Have They No Shame?

The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill has already eclipsed the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill as the worst in history. It may be the costliest environmental disaster in American history before all is said and done which could be months from now. Yet you have a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Joe Barton (R-TX), complaining that the Obama White House is perpetrating a "shakedown" of a private company by forcing BP to create a $20 billion dollar fund to compensate victims of this tragedy.

Some thoughts:

1. BP is responsible for the real "tragedy" in the Gulf of Mexico and I'd bet the price tag will far exceed $20 billion to clean up all the damage.

2. A Congressman, whose largest campaign contributor is an oil company, should be smart enough not to go on record defending a company that is solely responsible for the real tragedy that is occurring.

The fact is that the response in the Gulf to the leak, from BP to the White House, has been woefully inadequate. However, it is outrageous that a member of Congress would publicy defend BP, and portray it as a victim, when that company has been responsible for such a large scale disaster. Incredible.