The battle in the House of Representatives is still going on, so I wanted to give you an update. In case you missed the beginning, let me briefly recap:
There have been some signs of a cave-in from the Dem ranks, but Pelosi is still steadfast in refusing to bring the House back for a vote. Instead of dealing with the energy bill, Pelosi went on a nationwide tour to promote her new book ('Know Your Power", a message to 'America's daughters') after the House recess. Unfortunately for her (but good for America's daughters), she has sold just over 2,700 copies of the book according to the Drudge Report. So, not only is she ignoring the one issue most on Americans' minds right now, but she didn't even make any money while doing it. The trip was especially damaging if you consider the giant carbon footprint her private jet left behind, but I suppose the lack of trees being cut down to print up extra copies of her book might make up for most of that.
Anyway, as Pelosi is out peddling her flop of a book, the Republicans continue to gather in the House daily, talking with visitors and calling for Pelosi to bring the House back into session for a straight up or down vote on their bill. The word leaked out that rank-and-file Dems would be allowed to support drilling if they needed to, but the GOP has offered a challenge that would require action on the part of Dems who say they support drilling: put it in writing. I haven't seen any update on whether or not there have been any takers yet, but my assumption is that there haven't been because the Reps have now offered a second challenge in calling the Dems' bluff: they sent a letter to every member of the House asking them to join the Reps in returning to Washington and calling for Pelosi to grant a vote on this bill. We'll see if any are willing to step up to the plate on this issue that the American people clearly want addressed.
On a related note, Newt Gingrich appears to be breaking up with Nancy Pelosi over the flap, as he recently joined current House Reps in support of their efforts. You'll recall that Gingrich appeared with Pelosi in a TV commercial about energy several months ago, but her inaction appears to have prompted the gloves to come off. Convinced that they have the support of the American people behind them, the GOP House is threatening a shutdown of the federal government to force a vote on the energy bill. Gingrich, of course, was one of the primary engineers of the mid-90s shutdown which caused Clinton to give in to Reps' demands for a balanced budget, so he would be a critical adviser for this effort.
The battle continues...stay tuned for updates.
You can help by continuing to call your Rep (and Senators - Harry Reid pulled essentially the same stunt in the Senate, too) and encourage them to engage in the call for a special vote on the energy bill, as well as calling Speaker Pelosi's office to ask her why she isn't allowing the vote. The grass roots is moving on this one, and you should be involved because this affects the price of many things you buy every day. You're already in the game -- via your pocketbook -- whether you know it or not; you might as well get active about it.
There's my two cents.
Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat leadership forced a vote on adjournment for a 5-week vacation (it won by a single vote) rather than take up the Republicans' proposed bill to deal with America's energy crisis. The bill would have an immediate effect on gas prices by opening up more oil drilling, nuclear power, and other effective energy measures. Pelosi knows that if a vote occurs, the bill will pass because it enjoys broad bipartisan support.
In reponse to Pelosi's shutdown of the House, several dozen Republicans (all who were still in Washington) staged their own discussion with several hundred tourists who happened to be in the viewing gallery of the House. Pelosi ordered the lights turned out, but the GOPers and tourists were not deterred, so the lights were eventually turned back on. Not surprisingly, the tourists went wild, and a wildfire of support has swept through the grass roots.
Their goal is to get either President Bush or Pelosi to call a special session of the House for a vote on this energy bill.
There have been some signs of a cave-in from the Dem ranks, but Pelosi is still steadfast in refusing to bring the House back for a vote. Instead of dealing with the energy bill, Pelosi went on a nationwide tour to promote her new book ('Know Your Power", a message to 'America's daughters') after the House recess. Unfortunately for her (but good for America's daughters), she has sold just over 2,700 copies of the book according to the Drudge Report. So, not only is she ignoring the one issue most on Americans' minds right now, but she didn't even make any money while doing it. The trip was especially damaging if you consider the giant carbon footprint her private jet left behind, but I suppose the lack of trees being cut down to print up extra copies of her book might make up for most of that.
Anyway, as Pelosi is out peddling her flop of a book, the Republicans continue to gather in the House daily, talking with visitors and calling for Pelosi to bring the House back into session for a straight up or down vote on their bill. The word leaked out that rank-and-file Dems would be allowed to support drilling if they needed to, but the GOP has offered a challenge that would require action on the part of Dems who say they support drilling: put it in writing. I haven't seen any update on whether or not there have been any takers yet, but my assumption is that there haven't been because the Reps have now offered a second challenge in calling the Dems' bluff: they sent a letter to every member of the House asking them to join the Reps in returning to Washington and calling for Pelosi to grant a vote on this bill. We'll see if any are willing to step up to the plate on this issue that the American people clearly want addressed.
On a related note, Newt Gingrich appears to be breaking up with Nancy Pelosi over the flap, as he recently joined current House Reps in support of their efforts. You'll recall that Gingrich appeared with Pelosi in a TV commercial about energy several months ago, but her inaction appears to have prompted the gloves to come off. Convinced that they have the support of the American people behind them, the GOP House is threatening a shutdown of the federal government to force a vote on the energy bill. Gingrich, of course, was one of the primary engineers of the mid-90s shutdown which caused Clinton to give in to Reps' demands for a balanced budget, so he would be a critical adviser for this effort.
The battle continues...stay tuned for updates.
You can help by continuing to call your Rep (and Senators - Harry Reid pulled essentially the same stunt in the Senate, too) and encourage them to engage in the call for a special vote on the energy bill, as well as calling Speaker Pelosi's office to ask her why she isn't allowing the vote. The grass roots is moving on this one, and you should be involved because this affects the price of many things you buy every day. You're already in the game -- via your pocketbook -- whether you know it or not; you might as well get active about it.
There's my two cents.
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