Priorities
by digby
Haley Barbour is nearly tongue-tied trying to explain why the moratorium is worse than the spill:
I’m surprised these conservatives haven’t used this argument when the food and drug companies when their products are killing people: sure, the e coli may be deadly but we can’t stop selling that tainted meat because it costs jobs and drives up prices.
I get that many people on the Gulf are freaking out about the twin crisis of the spill and the loss of oil jobs, but unfortunately, that can’t be the main concern at the moment. Money can and should be made available to compensate the people affected, but the bigger problem is the catastrophic harm that’s being done to the environment — which affects everyone. The oceans belong to everyone and we’re all screwed by their destruction.
Meanwhile, the NY Times touts this oleaginous whore as a bright new political star with a possible presidency in his future:
He is a former lobbyist, Republican National Committee chairman, White House political director and a familiar enough piece of the national political furniture to be known simply as “Haley” within certain Washington circles. Now, for the second time in five years, Mr. Barbour finds himself in a highly visible role during a Gulf Coast catastrophe. As he nears the end of his eight-year stint as governor, Mr. Barbour’s performance could help shift his political image from that of an insider party boss to an out-front crisis manager — and possible presidential candidate in 2012. […]
Mr. Barbour exudes a throwback vibe harking to a time when politicians were unafraid to call themselves “politicians” and could actually admit to being well-connected insiders who know people in Washington, tell the occasional dirty joke and sip a cocktail or three after hours. “Haley is on a neck-hugging basis with more people in politics than you will ever see,” said Martin Wiseman, the director of the John C. Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University. Recently dubbed “the anti-Obama” by Newsweek, Mr. Barbour has attributes that could prove to be a counterintuitive asset for him if he decides to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. “If you think ahead to 2012, we are not going to beat the president with someone who has the same M.O. as the president,” said Nick Ayers, the executive director of the Republican Governors Association, of which Mr. Barbour is chairman.
I’ve long thought that Barbour was destined to make a run. He’s the personification of the rump Southern Republicans. Why wouldn’t he run?
(And contrary to the assumptions of people quoted in the article, the fact that he’s fat is not a hindrance to his popularity. He jocularly describes himself as a “fat redneck” for a reason. It’s only fat liberals who are subject to mockery and dismissal. Remember, hypocrisy is not a recognized concept among Republicans.)
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