As is almost always the case when politicians speak the truth, it’s purely by accident. Barton was correct to note the injustice against BP in the Obama administration’s shakedown for 20 billion. But it is exceedingly unlikely that Barton actually cared about the issue beyond the potential for scoring some political points and whipping up some good political theatre for himself. As soon as he saw that his plan backfired, he backed down immediately.

This is the behavior of a person without principles, which Barton clearly is. Barton claimed to be “ashamed” of the way BP was treated. Was Barton “ashamed” when the Bush administration shook down the taxpayers for untold billions for the GOP’s prescription drug benefit? Was Barton “ashamed” when the GOP doubled federal spending and ran the deficit up to $10 trillion? I seriously doubt it. Has Barton ever opposed massive government intrusion into the lives of private citizens when it served the political purposes of the GOP? Did he oppose the PATRIOT ACT?

In fact, Barton’s web site gushes over how great the prescription drug benefit is. Barton has voted to expand government spying rights on numerous occasions, and has otherwise supported the gutting of the Bill of Rights. He has a staunch record of expanding White House powers at the expense of Congress and the taxpayers. Indeed, Barton helped provide the Obama White House with the sort of power it used to shake BP down, by giving unchecked power to the Bush White House. In other words, Barton is the typical Republican: He’s against big government except when he’s not.

Note: Barton did vote against the 2008 bailout, which was hardly courageous since about 80 percent of his constituents no doubt opposed the bailout.