Conservative media defend BP against "shakedowns," "show trials," and environmentalists at least 62 times

From media matters:

Media Matters has identified at least 62 recent instances of media conservatives defending BP, 38 of which occurred on the Fox News Channel, Fox Business, the Fox Nation, or the talk shows of Fox News hosts. There were at least 21 criticisms of BP's escrow account as an Obama "shakedown" or "slush fund," 10 attacks on President Obama for supposedly "demonizing" BP, 15 examples of conservatives deriding investigations of the company, 12 claims that environmental regulations are responsible for the spill, and five absurd conspiracy theories about the spill.

Right-wing media portray BP as the victim of a "shakedown"

Napolitano: "That is a classic shakedown." On the June 18 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, Fox News judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano stated of the BP escrow account fund designed to aid Gulf residents affected by the oil spill: "The government doesn't have the right -- we don't know what happened in the Oval Office, but you guys reported, and the vice president did not deny, that he walked in and basically said give us the $20 billion or we will take it from you. That is a classic shakedown. The threat to do something that you don't have the right to do." Napolitano also falsely claimed that "the White House is going to distribute" the money in the escrow account, when, in fact, the fund is to be administered by an independent third party.

Ingraham: "Joe Barton, before he apologized, had a legitimate point" about BP being victims of the Obama administration's "shakedown." On the June 17 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, referencing Rep. Joe Barton's (R-TX) claim that the fund resulted from a "shakedown," Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham stated: "I think that Joe Barton, before he apologized, had a legitimate point. First of all, this administration has taken a very aggressive, and I would say strong-arm approach, to private industry across the board. ... I would rather have this fund ... administered by the local authorities."

Limbaugh: Obama taught students "how to use the Constitution to shake down corporations ... much like he's doing to BP." On the June 17 edition of Premiere Radio Network's The Rush Limbaugh Show, Limbaugh said, "In reality, [Obama] didn't teach constitutional law. ... What Obama taught was Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky, and how to use the Constitution to shake down corporations through race and grievance lawsuits. That's what he taught students at the University of Chicago. Much like he is doing to BP."

JammieWearingFool: Barton's comments are "the truth." In a June 17 post on his blog, JammieWearingFool wrote: "As an American, I'm ashamed of what's been going on at the White House for the past 17 months. Let's hear it for Rep. Joe Barton of Texas who, I'll remind people, is speaking for himself." JammieWearingFool posted a Dallas Morning News article on the statement and wrote, "Aww, the poor babies can't handle the truth."

Big Journalism: Barton's comments were a "relatively mild statement of fact, expressed inoffensively." A June 17 Big Journalism post highlighted Barton's comments and criticized the GOP for not defending him, calling his statement a "relatively mild statement of fact, expressed inoffensively."

Gingrich: Obama "is directly engaged in extorting money" from BP. On the June 17 edition of Fox News' Hannity, Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich responded to Barton's comments by stating that the Obama administration "is directly engaged in extorting money" from BP.

Hoft: "Of course it was a shakedown. It's the Chicago way." In a June 17 post on his Gateway Pundit blog, Jim Hoft wrote: "Of course it was a shakedown. It's the Chicago way. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) apologizes to BP for the Barack Obama's '20 Billion Dollar Shakedown.' Well said, Congressman."

Erickson: "Let's be honest. The White House meeting with British Petroleum was a shakedown." In a June 17 RedState post, Erick Erickson echoed Barton's statement that the deal was a "shakedown," saying, "Let's be honest. The White House meeting with British Petroleum was a shakedown." From RedState:

Let's be honest. The White House meeting with British Petroleum was a shakedown.

The White House threatened criminal prosecution of BP, the President gave a miserably received speech, then he hauled BP into the White House and put the Attorney General in the room with the CEO to stare at him, then the President demanded $20 billion.

It was a shakedown.

WSJ: Barton "rightly called" White House "pressure" on BP "a shakedown. In a June 18 editorial, The Wall Street Journal stated that BP "does not deserve the apology" offered by Barton, but the Journal agreed that Barton "rightly called" White House "pressure" on BP "a shakedown.

Napolitano: If government sues BP to require company to pay for workers' lost wages, "that's theft." On the June 10 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto, Napolitano stated:

NAPOLITANO: The government does not have the authority to -- it has the authority to issue the moratorium, which it will issue for political reasons because it wants to get other oil companies out of there, and get the media's eye off the ball of the White House and onto the ball of BP, but it doesn't have the authority to order BP to pay the salaries of those who would have worked in the absence of the moratorium. Therefore if the government wants BP to do that, it will have to sue BP to do it. It can't order BP to do it, if it does, and it takes the money, that's theft.

Beck: "You can't just change the law" to raise BP's liability cap, asks, "Is that what we fought the Nazis for?" On the May 4 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Glenn Beck Program, Beck said "Barack Obama and the leftists, now, in the government, led here now by Robert Kennedy Jr., they're making a push today that that cap should be changed. ... Is there anything like the rule of law here? Is there anything -- do they understand how this works? You can't just change the law all of a sudden." Beck later asked: "Did we go and fight Germany for this? Is that what we fought the Nazis for? Is that why those millions of people died?"

Fund on the BP escrow account: "You better believe it's a shakedown." On the June 19 edition of Fox News' Journal Editorial Report, Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund said of the BP escrow fund, "You better believe it's a shakedown" and stated that it "goes around the legal process." He further warned that "the United States can resemble a banana republic overnight with the wrong president in charge," and that the fund "effectively says to foreign investors, 'forget the rule of law.' "

Erickson: BP escrow fund is a "shakedown," congressional hearing "was a show trial." On the June 18 edition of CNN's John King USA, when asked if he agreed that the creation of an escrow fund was a "shakedown," Erick Erickson stated: "Well, yeah, I mean I think it was a shakedown. No doubt British Petroleum cooperated in it just like yesterday was a show trial in Congress."

Fox Nation: "Biden Was The BP Shakedown Artist." Fox Nation reposted an item from the blog Weasel Zippers that characterized Vice President Joe Biden as the "shakedown artist" and the "designated Bad Cop." The post included information from the New York Daily News, which reported: "Biden leaned forward and bluntly informed the Blight Brigade they had no choice: If they didn't do the right thing and put the cash in escrow, it would be done to them."

Buchanan: "There's an aspect of shakedown here." On the June 20 edition of The McLaughlin Group, MSNBC contributor Pat Buchanan repeatedly stated that there was "an aspect of shakedown" to the meeting between BP executives and the Obama administration. He said that having Attorney General Eric Holder present at the meeting in which the escrow fund was discussed was "like having Luca Brasi sitting across saying, 'I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse.' "

Tantaros: BP "slush fund" is a "political shakedown. It's a stickup." On the June 21 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom, contributor Andrea Tantaros stated that BP had been the victim of a "political shakedown" and a "stickup" to force the company to fund the $20 billion "slush fund."

Limbaugh: BP "slush fund" is just like "blackmail." On the June 17 edition of his radio show, Rush Limbaugh suggested that the BP escrow account could be called a "slush fund, extra-Constitutional," or "blackmail." He stated that the creation of the fund is "exactly how a blackmailer will hit you. You give him once and they keep coming back for more. They've got you. You pay one time and they'll keep coming back."

