The Back Story Of Anger Within GOP Over Joe Barton And His Stupid Apology To BP

This is the stuff that I love to know.

‘John Boehner was on the air with Fox News’ Bill Hemmer when Joe Barton dropped his BP-apology bomb. Eric Cantor was in a whip meeting. Alabama Rep. Jo Bonner was heading into a meeting with Admiral Thad Allen. All three instantly knew something had to be done to cap the gusher … the top GOP man on the Energy and Commerce Committee had just unleashed on the Republican Party … Bonner headed to the House floor and intercepted Boehner. ‘I said ‘This is unconscionable,’ and I said it with some emotion. I didn’t use any profanity,’ Bonner told POLITICO. A Republican leadership aide described the mild-mannered Bonner as out for Barton’s scalp. The rapid reaction of the top House Republicans to denounce … one of their own shows just how serious a political setback that GOP leaders feel like they’re facing with Barton’s gaffe. Republicans had even warned their colleagues in advance of the BP hearings not to give Democrats a YouTube moment that would make them appear too sympathetic to the industry. …

‘The back story of how Boehner and his top lieutenants moved against Barton shows a party in serious damage control – and brought to the surface some long-time tensions between Barton and other Republicans. … Republican leaders left the floor vote and huddled in Boehner’s second-floor Capitol suite. Boehner, Cantor and leadership aides discussed calling a meeting of the Republican Steering Committee to recommend Barton be summarily removed from his job. They were ‘a hair away’ from booting Barton outright, according to a Republican aide. The private maneuverings by his colleagues to get rid of him were ‘news to me’ Barton told POLITICO as he walked into the ambush. He said he planned to keep his job: ‘Damn straight,’ he said. The Texas machismo – or perhaps a basic ignorance of the peril at hand – was evident in the meeting, according to Republican sources. Barton didn’t get it. He was offered an out: Apologize for the apology or lose his job. He picked the former. But in the 24 hours since Barton retracted his apology to BP, the heat on him has only increased in some GOP corners. … Barton scrambled back to the Energy and Commerce hearing, saying he had been ‘misconstrued’ or that his statement had been ‘misconstructed.’ …

‘On Thursday, GOP aides asserted that if Barton were to apologize, he would be able to keep his post atop the Energy and Commerce committee for now. But Republicans worry that Barton would be a political liability for the foreseeable future if he keeps his committee slot. And if lawmakers come back from this weekend expressing that they are feeling pressure in their districts because of Barton’s comments, there’s a good chance that he could still be pushed out. … When a different set of GOP leaders huddled to pick a replacement for outgoing Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin in 2005, they were confronted with the political reality that they couldn’t just skip over Barton. Those leaders – Speaker Denny Hastert and Majority Leader Tom DeLay at the top – shook their heads and openly predicted Barton’s promotion would come back to haunt them … Leadership aides huddled with Republican Energy and Commerce staff last Monday and issued a clear warning about Democrats’ intent in the hearings: ‘They want YouTube moments or quotes that can be taken out of context,’ a leadership aide admonished. ‘Don’t take the bait.’ Barton took it, hook, line and sinker.’