Fighting Gridlock: Barton Claims New Class will Not Back Down

Noelle Clemente / November 11, 2010

There has been much of speculation that gridlock will characterize the 112th Congress, but not according to Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX), ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Congressman Barton (R-TX) was first elected in 1984 as a part of the Reagan re-election class and “did not come to Washington in 1984 for gridlock, did not come to do nothing, and did not come to say no.” He says the same of 2010, “we are not here to say no.”

Barton addressed a group Wednesday at Heritage eager to hear How to Start Cleaning Up the Mess Obamanomics Made and one thing is clear: Barton is a fighter. “We have big problems in this city; we also have big opportunities,” noting a repeal of Obamacare as his first priority.

When pressed about the difficulty of repeal, Barton advised to “never back down from a fight just because you don’t want to fight if it is the right thing to do.” (more…)