Sowell compares creation of BP escrow fund to the dictatorial powers of Hitler. In his June 21 syndicated column, Thomas Sowell compared the creation of the BP escrow account to "the German Reichstag pass[ing] a law 'for the relief of the German people.'" Sowell asks "[j]ust where in the Constitution of the United states does it say that a president has the authority to extract vast sums of money from a private enterprise and distribute it as he sees fit to whomever he deems worthy of compensation? Nowhere."

Kilmeade "almost" called escrow account a "slush fund." On the June 22 edition of Fox & Friends, co-host Brian Kilmeade referred to the BP escrow account as a "slush fund." From the broadcast:

GRETCHEN CARLSON (co-host): All right, also Feinberg, the guy in charge of putting out all that money for BP -- that $20 billion BP agreed to hand over -- he's already complaining. He's already saying look, we need to get this cash out quicker to the folks who are in need of that. And, by the way, it's going to cost a heck of a lot more than $20 billion. I think his quote was 54 billion? I believe it was. $54 billion he's estimating it will cost.

KILMEADE: And you know with that you only get $5 billion a year in to the sl-- uh, I almost said slush fund --

STEVE DOOCY (co-host): Into the kitty.

KILMEADE: Into the kitty. So they're going to need more than that.

Limbaugh praised Barton's BP apology as a "home run." Limbaugh opened his June 21 program by saying that Barton "must have hit a home run out there the way these people are reacting to this, talking about the slush fund, apologizing last week to the BP execs for being shaken down by the regime."

Varney: "Hugo Chavez-like" plan amounts to "seizing private assets" and "hav[ing] the White House politicians run the money." On the June 16 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, Fox Business host Stuart Varney said the plan to create an escrow account with BP money for gulf relief will "[t]ake the money right off BP and put in some kind of escrow account and have the White House politicians run the money. Taking -- I mean there's no better word for it. It is seizing private assets and sticking them under the control of politicians." Varney asked "who knows what they're going to spend that money on?" Varney also called the plan "Hugo Chavez-like, is it not, to seize a private company's assets."

Conservatives characterized investigations of BP as "Soviet-style" "show trial"

Limbaugh: BP hearings are a "show trial. ... This is what happened in Stalinist Russia." On the June 17 broadcast of his radio show, Limbaugh said of the House's hearings on the oil spill that "what Waxman and these other Democrats want" out of the BP hearings "is for [BP CEO Tony] Hayward and any other BP exec to say things under oath that they can't possible know one way or the other. This is a show trial. If we were back in the era of Stalin -- this is what happened in Stalinist Russia. It's exactly how show trials work. If you translated this into Russian, folks, this is exactly what would be going on in the old Russia, the old pre-Soviet Union days." He added that the hearings are "purely and simply a fraud."

Krauthammer compared the BP hearings to "Inca ritual slaughter." During the June 17 edition of Special Report, Krauthammer said that "these hearings are always just political theatre," but that he "kind of welcome[s] these rituals. We haven't had a good Inca ritual slaughter since the Goldman Sachs hearings." Krauthammer added that unlike with an "Incan ritual slaughter," "we have a scarcity of virgins," and so "we send up a CEO instead. They whack him around for a whole day and everybody goes home happy. The only difference is that our procedure has less blood, but a lot more talking. And I'm not sure which is preferable."

Kristol: "BP is being persecuted by a demagogic congressional committee chairman." Also on the June 17 edition of Special Report, Bill Kristol stated "BP is being persecuted by a demagogic congressional committee chairman, Henry Waxman."

Savage: "The Democrats have held a Stalinist show trial against BP. ... They're very, very clever devils indeed." During the June 17 edition of his show, Michael Savage stated: "All these Congress vermin do is threaten people and sue people. Secondly, while these hearings have been very informative, I would now like to see an equal set of hearings with the government put on the stand." Savage added: "What they've done here is very clever indeed. The Democrats have held a Stalinist show trial against BP. Perhaps rightly so in part, but what they've really done here is pass the buck. They're very, very clever devils indeed. What they've done is put the entire blame -- that is 100 percent of the blame -- on BP rather than on the Obama administration."

Levin claimed "Soviet-style spectacle" of BP hearings is part of "a huge cover-up." On the June 17 edition of his radio show, Mark Levin pushed a conspiracy theory revolving around the BP hearings, stating that "[y]ou have a huge cover-up going on" because the Minerals Management Service [MMS] must have given BP permission to drill. Levin continued: "So we had a Soviet-style spectacle today where they bring in the CEO, this Tony Hayworth [sic] of BP, and they kick him around like a soccer ball. He's been well schooled by his lawyers, so he's not going to say anything that affects him or his company in a detrimental way. Obama's already said we're looking to bring criminal charges and civil charges and all the rest, so of course he's not going to sit there and sing like a bird, but Congress wants you to think it's really, really busy, it's really on your side, so they go through this spectacle."

Erickson: "Only thing separating" BP hearing from "Soviet show trial" is that Hayward "walked out without any lead in him." In a June 17 RedState.com post, Erickson wrote: "And keeping with the honesty, let's also admit the Congressional hearing was a show trial. The only thing separating it from a Soviet show trial is Tony Hayward, the CEO of British Petroleum walked out without any lead in him. The result, however, will be the same as a Soviet show trial: not a single thing will happen. Nothing."

Beck compared BP hearings to McCarthy hearings, feeding Christians to lions. On the June 18 edition of his radio program, Beck asked during a discussion of the BP hearings, "How do we not see the McCarthy hearings in this and everything else that is going on in Washington?" He went on to criticize the tone of the hearings, stating, "If you have all of the facts, if you can nail them to the wall, there's no reason to get nasty." Beck concluded: "We are in a thugocracy. We are being run by criminals, and we've got a little puppet show just to entertain the masses. Why don't we bring some Christians out and feed them to lions?"

Beck on BP hearings: "[W]e've got Salem witch trials going on in Washington, D.C." On the June 18 broadcast of his radio show, Beck asserted: "Instead of saying to BP, 'Can you do this -- yes or no?' 'What are you doing?' 'How can we help you shutting it down?' Instead, no, no, no, we've got Salem witch trials going on in Washington, D.C." He went on to call the lawmakers involved "thugs and bullies."

Beck: Lawmakers in BP hearing "will be held in front of an eternal judge" and "will be praying" for "the mercy of Guantánamo." During the same June 18 broadcast, Beck attacked the lawmakers, asking, "Why don't you ask these dumb questions after we've stopped the oil leak?" He then said: "All of these people should be not only ashamed of themselves, they will be held in front of an eternal judge for what they have done to this country. ... They will be held in front of an eternal judge and they will be praying, praying, for the mercy of Guantánamo when they face that judge."

Beck claimed "[t]here is no investigation going on" and suggested lawmakers' only expertise is "stealing from the American people." During the same broadcast of his show, Beck said of the federal government's investigation into BP: "They're not investigating. They are making speeches on television. That's all they're doing. There is no investigation going on here." Beck then suggested that the government instead investigate the details of one of his conspiracy theories, stating: "So you want to do some investigation? We have some investigation. You want to do some investigation? Go out -- send an investigator. You people in Washington, I don't even know what you do. What is your expertise besides stealing from the American people?"

Urbanski: "Rush was accurate" in calling hearings "Soviet-style public trial. ... It was horrible to watch." On the June 18 edition of The Rush Limbaugh Show, guest host Douglas Urbanski called the hearings "theater" and then stated: "I think Rush was very accurate when he called it a Soviet-style public trial. You know, in Japan, they commit hara-kiri over things like this. We don't do this in the United States. It was sort of -- it was sort of horrible to watch."

