Not the first time CK’s bucked “true conservative” dogma, although I bet he’ll be surprised to find that his take on this is even semi-controversial on the right. Like he says, and as I acknowledged earlier, Barton has a fair point about The One’s pressure tactics with corporations. Granted, there was no “gun on the table” during yesterday’s negotiations, but there didn’t need to be: The most powerful prosecutor in the land was sitting right there, a physical reminder to BP that they could do things the easy way by accepting the escrow plan or they could do them the hard way by refusing. But with 60,000 barrels a day bubbling up in the gulf and Bobby Jindal so desperate that he appears ready to start scooping the oil out of the water with his hands, a House hearing aimed at fact-finding about BP’s negligence was not the time to go about making that point. In fact, to the extent that what Barton said plays into the left’s narrative of Republicans as mindless slaves of big business, it actually gives The One political cover to bully other companies in the future. It’s amazing that this needs to be pointed out to a sitting congressman, but if someone whose conservative credentials are as impeccable as CK’s is willing to try, I’m happy to pass it along. Click the image to watch.