Joe Barton
Joe Barton
Joe Linus Barton (born September 15, 1949) is a Republican politician representing Texas's 6th congressional district (map) in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1985, and a member of the Tea Party Caucus. The district includes Arlington, part of Fort Worth, and several small towns and rural areas south of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. In 2014, Barton became the longest-serving member of the Texas congressional delegation.Barton describes himself as "a constant defender of conservative ideals and values". He advocates for deregulation of the electricity and natural gas industries, and serves as vice-chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committees. He is skeptical that manmade carbon emissions have contributed to global warming, is a proponent of the use of fossil fuels, voted in favor of the May 2017 GOP plan to replace Obamacare, supports President Donald Trump's ban on immigration from certain predominantly Muslim nations, and supports the death penalty for persons caught spying. Barton led a successful effort to repeal the oil export ban in the House in 2017. His environmental record of defending industries against tighter pollution controls earned him the nickname "Smokey Joe."Barton came to national prominence after telling a citizen at a town hall meeting to "shut up." He came to national attention again when nude selfie photos of him – taken from video he had taken of himself masturbating, that he had shared with women – surfaced online in 2017, along with messages with sexual overtones that he had sent to a female constituent while he was married. In November 2017, Barton announced that he will retire from Congress at the end of his current term, and will not seek re-election in 2018.