News Coverage
GOP'ers Protest Over Energy
This is Day Two of the GOP revolt over energy, and the debate is taking place in a darkened House floor with no microphones, no lights and no C-SPAN cameras (on orders of the Democratic speaker). So Republican congressmen pushing for an up-or-down vote on offshore oil drilling have taken to twittering (notifying an army of folks, in 40-word bites), posting Qik and YouTube videos and corralling unsuspecting tourists to plead their case to the public.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi adjourned the House Friday over Republican objections, saying that offshore oil drilling is a false hope and that rushing back from vacation to vote on it would "mislead the American people as to thinking it's going to reduce the price at the pump." At the White House, spokesman Tony Fratto said the president would not call Congress back from vacation because Pelosi might then just gavel them back into recess again. Sort of a physical manifestation of the policy gridlock that already consumes Washington.
So in the meantime, the GOP congressmen keep returning to the darkened floor. The Hill newspaper reported that some have come with props: Rep. Steve King of Iowa arrived carrying a large photo of Pelosi with a caption quoting her as saying, "I am trying to save the planet." Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee came with an empty red gas can and an energy efficient light bulb.
Not to be outdone in the theatrics department, MoveOn.org folks headed up to Capitol Hill this afternoon to pass out stickers describing the GOP as the Grand Oil (instead of Old) Party. Gosh, cynics might suggest that Congress doesn't get this much attention when they're in town!
The best free show in town continues all week, and maybe throughout the month, say the Republicans.
-- Johanna Neuman
L.A. Times