Buchanan: Tony Hayward testimony was "a Stalin show trial." On the June 20 edition of The McLaughlin Group, Buchanan stated that Hayward's testimony was a "Stalin show trial." Buchanan also said that Hayward took "his beating like a man" and was "contrite."

Fox Nation calls BP hearing a "show trial." On June 18, Fox Nation's home page referred to the hearings as a "show trial," and displayed the following text from a Wall Street Journal editorial:

There was in particular no reason for BP to compound its error and agree to spend another $100 million to compensate the oil workers sidelined by the Administration's policy choice to impose a drilling moratorium. BP had no liability for these costs, and its concession further separated its compensation from proper legal order. BP deserves to pay full restitution for the damage it has caused, but it ought to do so via legal means, not under what Texas Republican Joe Barton rightly called the pressure of "a shakedown" yesterday. On the other hand, BP does not deserve the apology that Mr. Barton also offered, though he quickly backtracked when the White House pounced on his comments.

Kilmeade suggests criminal inquiry into oil spill "just tank[ed] the market," asks, "Was that smart?" On the June 2 edition of Fox & Friends, co-host Brian Kilmeade stated, "The Department of Justice is probing, and for a myriad of reasons, it looks like, into BP and what they've done and what they could have violated." He then suggested that the announcement of the investigations "drop[ped] BP's stock 15 percent" and "just tank[ed] the market," and asked, "Was that smart?" Co-host Steve Doocy replied, "Maybe not, because if they're facing all these lawsuits, suddenly, where's that money going to come from?"

Krauthammer: Announcing criminal investigation into BP oil leak is "entirely unnecessary." On the June 10 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Bret Baier, Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer said, "It is not so that the administration has not had an effect on the price -- on the share price [of BP stock]. On the day that it was announced that we were going to go after the oil company criminally, there was a collapse of the price, and that was the kind of escalation that was entirely unnecessary."

Conservatives criticize Obama for "demonizing" BP

Varney: The federal government has "demonized" and "looted" BP. Appearing on the June 16 edition of Glenn Beck, Varney stated: "BP was prepared to meet all genuine claims, all viable claims. It said frequently it would pay legitimate claims. Not good enough for the government. They have successfully demonized and now looted BP."

Barnes' advice to Obama: "Stop demonizing BP." Discussing public approval ratings of Obama's handling of the spill, on the June 15 edition of Fox News' Special Report, Fox News political contributor Fred Barnes said that Obama could "turn those poll numbers around" by ending the six-month moratorium on offshore drilling and "particularly stop demonizing BP."

Newsmax's Kessler: Obama has "confused the good guys with the bad guys by demonizing BP." Newsmax's Ronald Kessler wrote in a June 14 article: "Count on Obama to emerge from the meeting with BP full of bravado, childishly saying he is trying to determine 'whose ass to kick.' " Kessler continued: "But having confused the good guys with the bad guys by demonizing BP, Obama has torpedoed his own efforts."

Hoenig: Congressional hearings are "about humiliating CEOs and demonizing big oil." Appearing on Fox Business Network's Cavuto, guest Jonathan Hoenig commented: "Well, this wasn't about solutions, Neil. This wasn't about cleaning up the oil spill. This is about humiliating CEOs and demonizing big oil, not unlike the Toyota hearings, not unlike the bank hearings. I mean, that was the purpose of today's hearings."

Varney: Obama's response is to "[d]emonize BP, seize its assets, raise taxes on energy." Appearing on Hannity, Varney stated: "The administration's response can be summed up as follows: Demonize BP, seize its assets, raise taxes on energy, and therefore raise prices, pile on regulation, appoint a commission, all to gloss over the failure to deal promptly with the oil spill. And then give us pipe dreams about a green future."

Palin: "[W]e can't afford to demonize" BP. On The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News' Sarah Palin complained that "we can't afford to demonize these energy producers to such an extent, though, that they go under. We do need to work with them, though, but we need to verify everything it is and hold them accountable for all that they have done in this situation."

Crowley: "[T]his is his default position: demonize BP." On The McLaughlin Group, radio host and Fox News political analyst Monica Crowley commented: "Look, this is nothing new coming from this president. He needs an enemy, John. He has demonized the banks, demonized Wall Street, demonized health care companies, demonized Fox News, demonized the Republicans. So it's -- this is his default position: demonize BP, when what the White House should be doing -- there will be plenty of time to assign blame, do the lawsuits, do the culpability. But right now, they should be working as partners to try to plug the damn hole and get the area cleaned up."

Krauthammer: "[D]eclaring war on the oil company, at this time, and in a criminal way, I think is really distasteful." On the June 1 edition of Fox News' Special Report, Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer stated of Holder's announcement that he is launching an investigation into the oil spill: "I think what the attorney general did today is somewhat over the line ... I might have missed it but I didn't hear a syllable about what evidence he has of criminal activity here." Krauthammer later said: "So they want to make it look like they are doing something, but declaring war on the oil company, at this time, and in a criminal way, I think is really distasteful. It's not going to help anybody."

Varney: "All it does is divert attention. You demonize and divert attention from your responsibility." Discussing the DOJ investigation on the June 1 edition of Fox News' Hannity, Fox Business host Stuart Varney asked: "What good does it do to threaten criminal charges to try to ruin British Petroleum? What good does it do?" He then stated: "All it does is divert attention. You demonize and divert attention from your responsibility."

Fox News' Payne: White House aims "vitriol" at BP but not at terrorists. On the May 8 edition of Fox News' Cavuto on Business, Fox Business contributor Charles Payne stated: "A lot of this emanates from the White House. The White House is going to put a boot on the neck of BP, but they never used that kind of vitriol when it comes to Islam, or even terrorism."

Conservatives falsely claim that environmentalists are to blame for BP spill because they blocked "safer drilling areas"

Despite conservative claims to the contrary, increase in deepwater drilling actually due to region's large oil reserves and was championed by Bush administration, oil industry. As Media Matters has documented, both Bush administration reports and the oil industry itself touted the vast reserves of oil available in the deepwater regions of the Gulf of Mexico.

Palin: "Radical environmentalists: you are damaging the planet with your efforts to lock up safer drilling areas." On June 2, Fox News' Sarah Palin posted an entry on Facebook to attack "radical environmentalists" who she blamed for "making drilling more dangerous." Palin stated that the oil spill "proves" that environmentalists' "lies about onshore and shallow water drilling" are "catching up with" them. Palin criticized "extreme 'environmentalists' " for supposedly "hypocritically protest[ing] domestic energy production offshore and onshore." She called their efforts "misguided, nonsensical radicalism," and contends that "there's nothing 'clean and green' about [their] efforts." From Palin's post:

This is a message to extreme "environmentalists" who hypocritically protest domestic energy production offshore and onshore. There is nothing "clean and green" about your efforts. Look, here's the deal: when you lock up our land, you outsource jobs and opportunity away from America and into foreign countries that are making us beholden to them. Some of these countries don't like America. Some of these countries don't care for planet earth like we do -- as evidenced by our stricter environmental standards.

With your nonsensical efforts to lock up safer drilling areas, all you're doing is outsourcing energy development, which makes us more controlled by foreign countries, less safe, and less prosperous on a dirtier planet. Your hypocrisy is showing. You're not preventing environmental hazards; you're outsourcing them and making drilling more dangerous.

