Though the Ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce later withdrew the apology he made to BP CEO Tony Hayward during a hearing Thursday, Emanuel made the case that Barton’s remarks were no mistake. “That’s not a political gaffe, those are prepared remarks. That is a philosophy. That is an approach to what they see. They see the aggrieved party here as BP, not the fishermen,” Emanuel told me during my exclusive This Week interview.

Emanuel said Barton and Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul, who recently called the President’s criticism of BP “un-American,” are a reflection of the Republican Party’s governing philosophy. “They think that the government’s the problem,” Emanuel said. “And I think what Joe Barton did was remind the American people, in case they forgot, how the Republicans would govern.”

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Shelby replied that Barton, the ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, “only spoke for himself. That is not mainstream Republican thought.”

He called Barton’s comment “dumb,” and noted that Barton repudiated them later.

Shelby also said he wanted to invite Barton and Paul to visit the Gulf to see the devastation.

“We don’t owe BP an apology; they owe the people of the Gulf an apology, the American people,” Shelby said.

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Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) added his name to the list of Republicans calling on Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) to step aside as ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce committee…

“As I told him, I believe the damage of his comments are beyond repair and, as such, I am today calling on Joe to do the right thing for our conference and immediately step aside as Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee,” Bonner said in the statement.

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RahmEmanuel= as shallow/narrowminded/political/irresponsible as they come,to falsely claim Barton’s BP comment is “GOP philosophy”Rahm,u lie

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