better to represent the Republican Party on the Energy and Commerce Committee -- which deals with oil companies -- than an obsequious little slaveboy to Big Oil? Putting the fox in charge of the henhouse is the GOP way, after all.
