W hile MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough has repeatedly defended President Obama’s handling of the oil spill, he used his show on Thursday to trash Republican Joe Barton and focus on getting the Congressman removed from his position on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Scarborough is supposedly the “voice of the right” on the Morning Joe panel, but he conducted a 10-minute, one-sided rant against Barton and GOP members of Congress. Scarborough quizzed Representative Eric Cantor, ” Why is Joe Barton allowed to keep his job when Joe Barton apologized to a corporation that is destroying my hometown and its economy and destroying the environment across the Gulf Coast ?” Cantor repeatedly asserted that Congressman Barton was not the issue, that he apologized for his statements (over how the administration has treated BP) and that the real priority was, “the beaches in Pensacola and the economy that is being battered and the environmental disaster of epic proportions in the gulf, that is the issue and how do we stop this gushing of oil?” Barton’s apology was, however, not enough for Scarborough who continued to berate him. He exclaimed that, “Joe Barton is the issue because Joe Barton is the most powerful Republican on Capitol Hill when it comes to energy policy and that shows his mind set.” Cantor denied that statement and reminded Scarborough that “the House is under control of the majority and Speaker Pelosi and Leader Hoyer and they are in charge of these things.” This is accurate, because regardless if the Republicans regain control of the House, there are term limits on how long a Member of Congress can serve as either the ranking member or the chairman of a committee. Joe Barton has hit that limit. However, Scarborough , the former Republican Congressman, has apparently made it his new mission to advise the Republicans by continuing to mock and insult the members.