Extreme deep water drilling is not the preferred choice to meet our country's energy needs, but your protests and lawsuits and lies about onshore and shallow water drilling have locked up safer areas. It's catching up with you. The tragic, unprecedented deep water Gulf oil spill proves it.

[...]

Radical environmentalists: you are damaging the planet with your efforts to lock up safer drilling areas. There's nothing clean and green about your misguided, nonsensical radicalism, and Americans are on to you as we question your true motives.

Krauthammer: We're drilling deep because "environmentalists have succeeded in rendering the Pacific and nearly all the Atlantic coasts off-limits to oil production." In a May 28 column, Krauthammer blasted environmentalists for driving oil companies into deeper waters. Krauthammer concluded that "we [are] drilling in 5,000 feet of water in the first place" in part because "[e]nvironmental chic has driven us out there."

Doocy: "Back in the day, they used to just drill pretty close to shore," but environmentalists "pushed them out further and further." On the June 3 edition of Fox & Friends, Doocy stated that "back in the day they used to just drill pretty close to shore," but "as the environmentalists said there's a real danger here, they pushed them out further and further." Doocy then cited an editorial in Investor's Business Daily that he said made the "good point" that "questions would this be so tough to cap and stop if it weren't pushed into water almost a mile deep by environmentalists."

IBD: "Environmentalism... help[ed] make" oil spill "possible." In the June 1 editorial Doocy cited, IBD stated, "Environmentalism did not cause the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, but it did help make it possible," and suggested that "if British Petroleum and others were not barred from drilling in ANWR or in the shallower water of the Outer Continental Shelf, we might not be having this conversation."

Limbaugh: "What the environmentalist wackos are making us do is drill down 35,000 feet." Rush Limbaugh claimed on the May 17 broadcast of his radio show: "What the environmentalist wackos are making us do is drill down 35,000 feet, 6.6 miles, when there's oil practically begging to be taken out of the ground in areas that are now off-limits because of U.S. regime regulations."

Kristol: If it weren't for restrictions "after the Santa Barbara incident 40 years ago," we would be drilling closer to shore, "which is probably less dangerous." In a May 2 appearance on Fox News Sunday, Bill Kristol placed blame for the spill on regulations that pushed drilling "50 miles out from the coast." Kristol called himself a "drill-baby-drill person" and went on to suggest that ANWR land be made available for oil extraction, where "there are no waves, there's no ocean," and it is "perfectly easy to drill." Kristol likened the restrictions on drilling in the Gulf to restrictions on nuclear power after the Three Mile Island meltdown, which he claimed even environmentalists agree "was a wild overreaction."

Doocy and Varney agree: "We know why they drill in the deep water, environmentalists pushed them out from the shallow water." On the June 16 edition of Fox & Friends, Doocy stated "We know why [oil companies] drill in the deep water, environmentalists pushed them out from the shallow water." Varney agreed, "That's why we're not drilling in Alaska, not drilling in the shallow water. We've been pushed out in the deep water where it's difficult and dangerous."

Fox's Napolitano: "The feds decided where [BP's] oil well would be drilled." In the opening monologue of the June 16 edition of Glenn Beck, guest host Andrew Napolitano said that the federal government is "able to tell the oil companies where to drill," later adding that "the feds decided where this oil well would be drilled."

Big Government's Flynn: "The federal government made them drill in water that deep." Also on the June 16 edition of Glenn Beck, Mike Flynn, editor in chief of Andrew Breitbart's BigGovernment.com, said of the BP oil well location: "The federal government made them drill in water that deep, let's be clear about that."

O'Reilly: The environmental movement "absolutely did" contribute to the oil spill. On the June 10 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly, while commenting on a Time magazine piece, stated, "What Time magazine ignores and what absolutely did contribute to the disaster is the intense environmental movement, which has prevented much shallow water drilling, and the ANWR arctic exploration."

Napolitano: The government made BP "drill in 5,000 feet of water instead of 500." On the June 10 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto, Napolitano said the "government made BP drill in 5,000 feet of water instead of 500 feet of water."

Right-wing media invent conspiracy theories about the oil spill

Limbaugh suggested that "environmental whackos" may have blown up oil rig to "head off more oil drilling." On his April 29 radio show, Rush Limbaugh questioned "the timing" of the explosion and said: "Lest we forget ... the cap and trade bill was strongly criticized by hardcore environmentalist whackos because it supposedly allowed more offshore drilling and nuclear plants." Limbaugh added: "[W]hat better way to head off more oil drilling and nuclear plants than by blowing up a rig? I'm just, I'm just noting the timing here."

Perino: "[W]as this deliberate?" On the May 3 broadcast of Fox & Friends, Fox News contributor Dana Perino said of the spill: "I'm not trying to introduce a conspiracy theory, but was this deliberate? You know, you have to wonder ... if there was sabotage involved."

Bolling falsely claimed it was "nine days before" the leak "was even addressed" and asked, "Did they let this thing leak? ... if they're going to try and pull drilling, that may be the way they do it." On the May 3 edition of Fox & Friends, Fox Business Network host Eric Bolling said: "The question is ... why the delay in the response? You guys were pointing out, nine days before it was even addressed, 12 days before he made a formal comment. The question is, did they let this thing leak? I mean, BP said maybe a thousand barrels a day, it went to five thousand. Did they let it leak a little bit and say, boy I don't know. I mean, the conspiracy theorists would say, 'maybe they'd let it leak for a while, and then they addressed the issue.' " Bolling added: "It would be a humongous accusation and probably the net result would be no different, but if they're going to try and pull drilling, that may be the way they do it."

Bolling asks if Obama "let" oil rig leak so he "could renege on his promise" to "allow some offshore drilling." On the May 27 edition of Fox Business' Happy Hour, host Eric Bolling asked guest Alan Colmes "Are you sure they didn't let [the oil spill] leak so he could renege on his promise to allow some offshore drilling?"

Michael Brown on Fox News: Obama wanted oil spill so he could "shut down" offshore drilling. On the May 3 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto, former FEMA chief Michael Brown repeatedly suggested that the Obama administration deliberately chose to let the BP oil spill "get really bad" so it would have an "excuse" to "shut down offshore drilling."

Gulf Oil Spill: Tony Hayward Attends Glitzy Yacht Race As Oil Spews Into Gulf

RAPHAEL SATTER,

LONDON — In what one environmentalist described as "yet another public relations disaster" for embattled energy giant BP, CEO Tony Hayward took time off Saturday to attend a glitzy yacht race around England's Isle of Wight.

As social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook lit up with outrage, BP spokespeople rushed to defend Hayward, who has drawn withering criticism as the public face of BP's halting efforts to stop the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Spokeswoman Sheila Williams said Hayward took a break from overseeing BP efforts to stem the undersea gusher in Gulf of Mexico so he could watch his boat "Bob" participate in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race. The 52-foot yacht is made by the Annapolis, Maryland-based boatbuilder Farr Yacht Design.

The annual one-day race is one of the world's largest, attracting more than 1,700 boats and 16,000 sailors as world-renown yachtsmen compete with wealthy amateurs in the 50-nautical mile course around the island.

Robert Wine, a BP spokesman at the company's Houston headquarters, said it was the first break that Hayward has had since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20, killing 11 workers and setting off the undersea oil gusher.

"He's spending a few hours with his family at a weekend. I'm sure that everyone would understand that," Wine said Saturday. "He will be back to deal with the response. It doesn't detract from that at all."

