The Hill News

Attitudes toward BP within the GOP came under fire again Monday after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) added Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas), Steve King (R-Iowa), and Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), and Senate hopeful Rand Paul (R) to a site highlighting what they call "BP Republicans."

The site, unveiled Friday at BPRepublicans.com, had at first only profiled Sharron Angle (R), who is currently running against Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

It features each Republican on a mock BP-themed campaign poster.

"These BP Republicans are the politicians who will be guiding US policy if the Republicans can regain control of Congress this November -- and they're Big Oil's best friends," one headline reads.

A DNC official attributed the expansion of the campaign to what he said was "overwhelming response" to Friday's launch.

Momentum on the issue has grown since Barton, the ranking member on the House Energy Committee, apologized to BP CE! O Tony Hayward during a Congressional hearing two weeks ago, calling the White House's response to the crisis a "shakedown." King, Bachman, Paul, and Angle have echoed Barton's sentiments to the press. 

The site also links to a poster of Sarah Palin that calls her the "original BP Republican."

"You might think that a company responsible for the worst environmental disaster in American history wouldn't have many friends in Washington," wrote DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse in a Monday morning blast to the committee's email list. "But for BP, that's just not the case.We need to make sure that the American people know which side the GOP is on."