A spokesman for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney formally rebuked Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex) a day after the potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate refused to comment on the congressman's infamous apology to BP.
"Mitt Romney disagrees with Joe Barton's comments," said Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom. "The only people who are owed an apology are the families and businesses of the Gulf Coast who deserve a President who will stop the finger pointing long enough to focus on how to alleviate their suffering."
The remark was the first offered by the former Massachusetts governor since Barton caused a massive stir within the GOPn for admonishing the Obama administration for its "shake-down" of the oil giant.
Campaigning in support of South Carolina gubernatorial hopeful Nikki Haley, on Monday, Romney refused to say whether he thought Barton had been right to call the establishment of an escrow fund a "shakedown" -- though he did offer his support for the establishment of the fund itself.
The original no-comment was enough to spur an aggressive reaction from the DNC, which called Romney to task for making a priority out of "defending big corporate interests."
Fehrnstrom's follow-up clears the air a bit, and puts Romney on key with the rest of Republican leadership. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), for one, said he couldn't disagree with Barton more, during an appearance on Fox News Sunday. Another 2012 GOP hopeful, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, insisted (via twitter) that the congressman's remarks did not reflect "GOP philosophy" and called out White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel for suggesting they did.
That said, the DNC remained unsatisfied.
"We suspect that Mitt Romney's true feelings are more likely the ones he offered when he was asked about apologizing to BP the first time when the fact that his "no comment" answer could be politically damaging wasn't on his mind," said DNC National Press Secretary Hari Sevugan. "After all, his unwillingness to condemn apologizing to BP fits perfectly into his pattern of apologizing to insurance companies and Wall St banks for attempts to hold them accountable for their most egregious, unscrupulous and unfair practices."