VIDEO: TRACE ADKINS RIPS OBAMA OVER DRILLING MORATORIUM

I've always liked Trace Adkins' music but I think I like it a whole lot more after watching this interview. CNN's Anderson Cooper does a very decent job in this interview, asking Adkins some good questions. Before watching this, I had no idea that the now famous country singer worked in the oil fields for four years and on rigs in the Gulf of Mexico for six years. That unquestionably makes him qualified to speak on the subject - unlike typical celebrities, who do it anyway.

This whole segment is worth watching but hang in there until Cooper asks Adkins for his opinion on Barack Obama's offshore drilling moratorium. Some of the words used are "Idiotic", "Juvenile", and "uninformed" - all after rolling his eyes in obvious disgust at Obama. He then goes on to say that the moratorium is like "kicking a man when he's down". Adkins' point is a very good one.

Yes, fishing and tourism are livelihoods for many on the Gulf Coast but so is oil drilling. Demonstrating how supply side economics works, Adkins then points to all of the industries that will be negatively impacted by this insane decision. Either Obama hasn't thought about them or he simply doesn't care.

Also note at the end of the interview, Cooper asks Adkins about which one of his songs would best fit the oil disaster. Adkins response is the song, "Missing You". A link to a video of that song is below the Anderson Cooper interview.



Click HERE to watch video of "Missing You".

h/t to Hot Air Pundit for CNN interview

ISSA PLEDGING SUBPOENAS IF CHAIRMAN

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is currently the ranking Republican member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and has become the face of Republican opposition to the Sestak / Abramoff stonewalling by the Obama administration. He's now making it very clear that he will use subpoena power if he becomes chairman of that commmittee as a result of the upcoming November elections.

POLTICO is reporting, with dripping liberal bias, on what Issa's plans are:

Rep. Darrell Issa, the conservative firebrand whose specialty is lobbing corruption allegations at the Obama White House, is making plans to hire dozens of subpoena-wielding investigators if Republicans win the House this fall.

The California Republican’s daily denunciations draw cheers from partisans and bookings from cable TV producers. He even bought his own earphone for live shots. But his bombastic style and attention-seeking investigations draw eye rolls from other quarters. Now, he’s making clear he won’t be so easy to shrug off if he becomes chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in 2011.

Politico is known for its liberal bent already but I found this article particularly angry. This tells me that despite the left's attempts to downplay bribes as something that should be excused as business as usual, they're getting quite concerned about Issa's pledged aggressiveness and preparedness for a big showdown.

If the House gets a majority in November's elections and Obama's numbers continue tanking, Issa very well may get some serious political momentum behind him. As Politico reports, he's preparing for such a scenario right now.

Issa has told Republican leadership that if he becomes chairman, he wants to roughly double his staff from 40 to between 70 and 80. And he is not subtle about what that means for President Barack Obama.

This story has definitely got the attention of the Democrats and you can tell by how Politico goes after Issa in this article.

Read it all.

VIDEO: JOE BARTON'S JOE WILSON MOMENT

Not only do Representative's Joe Barton (R-TX) and Joe Wilson (R-SC) share the same first name but they also now share something else in common. Both were chastised by leaders within their own party for speaking the truth. In the case of Wilson, one might argue that whether he was right or not, calling the president a liar during a joint session of congress was over the line and a breech of protocol. I guess we're supposed to ignore the fact that Wilson was proven right countless times since and consequently, his two words - 'you lie' - have been aging like a fine.

At a House Committee hearing on June 17th designed to give BP Executive Tony Hayward a political flogging while simultaneously giving U.S. Representatives the opportunity to grandstand as oil continues spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, Barton seemed to channel Wilson, stating the uncomfortable truth. He called the $20 Billion escrow fund BP was ordered by Barack Obama to create a "shakedown" and "slush fund". He also apologized to Hayward for it. The Democrats immediately went into shrill-mode, decrying Barton's comments.

Now, House Minority leader John Boehner is leading the charge of Republican House leaders in doing to Barton what John McCain and other Republicans did to Joe Wilson - turning on him for speaking the truth and forcing Barton to apologize.

Via Politico:

Showing just how involved Republican leadership was in damage control over Barton’s comments today, the retraction was forwarded to the media by House Minority Leader John Boehner’s office. Moments after Boehner’s office publicized Barton’s retraction, Boehner, Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-Ind.) sent out a statement condemning Barton.

“Congressman Barton’s statements this morning were wrong,” the GOP leadership trio said in a rare joint statement. “BP itself has acknowledged that responsibility for the economic damages lies with them and has offered an initial pledge of $20 billion dollars for that purpose. The families and businesspeople in the Gulf region want leadership, accountability and action from BP and the Administration.”

These are the same leaders who've no doubt seen what this administration has done with money it has control over. Boehner himself once said, "Oh, my God" in reference to a previous shakedown.

Republican leadership once again shows that when forced to play a game of chicken with Democrats, it always bows out. Here are Barton's comments.



h/t to Big Journalism for the video