Wine described the race as "one of the biggest sailing events in the world and he's well known to have a keen interest in it."

He said Hayward will be returning to the United States, though it's unclear when.

Still, hobnobbing with millionaires and their yachts is likely to be a hard sell in the Gulf, which is struggling to deal with up to 120 million gallons of oil that have escaped from the blown-out well. Oil has been washing up along the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Florida, killing birds and fish, coating delicate marshes and wetlands and covering pristine beaches with tar balls.

Hayward already angered many in the U.S. when he was quoted in the Times of London as suggesting that Americans were particularly likely to file bogus claims. He later shocked residents in Louisiana by telling them that no one wanted to resolve the crisis as badly as he did because "I'd like my life back."

A pair of relief wells that won't be done until August is the best bet to stop the massive spill. By late June, the oil giant hopes it can keep nearly 90 percent of the flow from the broken pipe from hitting the ocean.

Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen says a newly expanded containment system is capturing or incinerating more than 1 million gallons (3.8 million liters) of oil daily, the first time it has approached its peak capacity.

Just minutes after reports about Hayward emerged Saturday, the issue became a hot topic on social networking sites, with people on Twitter passing along the news and reacting to it every few seconds. Some comments called the move "mindboggling" while others noted he had gotten his life back – while Gulf residents had not.

British environmental groups immediately slammed Hayward's outing. Charlie Kronick of Greenpeace said Hayward was "rubbing salt into the wounds" of Gulf residents whose livelihoods have been wrecked by the disaster.

"Clearly it is incredibly insulting for him to be sailing in the Isle of Wight," he said.

Hugh Walding of Friends of the Earth said Hayward's choice of venue was sure to arouse anger.

"I'm sure that this will be seen as yet another public relations disaster," Walding said.

On Thursday, Hayward told lawmakers on a U.S. House investigations panel that he was out of the loop on decisions surrounding the blown well. Both Democrats and Republicans were infuriated when he asserted, "I'm not stonewalling."

The next day, BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg seemed to suggest that Hayward was being withdrawn from the front line of the oil spill response, although his comments were later qualified.

"It is clear that Tony has made remarks that have upset people," Svanberg told Sky News television, adding that Hayward was "now handing over" daily operations to BP Managing Director Bob Dudley.

Williams said Svanberg was misunderstood and that only a transition to Dudley, an American with 30 years in the oil business, had begun.

"Hayward is very much in charge until we've stopped the leak," she told the AP on Saturday.

Wine said "there's not a hard and fast date" on when Dudley will be completely in charge.

It was not clear whether Hayward actually took part in Saturday's race or attended as a spectator. Williams said Hayward was there with his son. A British news agency took a picture of what it thought was Hayward on the yacht that he owns with other investors, but BP would not confirm that it was Hayward.

Peta Stuart-Hunt, a press officer for the event, said Hayward "wasn't listed on any of the crew list."

"If he is on the boat, he's in contravention of the rules," she said.

Hayward's boat finished fourth in its class. This year's attendees at Isle of Wight race included British Olympic gold medal sailor Ben Ainslie.

Fox host defends congressman’s ’shakedown’ comment

By David Edwards and Muriel Kane

Congressman Joe Barton hasn't had many defenders since his apologized to the CEO of BP at a Congressional hearing on Thursday. But Fox Business Network host Stuart Varney believes the Texas Republican had a valid point in describing White House pressure for BP to establish a $20 billion escrow fund as a government "shakedown."

"In that White House meeting," Varney dramatically told the hosts of Fox & Friends on Friday, "reportedly Vice President Biden says, 'Pay up or else we'll bring the full court press of the United States government to bear on you and you will pay.'"

"It bypasses the courts," Varney added. "Liability claims should go through the courts. This time they didn't."

As it happens, a fear of precisely the kind of prolonged litigation that occurred after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 was one of the major considerations prompting the creation of the escrow fund. Last week, the Huffington Post's Sam Stein wrote, "The lessons of the Exxon Valdez disaster have made members of Congress increasingly insecure about the promises made by BP to cover the total cost of the damage it's caused in the Gulf of Mexico."

"Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) told the Huffington Post that he wants the oil giant to sign a pledge committing itself to covering economic damages that would be legally binding," Stein continued. "Doing so would fulfill the promises BP has already made, the North Dakota Democrat argued. It would also effectively remove the possibility that the company could drag out questions of liability through decades of litigation -- much like Exxon did following its spill in Alaskan waters.

Varney, however, appeared to see no motivation for the escrow fund besides political posturing by a federal government that has been unable to deal with BP's disaster. "The administration wins politically by beating up on BP and taking $20 billion off them," he stated indignantly. "It also diverts attention from the administration's own failure to clean up this mess."

Beyond that, Varney sees in the fund a threat of creeping socialism.

"What happens if BP can't come up with this $20 billion?" he asked. "Let's suppose that the administration does, indeed, drive them into bankruptcy. ... Essentially, BP becomes nationalized, because part of this $20 billion deal is, 'If you can't pay, we get your assets.' ... That $20 billion deal essentially contained a lien on BP North America. Collateral. If you don't pay, we get the pipeline."

Varney's nightmare scenario does not appear highly likely to occur. Currently, BP appears in online listings as having $240.64 billion in assets, ranking second in its industry only to Exxon Mobil, and its profits for the first quarter of 2010 were $6 billion. Although speculation was rife ten days ago that the Gulf disaster might drive BP into bankruptcy, analysts quickly concluded that BP has the financial flexibility to deal with its liabilities unless "we're still talking about this in 2011 and the price tag has reached $75 billion or $100 billion."

Varney, however, warns direly that BP "could yet be forced into bankruptcy. And if they are, then BP is semi-nationalized by the American government."

This video is from Fox News' Fox & Friends, broadcast June 18, 2010.

Conservative media defend BP by claiming Obama is "demonizing" the company

From Media Matters Media conservatives are rushing to BP's defense, attacking the Obama administration for "demonizing" the company after the Gulf oil spill.

