Palin says Barton position is not mainstream to the GOP

[thaiboxerken]

What's interesting here is the Republicans saying that Obama isn't doing enough. Then, when Obama does something, they complain because it's an exercise in too much government power. They don't really care what Obama is doing, they just want to give the narrative that he's wrong. Even if Obama had a magic wand that fixed the oil spill and cleaned up the ocean/beaches instantly, they'd complain that he used magic.

 

[Lurker]

Perhaps. I think they're just parroting back what the radio show host said to them. It doesn't quite rise to the level of a position of a political ideology, ie., conservatism.

??

Who decides what conservatism is if not a majority of people who self-identify as conservatives?

 

[leftysergeant]

??

Who decides what conservatism is if not a majority of people who self-identify as conservatives?

Well, since rightwhacker morons like the fat deaf eunuch have been defining "liberals" to suit their delusions, I guess those fools have to settle for my definition of "conservative."

(Not that I expect a Rushblob fan to get my point. That takes rational thought.)

 

[thaiboxerken]

I think Lurker's point is that, at least in his locality, the notion that this is a "shake down" is mainstream amongst conservatives.

 

[Shalamar]

What's interesting here is the Republicans saying that Obama isn't doing enough. Then, when Obama does something, they complain because it's an exercise in too much government power. They don't really care what Obama is doing, they just want to give the narrative that he's wrong. Even if Obama had a magic wand that fixed the oil spill and cleaned up the ocean/beaches instantly, they'd complain that he used magic.

exactly. Its a Lose/Lose situation for President Obama. No matter what he does, the right wing will still ash out at him for doing nothing/doing too much.

Hopefully he's just ignoring them and doing what he feels is best.

 

[Giggywig]

Well, since rightwhacker morons like the fat deaf eunuch have been defining "liberals" to suit their delusions, I guess those fools have to settle for my definition of "conservative."

(Not that I expect a Rushblob fan to get my point. That takes rational thought.)

Not to burst your bubble but I seriously doubt you have anywhere near the influence Rush has. Nobody has to settle for your definition of, well, anything. Not that anybody has to settle for Rush's definition of anything either, but at least people know about those.

 

[AlBell]

exactly. Its a Lose/Lose situation for President Obama. No matter what he does, the right wing will still ash out at him for doing nothing/doing too much.

Hopefully he's just ignoring them and doing what he feels is best.

It is a shame he can't figure out anything to do that is either Constitutional or effective.

 

[thaiboxerken]

It is a shame he can't figure out anything to do that is either Constitutional or effective.

Feel free to prove that it's unconstitutional. We have yet to see if it's effective.

 

[eeyore1954]

What's interesting here is the Republicans saying that Obama isn't doing enough. Then, when Obama does something, they complain because it's an exercise in too much government power. They don't really care what Obama is doing, they just want to give the narrative that he's wrong. Even if Obama had a magic wand that fixed the oil spill and cleaned up the ocean/beaches instantly, they'd complain that he used magic.

I agree with you that many will complain about what he is doing no matter what but I would say in this case having BP setup a $20B fund does very little to address what most critics would have said he is doing wrong.

 

[Shalamar]

It is a shame he can't figure out anything to do that is either Constitutional or effective.

A perfect example. President Obama can Do No Right.

I do not agree with everything he's done, but I'm not going to blast him, or, anyone else for that matter just because they do not follow my political Ideals.

 

[MikeMangum]

The Republicans, including their leader Rush Limbaugh, are all over the airwaves bruting the "shakedown" meme, which originated as an official talking point of the 100-member strong Republican Study Group of the House.

This is identical to Barton's foolish outburst, except he uttered his apology out loud.

Looks like mainstream Republican thought to me, though of course it's not universally accepted by Republicans.

You are proposing a false dichotomy here. It is possible to denounce extra-legal tactics without being on the side of the entity that those tactics are used against, just like it is possible to defend the right to free speech of someone who espouses ideas you find abhorrent. BP can be an entirely unsympathetic company and still be a victim of extra-legal tactics. The target of those extra-legal tactics is irrelevant, just like a drug addicted hooker may not make a very sympathetic victim, but we still prosecute people who rape drug addicted hookers.

