House Republicans Stand Up for the American People on Energy
Today, a group of House Republicans refused to leave the House floor following Speaker Pelosi’s call to recess for the month of August. Exactly why did they take this course? It was all to do with Speaker Pelosi’s evident refusal to take action on the matter of offshore oil exploration—or, more broadly, Democrats’ evident disinterest in action intended to reduce gas prices and protect the American people from the high energy costs from which families across the nation are suffering.
At 11:23, following the passing of the recess resolution, Minority Leader John Boehner and other members of the Republican leadership refused to leave the Capitol, offering up harsh criticism of Pelosi and her fellow Democrats’ having preferred to leave town for the August recess than to take action on the energy issue. Representatives then spent the next few hours speaking to an enthusiastic gallery of listeners on the importance of passing energy legislation designed to reduce the price Americans are paying at the pump.
What began as a small coalition of only about half a dozen congressmen soon grew to about twenty as Republicans who had already left returned to speak on this critical issue. Said Michigan Representative Mike Rogers upon his arrival back in the chamber, “I had gotten in my car to drive home and I realized I didn’t have enough money to pay for the first tank of gas.” (via Politico.)
But Speaker Pelosi wasn’t about to let the American public in on the Republicans’ actions. C-SPAN cameras, microphones, and even the chamber lights were evidently turned off and media were denied easy access to the event. Despite the attempted blackout, Representatives John Culberson and Pete Hoekstra used Twitter and Qik to keep the American people updated on the events. Culberson even released a video filmed from inside the Capitol to make sure that everyone knew what was going on.
Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma said that the dimly lit chamber is a “vision of the future by the Democrat Party: The lights are out, there’s no power, and the air conditioning is gonna go off soon.” Congressman John Shadegg summed up the event as a “new Boston Tea Party!” (via Politico)
And as they left, just after 5 o’clock, they were singing “God Bless America.”
Update: our very own Chairman Duncan weighs in: “I want to commend the House Republicans for once again standing up for the needs of the American people. While Democrat Members of Congress were all too quick to cut out of town for the August recess today, House Republicans stood their ground this afternoon, demanding the Democrats address the need for more American energy and lower gas prices. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Democrat Members can expect to have their vacations interrupted by the resounding call of Americans demanding relief at the pump and independence from foreign oil. I applaud the efforts of the Republican Congressmen for putting Americans’ needs ahead of their own, demanding action from the Democrat Congress, and revolting against politics as usual in Washington.”
I can’t really add to that!
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