Conservative chorus: Administration is "demonizing" BP Varney: The federal government has "demonized" and "looted" BP. Appearing on Glenn Beck, Fox Business' Stuart Varney stated: "BP was prepared to meet all genuine claims, all viable claims. It said frequently it would pay legitimate claims. Not good enough for the government. They have successfully demonized and now looted BP." [Glenn Beck, 6/16/10] Barnes' advice to Obama: "Stop demonizing BP." Discussing public approval ratings of Obama's handling of the spill, Fox News political contributor Fred Barnes said that Obama could "turn those poll numbers around" by ending the six-month moratorium on offshore drilling and "particularly stop demonizing BP." [Special Report with Bret Baier, 6/15/10] Newsmax's Kessler: Obama has "confused the good guys with the bad guys by demonizing BP." Newsmax's Ronald Kessler wrote in a June 14 article: "Count on Obama to emerge from the meeting with BP full of bravado, childishly saying he is trying to determine 'whose ass to kick.' " Kessler continued: "But having confused the good guys with the bad guys by demonizing BP, Obama has torpedoed his own efforts." [Newsmax.com, 6/14/10] Hoenig: Congressional hearings are "about humiliating CEOs and demonizing big oil." Appearing on Fox Business Network's Cavuto, guest Jonathan Hoenig commented: "Well, this wasn't about solutions, Neil. This wasn't about cleaning up the oil spill. This is about humiliating CEOs and demonizing big oil, not unlike the Toyota hearings, not unlike the bank hearings. I mean, that was the purpose of today's hearings." [Cavuto, 6/15/10] Varney: Obama's response is to "[d]emonize BP, seize its assets, raise taxes on energy." Appearing on Hannity, Varney stated: "The administration's response can be summed up as follows: Demonize BP, seize its assets, raise taxes on energy, and therefore raise prices, pile on regulation, appoint a commission, all to gloss over the failure to deal promptly with the oil spill. And then give us pipe dreams about a green future." [Hannity, 6/15/10] Palin: "[W]e can't afford to demonize" BP. On The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News' Sarah Palin complained that "we can't afford to demonize these energy producers to such an extent, though, that they go under. We do need to work with them, though, but we need to verify everything it is and hold them accountable for all that they have done in this situation." [The O'Reilly Factor, 6/15/10] Crowley: "[T]his is his default position: demonize BP." On The McLaughlin Group, radio host and Fox News political analyst Monica Crowley commented: "Look, this is nothing new coming from this president. He needs an enemy, John. He has demonized the banks, demonized Wall Street, demonized health care companies, demonized Fox News, demonized the Republicans. So it's -- this is his default position: demonize BP, when what the White House should be doing -- there will be plenty of time to assign blame, do the lawsuits, do the culpability. But right now, they should be working as partners to try to plug the damn hole and get the area cleaned up." [The McLaughlin Group, 6/13/10]

Joe Barton to BP: ‘I apologize’ for the White House ‘shakedown.’

By Brad Johnson

During a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee this morning, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) “apologize[d]” to BP CEO Tony Hayward, accusing the White House of an illegal “shakedown” of the foreign oil giant to secure a $20 billion escrow fund for Gulf Coast damages. Barton repeated the Republican attack that the escrow fund is a result of a White House “shakedown” that contravenes “due process,” saying that he was “ashamed” and would “go to jail” if he abused his elected powers similarly. Although he admitted that BP was liable for the billions of dollars of damages to the American people caused by its catastrophic oil disaster, Barton said “I apologize” that BP had to establish this “slush fund,” which he called “a tragedy of the first proportion”:

BARTON: I’m speaking totally for myself, I’m not speaking for the Republican Party, I’m not speaking for anybody in the House of Representatives but myself. But I’m ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday. I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown, in this case a $20 billion shakedown — with the Attorney General of the United States who is legitimately conducting a criminal investigation and has every right to do so to protect the interests of the American people — participating in what amounts to a $20 billion slush fund that is unprecedented in our nation’s history, that’s got no legal standing, which I think sets a terrible precedent for the future.

If I called you into my office, and I had the subcommittee chairman Mr. Stupak with me, who was legitimately conducting an oversight investigation on your company, and said if you put so many millions of dollars in a project in my congressional district, I could go to jail and should go to jail. Now, there is no question that British Petroleum owns this lease, that BP made decisions that objective people think compromise safety. There is no question that BP is liable for the damages. But we have a due process system where we go through hearings, in some cases court cases, litigation and determine what those damages are and when those damages should be paid.

So I’m only speaking for myself, I’m not speaking for anybody else, but I apologize, I do not want to live in a country where anytime a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong is subject to some sort of political pressure that is again in my words amounts to a shakedown. So I apologize.

Watch it:

The “slush fund” will not be managed by the federal government or BP, but an independent third party, funded over four years with a small fraction of BP’s annual revenues. Barton has taken $1.4 million from the oil and gas industry, including $27,350 from BP. In Barton’s world, it seems that the small people have to pay for their mistakes, but companies don’t.

Update White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs responded to Barton's comment, calling it "shameful" that he "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."

Update By calling the Gulf Coast relief money a "slush fund," Joe Barton was following the lead of conservative thinker Rush Limbaugh and other right-wing pundits, Media Matters notes.

Update Nate Silver points out that Barton's top corporate donor is a partner of BP on Deepwater Horizon.

Update The New York Daily News adds:

Barton is also one of Big Oil's biggest boosters and once touted off-shore drilling as so advanced it can function around the clock "without so much as losing a gum wrapper over the side of the platform." Before his election to Congress, Barton was an executive with ARCO, which was later acquired by BP. He has taken $1.4 million in campaign contributions from the industry since 1989, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Barton's backers have been political action committees and employees of Anadarko Petroleum, Exxon Mobil and Valero Energy, the watchdog group reported.

More GOP Lawmakers Hop On Bandwagon To Smear $20 Billion Escrow Fund As ‘Chicago Style Shakedown’

By Lee Fang

Last night, the Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest caucus of Republican House members, fired off a statement declaring that the $20 billion dollar negotiated by BP and the Obama administration for victims of the oil catastrophe in the gulf is a “Chicago-Style Political Shakedown.” Echoing this sentiment, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) told BP executives that he is “sorry” for Obama’s “shakedown” of their company.

This morning, ThinkProgress traveled to Capitol Hill to interview lawmakers about the escrow fund. Several members of Congress, like Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), agreed with the RSC’s criticism of the fund. Even though Fleming’s home state of Louisiana has been devastated by BP’s spill, Fleming attacked the administration for not trusting BP and for daring to “take control of all the money from BP.” Asked about Barton’s apology to BP, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) said any lawmaker has a right to “do what they want”:

TP: He announced the $20 billion dollar escrow fund, funded by BP, to compensate some of the victims of this catastrophe. The Republican Study Committee put out a press release last night saying it’s a Chicago style power grab, do you agree with that sentiment?

FLEMING: I do because what we have seen from this administration is whenever something like this happens — look at automotive industry, financial industry — what they do is take control of dollars then they begin to disperse them along political agendas. And we’ve seen this happen before, and it looks like its the development here. BP has said, time and time again, that they will process all legitimate claims, we have no reason to believe they won’t. Why does the administration feel like it’s got to take control of all the money from BP?

TP: So Congressman, the Republican Study Committee last night said that the $20 billion dollar escrow fund is just another Chicago style politics kind of power grab. Do you agree with that, do you think that’s a fair characterization?

JORDAN: I’m, look, I’m always worried about this unprecedented involvement by the government in the private sector and look, BP obviously made some mistakes, but do we really believe the Federal government is going to do a better job?

TP: What do you think about Joe Barton in the hearing this morning, he said ‘I apologize’ to the BP executives for the escrow fund, saying again it’s a shakedown [...] Do you have any kind of reaction to a member of Congress apologizing to BP executives?

NUNES: Look, every member of Congress represents seven, eight hundred thousand people and they can do what they want.

Watch it:

The apology from Barton does not appear to be a “gaffe” — rather, it seems like a genuine belief held by conservatives and much of the Republican Party that no matter the crime committed by BP or another major corporation, any effort to conduct oversight for the victims is somehow a government “shakedown.” Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) made a similar argument as Fleming, explaining that the escrow fund for BP’s victims is just another Obama effort to “redistribute the wealth.” As Steve Benen notes, Dick Armey, Rand Paul (R-KY), Sharron Angle (R-NV), Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS) and the Heritage Foundation have all attacked Obama for daring to interfere with “private businesses” even during one of the greatest environmental and economic disasters in modern America.

This knee-jerk defense of big business isn’t confined to BP or the oil spill disaster. During the health reform debate, conservative lawmakers, like Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), quickly came to the defense of health insurance companies fighting against reform.

