Quote of the Day

“With Kagan’s confirmation hearings expected to last most of the week, Republicans may still have time to make cases against Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and Gandhi.”

-- Dana Milbank of the Washington Post, commenting on the extent that Legendary Racist Jefferson Beauregard "Jeff" Sessions (R-Ala) and other Republican senators have been attacking Thurgood Marshall during the Kagan confirmation hearings.

Quote Of The Week

"Actually, the oil is under a mile of sea water and another two-and-a-half miles under solid sediment earth, so I think God's done enough to prevent these spills."

-- Jon Stewart, responding to the Louisiana Senate's recent Designation of Statewide Prayer which stated, among other things, that mortals cannot solve the BP spill problem and that "it is clearly time for a miracle for us."

With regard to the whole Joe Barton BP apology fiasco, a recent poll shows that this is a very good issue for the Democrats (via Political Wire):

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Texas suggests Republicans are well advised to stay clear of Rep. Joe Barton's (R-TX) apology to oil giant BP for how they were treated by the Obama administration.

"The poll numbers indicate this is an issue where Democrats could find some resonance with independent voters. They see Barton negatively by a 35% to 14% margin, think he should lose his leadership post by a 45% to 29% spread, think Obama was right on this issue 59% to 29%, and oppose an apology to BP 75% to 12%. Given those numbers GOP leaders would probably like to see this issue disappear as soon as possible."

It appears, however, that Barton will keep his leadership post, which is great news for the Democrats.

Looks Like Republican Party Leaders Owe Rush Limbaugh An Apology (With Update)

From Political Wire:

Rush Limbaugh took aim at Republican leaders for rushing to demand Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) retract his controversial apology to oil giant BP during last week's congressional hearing, CNN reports.

Said Limbaugh: "It was a shakedown pure and simple. And somebody had the audacity to call it what it was and now everybody's running for the hills."

Limbaugh does have a point -- to a certain extent. All Barton was doing last week when he issued his "apology" to BP was echoing one set of GOP talking points on this issue. As Eugene Robinson pointed out this morning:

Joe Barton is not alone. The Texas congressman's lavish sympathy for BP -- which he sees not as perpetrator of a preventable disaster but as victim of a White House "shakedown" -- is actually what passes for mainstream opinion among conservative Republicans today. * * *

Had Barton made these comments on FoxNews or on Limbaugh's show, no controversy would have emerged. His mistake was that he made these comments during a televised Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, a committee on which he is the ranking Republican.

I, of course, think this whole thing is hilarious. The GOP basically has two sets of talking points on this issue. One set -- the anti-Obama talking points -- is for use only on radical right-wing talk radio and FoxNews, and is designed to keep the extremists of the party in line. The other set of talking points -- which features anti-BP rhetoric -- is designed for mainstream consumption with an eye toward the November Mid-Terms. The only time the GOP gets in trouble on this is when the radical set of talking points leaks into the mainstream coverage, which is what happened last week when Joe Barton opened his mouth in the wrong venue.

The amazing part of all this is that the Republicans feel comfortable having two completely different sets of talking points on this issue, and they are right to feel this way because (1) they know that most Republicans only get their news from Fox and the rest of the Extreme Right Wing Echo Chamber, and (2) they know that the Democrats will most likely give them a pass on this particular hypocrisy.

It's a nice place for the GOP to be, so long as folks like Barton simply remember that certain talking points should only be used for specific audiences. Needless to say, if the Democrats tried such a two-faced approach on an issue, the GOP would crucify them.

UPDATE: Jon Stewart gets it.

Quote Of The Week

"What is shameful is that Joe Barton seems to have more concern for big corporations that caused this disaster than the fishermen, small business owners and communities whose lives have been devastated by the destruction. Congressman Barton may think that a fund to compensate these Americans is a 'tragedy', but most Americans know that the real tragedy is what the men and women of the Gulf Coast are going through right now. Members from both parties should repudiate his comments."

-- White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, responding to GOP Rep. Joe Barton's apology to BP CEO Tony Hayward wherein Barton said, among other things, that he's "ashamed" of the American response to BP’s oil spill and wherein he described the creation of the $20 billion claims fund as a "tragedy of the first proportion."

Quote of the Day

"It'd be a disaster for the Republican party."

-- GOP operative James Lacy, commenting on what the effect would be if Birther Queen Orly Taitz actually won the GOP primary for California Secretary of State.

After 40 Years?

Wow:

Former Vice President Al Gore and his wife Tipper are separating after four decades of marriage. They just celebrated their 40th anniversary two weeks ago.

The Gores called the separation "a mutual and mutually supportive decision that we have made together." * * *