The real victim is the rule of law; in other words, all of society. If a president can ignore the law to shake down a company, regardless of how unpopular that company is or how stupid the law he ignores happens to be, it weakens the rule of law.

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

That's why our Constitution has a ban on bills of attainder or ex post facto laws: doing so keeps judicial functions in the Judicial branch of government, with all of the due process protections and evidentiary rules of the court, and allows people to be judged on the law as current at the time of incident in question. The President is not part of the Judicial branch of government.

The government should have never passed a law limiting responsibility for economic damages to $75 million, but that is the law, and any changes to that law cannot be retroactive. Political threats to a company by the President(targetting that specific company) to get them to fork over large sums of money either as punishment or as compensation for percieved wrong, is extra-legal. The President is not part of the Judicial branch of government. He does not judge cases and decide guilt or damages.

 

[thaiboxerken]

The government should have never passed a law limiting responsibility for economic damages to $75 million, but that is the law, and any changes to that law cannot be retroactive

How would changing the law now be retroactive to the BP situation?

 

[MikeMangum]

How would changing the law now be retroactive to the BP situation?

Changing the law now, to apply to cases going forward, would not be retroactive at all. The point is that the government is behaving as if, of course, the $75 million cap on economic damages will be ignored. That is, after all, why Obama got $20 billion out of BP for the express purpose of paying out economic damages.

The blame for that mess should go to the legislators who passed the bill that contains the cap. It should not simply be ignored.

ETA: I wanted to point out that even now there is no motion to amend the law in question. Why bother when it can just be ignored?

 

[thaiboxerken]

How is the BP spill a "past" event, when it's still going on? Can you call this changing a law retroactively if it happens DURING and event?

 

[MikeMangum]

How is the BP spill a "past" event, when it's still going on? Can you call this changing a law retroactively if it happens DURING and event?

Actually, yes, it is a "past" event, at least in terms of liability. BP's actions that give it legal liability happened on or before April 20, 2010. The fact that the consequences continue to accrue does not change that fact.

ETA: Look, I don't like it either. Ideally, there never would have been a law passed that limited liability for economic damages to $75 million, and BP would end up paying out for many thousands of civil suits to pay restitution for economic damages. But the fact is, there WAS a law that was passed that limits liability for economic damages to $75 million and using extra-legal strong arm tactics in an attempt to rectify that fact is incredibly corrosive to the rule of law.

 

[MattusMaximus]

Getting things done.... like getting BP to set up a 20 billion dollar fund?

You know what's funny, Beerina. Dick Armey said something very different. He said that the Obama Administration should leave it to the lawyers and courts to settle this. That's why thinks this "shakedown" is wrong.

That, and before Barton so publicly shoved his foot down this own throat, the "shakedown" talking points were making the rounds by various elected Republicans and being used by them in interviews & speeches. After the Barton blowback though, you'll find no GOP politicians using the lingo - curious, isn't it?

 

[MattusMaximus]

That's probably a good sampling of the people who listen to that particular show and also choose to particpate in self-selecing polls (which are about as useful as a sand merchant at the beach). In other words, not meaningful as re: public opinion.

It's also probably a decent first-order approximation of the kind of folks who tend to turn out to vote in Republican primaries.

 

[MikeMangum]

It's also probably a decent first-order approximation of the kind of folks who turn out to vote in Republican primaries.

What, people with respect for the rule of law?

ETA: but then again, "the ends justify the means" is basic leftist catechism.

 

[quadraginta]

What's interesting here is the Republicans saying that Obama isn't doing enough. Then, when Obama does something, they complain because it's an exercise in too much government power. They don't really care what Obama is doing, they just want to give the narrative that he's wrong. Even if Obama had a magic wand that fixed the oil spill and cleaned up the ocean/beaches instantly, they'd complain that he used magic.

Witchcraft!

Probably Voodoo, being as how he's Kenyan, and all. That's worse. Can't even use good Christian devil-worshipping magic.

 

[MattusMaximus]

What, people with respect for the rule of law?

ETA: but then again, "the ends justify the means" is basic leftist catechism.

Yup, it comes in the handbook right after the section on kicking little old ladies down the stairs and eating live babies.