Barbour Is Concerned That Escrow Account Will Cut Into BP’s Profits: ‘It Bothers Me’

By Ben Armbruster

The Obama administration announced this week that it wants BP to transfer “substantial” funds to an escrow account overseen by an independent third party that will handle claims from individuals and businesses affected by the company’s oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. “We need to make sure that the interests of people in the Gulf are protected,” senior White House adviser David Axelrod said on Sunday. Congressional Democrats have asked BP to create a $20 billion fund.

Sticking with the “Obama is a socialist” meme, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) called the account a “redistribution of wealth fund.” Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) also thinks it is a bad idea. Although he noted on Fox News last night that BP is “saying that they have the ability to pay and that they will pay,” Barbour expressed concern that BP will lose some profits:

BARBOUR: If BP is the responsible party under the law, they’re to pay for everything. I do worry that this idea of making them make a huge escrow fund is going to make it less likely that they’ll pay for everything. They need their capital to drill wells. They need their capital to produce income. … But this escrow bothers me that it’s going to make them less able to pay us what they owe us. And that concerns me. … [I]t bothers me to talk about causing an escrow to be made, which will — which makes it less likely that they’ll make the income that they need to pay us.

Watch it:

Of course, the whole point of the escrow account is to assure that BP — not the taxpayer — is on the hook for the Gulf oil disaster bill. Despite CEO Tony Hayward’s recent claim that the oil giant has paid every claim, BP has actually paid fewer than half and has been less than transparent about the process.

It’s unclear why Barbour is so worried about BP not having enough funds for the account. The company made $163 billion in profits from 2001 through 2009 and nearly $6 billion in the first quarter of 2010 alone. As the Washington Post noted, in the early days of the spill, BP paid $17.5 million per day while the company made on average $93 million per day in the first quarter.

In fact, throughout the oil spill disaster, Barbour has come to BP’s defense, downplaying its impact, blaming the media for his state’s economic woes, and even encouraging tourists to come to Mississippi’s oil contaminated beaches. “BP has never said no to any requests we have made,” he said. “I’m not going to complain.” Indeed, Barbour probably won’t complain because he owes the oil and gas industry for his rise in politics.

GOP congressional candidate: The federal government and BP colluded to spill oil in the Gulf.

By Amanda Terkel Shortly after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, disgraced FEMA director Michael Brown went on Fox News and

claimed that the Obama administration wanted the devastating oil spill as an excuse to backtrack on its offshore drilling plan. Around the same time, Rush Limbaugh unleashed a conspiracy theory suggesting that someone intentionally blew up the rig in order to “head off more oil drilling.” After widespread mockery and criticism, these types of oil spill truthers have largely gone quiet. Now, however, Bill Randall, who’s competing to be the GOP nominee in a congressional race in North Carolina and identifies with the Tea Party movement, is going even further by saying that the federal government and BP worked together to spill oil:

“Now, I’m not necessarily a conspiracy person, but I don’t think enough investigation has been done on this,” Randall said at a media conference on Tuesday. “Someone needs to be digging into that situation. Personally, and this is purely speculative on my part and not based on any fact, but personally I feel there is a possibility that there was some sort of collusion. I don’t know how or why, but in that situation, if you have someone from a company violating a safety process and the government signing off on it, excuse me, maybe they wanted it to leak.

“But then it got beyond what was anticipated, and we had an explosion and loss of life. And, oh man, then we have panic. Is there a cover up going on? I’m not saying there necessarily is. But I think there’s enough facts on the table for people that (they) really need to do some investigative research and find out what went on with that and get a subpoena of records and everything else.”

The spokesman for Randall’s GOP primary opponent mocked his trutherism, saying, “Does Bill Randall also think we didn’t land on the moon?”

Right-wing media misrepresent Obama remarks about oil spill and 9-11

From Media Matters: Right-wing media have falsely suggested that in an interview with Politico, President Obama equated the disasters of 9-11 and the Gulf oil spill. In fact, Obama said the oil spill is likely to shape future environmental and energy policy, similar to how U.S. foreign policy was shaped by the 9-11 attacks.

