I wrote about this on Wednesday in Showdown Looms on Drilling, but it begs to be updated following Nancy Pelosi's shutdown of the House of Representatives today, and a new story by John Hawkins of Right Wing News.
First Pelosi and the Dems:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Democrats adjourned the House, turned off the lights and killed the microphones, but Republicans are still on the floor talking gas prices.
Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and other GOP leaders opposed the motion to adjourn the House, arguing that Pelosi's refusal to schedule a vote allowing offshore drilling is hurting the American economy. They have refused to leave the floor after the adjournment motion passed at 11:23 a.m., and they are busy bashing Pelosi and her fellow Democrats for leaving town for the August recess.
At one point, the lights went off in the House and the microphones were turned off in the chamber, meaning Republicans were talking in the dark. But as Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz..) was speaking, the lights went back on and the microphones were turned on shortly afterward...
"This is the people's House," said Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.). "This is not Pelosi's politiburo."
Democratic aides were furious at the GOP stunt, and reporters were kicked out of the Speaker's Lobby, the space next to the House floor where they normally interview lawmakers.
"You're not covering this, are you?" complained one senior Democratic aide. Another called the Republicans "morons" for staying on the floor....
Update 3: Democrats just turned out the lights again. Republicans cheered.
Update 4: Republican leaders just sent out a notice looking for a bullhorn, and leadership aides are trying to corral all the members who are still in town to come speak on the floor and sustain this one-sided debate.
Also, Republicans can thank Shadegg for turning on the microphones the first time. Apparently, the fiesty Arizona conservative started typing random codes into the chamber's public address system and accidentally typed the correct code, allowing Republicans brief access to the microphone before it was turned off again.
"I love this," Shadegg told reporters up in the press gallery afterward. "Congress can be so boring. ... This is a kick."
An overwhelming majority of Americans want to drill here, drill now and pay less. Pelosi and her minions ignore the will of the people, cutting off debate, so they can vacation for five weeks. This is the same House that Pelosi said would be open for all discussion when she became Speaker in 2006. This is also the same Pelosi that promised lower gas prices when Democrats gained control. They have since doubled.
Meanwhile, John Shadegg rules. I'm glad it looks like he is not going to retire, as he had previously planned on doing.
Now on to Hawkins' piece today. Hawkins talks about a notice he received from Americans for Prosperity that mentions the oil drilling ban issue that I spoke about the other day.
You see, on October 1st, 2008, "the existing bans on Outer Continental Shelf drilling and oil shale leasing expire -- unless Congress specifically votes to extend the bans."
What will likely happen, according to AFP is that "Congressional leaders will likely try to sneak an extension into supposedly 'must-pass' last-minute spending legislation."
Republicans, including most importantly, John McCain, should refuse to support ANY legislation that extends the drilling ban. That means they should speak out against it, they should vote against it, and George Bush should veto it if it comes across his desk.
This should not be a issue in the 2008 election, the GOP should make it THE ISSUE of the 2008 elections.
The GOP, John McCain included, is already talking the talk on this issue and if they walk the walk and the Democrats predictably, yet foolishly, fight to keep us from drilling, this issue alone could literally make the difference in the presidential race and save multiple seats for the GOP in the House and Senate.
So, take a look at what I have written and take a look at the letter the AFP has been sending around to Congress that follows and call your senators and congressmen, call your favorite talk radio host and get them talking about this, write your favorite bloggers, and email your friends. If the Republican pols on the Hill see that this is taking off, they will get on board, too, and it can change the face of the political landscape in 2008.
I urge everyone here to follow Hawkins' advice and call their representatives on this issue. Email your friends as well - this is the biggest issue of this election, and if our representatives play their cards right, we'll see sub-$3 gas by the end of the year and a much better than expected performance for the GOP in the elections. For the first time in awhile, the Republicans are doing things to show that we can trust them to live up to our expectations again.
Check out Right Wing News for the letter from Americans for Prosperity.
It's fun to see Republicans in Congress having some fun again. They've been a miserable lot for far too long.
UPDATE: John Shadegg is on the radio here in Phoenix as we speak with the great local talk show host, former Representative from my district, and hopefully future President of the United States, JD Hayworth. Shadegg says the Republicans wanted to stay in town and vote on the issue, but the Dems chose to shut the debate down and go home. He compared the Republican uprising to the Boston Tea Party. Is that an overreach? I'm not so sure it is.
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