Commentor Cat Lady linked to a video of Rep. Barton (R – TexIdiot) demonstrating his firm grasp of the Erl Bidniz:
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If there were a German word meaning “a face that cries out for a fist in it”, Barton’s photo would appear next to it in the dictionary. I’m sure Secretary Chu is enjoying the excellent Joe Barton Would Like to Apologize website.
My personal favorite, so far: … Charles Manson, for that variety show he never got to do. I’m your biggest fan, Chuck!
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Update: Twitter from Robert Gibbs: Who would the GOP put in charge of overseeing the energy industry & Big Oil if they won control of Congress? Yup, u guessed it – JOE BARTON
A commentor at Wonkette added: “Before he entered Congress in 1989, Joe Barton was an executive with ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company), which became a subsidiary of BP in 2000 and is now officially known as BP West Coast.” That led me to investigate Barton’s Wikipedia page (“The neutrality of the article is disputed…”), which is a treasure trove:
During his political career, the industries that have been Barton’s largest contributors were oil and gas ($1.4 million donated), electric utilities ($1.3 million) and health professionals ($1.1 million)[32] He is ranked first among members of the House of Representatives for the most contributions received from the oil and gas industry, and number five among all members of Congress. His largest corporate contributor, Anadarko Petroleum, owns a 25 percent share in the Macondo Prospect, the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
And, yes, he is not only a global warming denalist, but probably the leader of the current Global Warming Denialist Caucus.
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