Obama: Oil spill likely to shape environmental policy as 9-11 shaped foreign policy Politico: Obama said oil spill " 'echoes 9/11' because it will change the nation's psyche for years to come." In an interview with Politico, Obama said that the oil spill " 'echoes 9/11' because it will change the nation's psyche for years to come." He further stated: "In the same way that our view of our vulnerabilities and our foreign policy was shaped profoundly by 9/11 ... I think this disaster is going to shape how we think about the environment and energy for many years to come." From the Politico article: Sounding reflective as he heads into a bruising electoral season, President Barack Obama told POLITICO columnist Roger Simon that the Gulf disaster "echoes 9/11" because it will change the nation's psyche for years to come. Obama -- facing mounting criticism of his handling of the BP gusher, even from longtime allies -- vowed to make a "bold" push for a new energy law even as the calamity continues to unfold. And he said he will use the rest of his presidency to try to put the United States on a course toward a "new way of doing business when it comes to energy." "In the same way that our view of our vulnerabilities and our foreign policy was shaped profoundly by 9/11," the president said in an Oval Office interview on Friday, "I think this disaster is going to shape how we think about the environment and energy for many years to come." Right-wing media omit context, suggesting Obama equated the disasters Hoft: Obama said "the Oil Spill is Like 9-11." In a June 13 Gateway Pundit post, Jim Hoft wrote: "Barack Obama told The Politico this morning that the Gulf oil spill was like 9-11. Then he went golfing for 4 hours." Hoft did not note the context of Obama's remarks. Doug Powers: Obama "compar[ed] the oil spill to the most deadly attack on American soil." In a June 13 post on Michelle Malkin's website, guest-blogger Doug Powers wrote, "This morning, Obama compared the spill to 9/11, and right after comparing the oil spill to the most deadly attack on American soil, he went golfing for four hours." He further stated: 9/11 -- you remember that day, when people died in an accident caused by airliners taking maintenance short-cuts combined with government environmental regulations that made buildings taller than they should be followed by the president using the tragedy as justification to pass Cap & Trade. The similarities to the Gulf spill are uncanny! Wash. Examiner's Hemingway: Obama "playing up the urgency of the oil spill saying it 'echoes 9/11.' " In a June 14 Washington Examiner blog post titled, "Obama: Oil spill 'echoes 911' ... now watch this drive!" Mark Hemingway wrote: "Politico ran a story with the president playing up the urgency of the oil spill saying it 'echoes 9/11.' Then as Jim Hoft notes, he proceeded to go golfing for four hours." Doocy: Obama "told Politico that this whole disaster has echoes of 9-11"; does not note context of remarks. On the June 14 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-host Steve Doocy said, "The president told Politico that this whole disaster has echoes of 9-11." Doocy later said: "While this is going on in the Gulf, what is the president of the United States doing yesterday? He spent four hours golfing." Throughout the segment, Fox & Friends did not explain the context of Obama's quote. Fox & Friends quotes 9-11 family member who criticized Obama but does not mention one who said comparison has validity. During the Fox & Friends segment, Doocy read a quote from a New York Daily News article in which the father of a man who died in the 9-11 attacks said it is "ridiculous" to "compare an environmental accident, if that's what you call it, to a premeditated terrorist attack." Fox News contributor Dana Perino later said during the segment, "For the families of the victims of 9-11, that comparison rings hollow." But Fox & Friends did not note that the same article also stated, "Sally Regenhard, who also lost a son, said she could see some validity to the comparisons." The article quoted Regenhard as saying: "Just like on 9/11, there were no plans for emergency preparedness, coordination of response. ... It's a failure of the system and the government. I'm not offended by the comment." Fox News host actually did say oil spill could be a "bigger" story than the 9-11 attacks Shepard Smith: "This could end up being the story of our generation, couldn't it? Bigger than the attacks on the World Trade Center." Mediaite noted on May 26 that Fox News' Shepard Smith stated: "This could end up being the story of our generation, couldn't it? Bigger than the attacks on the World Trade Center, bigger than most anything, if 14 million people live down there and a way of life -- it's just unthinkable." Like Obama, conservative scholar invoked 9-11 while discussing oil spill. In a May 24 Washington Examiner column, James Carafano, a Heritage Foundation fellow, discussed the "lack of preparation" that "turned thousands of 9/11 responders into 9/11 victims." Carafano went on to discuss the Gulf oil spill and stated, "[H]ave officials learned the painful lesson of this experience? Probably not." Like Obama, Carafano discussed the two disasters without equating them. Numerous conservatives have compared oil spill to Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina resulted in more than 1,500 deaths. A report from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee stated that Hurricane Katrina "destroyed an entire region, killing more than 1,500, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless, and ravaging one of America's most storied cities." Limbaugh: "Obama's Katrina. That damn oil slick just got in the way." During the April 30 edition of his radio show, Rush Limbaugh referred to the oil spill as "Obama's Katrina," adding: "That damn oil slick just got in the way. So he had to give some lip service to the oil slick. 'It's all British Petroleum's fault. They gotta clean it up. I'm sending some czars down there.' " Fox Nation: "Heckuva job? Obama scrambling after week-old spill." From the Fox Nation, accessed April 30: fn_obamakatrina Big Bureaucracy: "Such erratic behavior brings a Katrina déjà vu." An April 29 post on Big Bureaucracy, to which the Fox Nation linked, stated: "Remind you of something: disaster hitting Louisiana, military called too late -- observing while the losers in charge cannot give a decent estimate of the problem for days, The White House waffling on the issue being afraid of midterm elections? Such erratic behavior brings a Katrina déjà vu." Wash. Times: Obama will "be closely scrutinized for parallels" to Katrina response. In an April 29 Washington Times article, Joseph Curl reported: "Failure to get control of the relief effort and contain the environmental challenge could pose the same kind of political threat to Mr. Obama's popular standing that the much-criticized handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina did for former President George W. Bush. And unlike Katrina, it is likely the federal government will be the clear lead authority in dealing with the BP spill." Curl also wrote: "Mr. Obama's response to the disaster will be closely scrutinized for parallels to the response of Mr. Bush to the devastating Hurricane Katrina that blew into New Orleans in August 2005, destroying levies and damaging the below-sea-level city." Drudge: Response "threatens to turn oil spill into Obama's 'Katrina...'" On April 30, the Drudge Report linked to The Washington Times article with the headline: "Slow federal response threatens to turn oil spill into Obama's 'Katrina'..." From the Drudge Report: drudge_obamakatrina Boston Herald blog: "Is Gulf Oil Spill Obama's Katrina?" In an April 30 post headlined, "Is Gulf Oil Spill Obama's Katrina?" the Boston Herald's Lone Republican blog asserted: "If this explosion and delay to react had occurred during President Bush's watch don't you think there would be front page articles hanging Bush out to dry?" Business Insider: "Hello, The Gulf Oil Spill Is Obama's Katrina." In an April 29 Business Insider article, Joe Weisenthal asserted: "Will the oil spill in the gulf -- which some suspect could be worse than Exxon Valdez -- be the equivalent for Barack Obama?" Weisenthal continued: "Let's at least acknowledge the obvious opposite, that if we were currently in a Republican administration that had just okayed offshore drilling in America, and they had gone eight days without serious action, they'd be getting absolutely pilloried in the press." The article was headlined, "Hello, the Gulf Oil Spill is Obama's Katrina." Hannity: Oil spill has "been called Obama's Katrina." On the May 7 edition of his Fox News program, Sean Hannity said that the "administration's response to the disaster in the Gulf" has "been called Obama's Katrina." On-screen text during Hannity's comments stated, "Obama's Katrina?"

BP Faces Backlash From Everyone From Gas Consumers To A Minor League Baseball Team

By Think Progress

As oil keeps pouring into the Gulf of Mexico, oil giant BP continues to see its reputation dragged further and further through the muck. Across the Gulf Coast, anti-BP signs and calls for help are popping up. On Friday, people gathered at BP’s DC headquarters to protest the corporation and present a “prison jumpsuit” to CEO Tony Hayward. While no one came down to accept the gift, ThinkProgress was covering the event and saw several BP employees watching from the safety of their 7th floor offices.

Protests at the local level — even ones that are nothing more than symbolic in nature — are also picking up. The Brevard County Manatees, the minor league Class-A Advanced Florida State League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, has officially changed the name of “batting practice” — known as “BP” for short — to “hitting rehearsal.” “We hope to send a message to the community that we are definitely worried with the pollution that is in the waters off the Gulf Coast and its potential impact on the beaches here in Brevard County,” said the team’s general manager.

Yesterday in Pensacola, FL — which is on the Gulf Coast close to the Alabama border and now has tar balls washing up on its beaches — about 30 protesters gathered outside of a local BP gas station for a two-hour demonstration, with signs and bumper stickers reading, “Boycott BP,” “BP Lies Pensacola Dies,” and Wake Up and Smell the Oil.” Some other protests at BP stations around the country:

– On May 30, more than 200 protesters “swarmed Jackson Square” in New Orleans to vent their frustration at BP, where speakers “lashed out” at the “slow effort to keep oil from hitting Louisiana’s coastline.” Many posters had “scathing messages” including “BP = $ over people” and “refuse to be LOSEiana anymore.”

– Over Memorial Day weekend, hundreds of protesters “covered in ‘oil’ or dressed like sea creatures” flocked to a New York City BP station to rally against the oil spill and “to keep motorists from filling up.” Protesters chanted “BP your heart is black, you can have your oil back.”

– On June 3, middle-school students from Illinois valley spent the day “on a stretch of public sidewalk” outside a BP station “shouting facts about the disaster” and chanting “agree with me, don’t buy from BP.”

– Fifteen students in St. Cloud, MN “circled in front” of a BP gas station on Friday holding “painted signs” to show that “young people are doing something and they have a voice.”

– Over Memorial Day weekend, more than 20 protesters demonstrated outside a local convenience store in Charlottesville, VA. One protester urged the need for clean energy sources with “a placard touting fuel from hemp.”

– Protests have also gone viral. Over 330,000 members have joined the Boycott BP Facebook group. Twitter’s BP Boycott has over 2,500 followers.

Many business owners are worried that these boycotts and protests may hurt their profits while not affecting the parent company. The vast majority of the 10,000 BP stations in the country and independently owned and operated.

While the company isn’t publicly addressing the boycott efforts, they may still end up affecting how BP operates. Consumers also boycotted Exxon stations after the 1989 spill in Alaska, and while the company ignored it publicly, Exxon has now “reduced its dependence on consumer sales, and the company is much more dependent on business-to-business sales than it was 20 years ago.” Eighty-one percent of Americans disapprove of BP’s response to the spill, and 64 percent believe the government should pursue criminal charges against those involved.