GOP Gets a Backbone on Oil Drilling

Speaker "San Fran Nan" Pelosi shut down Congress today without debating or putting up for a vote drilling for oil domestically. When I say shut down, I mean microphones, lights and C-Span cameras shut off so that Nan could shuttle across country in her carbon footprint-expanding jet to the sunny climes of No Cal.

Some ballsy Republicans decided that this is an important issue to Americans who are paying $4.00 a gallon for gas and decided that they would just continue to protest in the dark:

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.
But C-SPAN, which has no control over the cameras in the chamber, has stopped broadcasting the House floor, meaning no one was witnessing this except the assembled Republicans, their aides, and one Democrat, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio), who has now left.

Only about a half-dozen Republicans were on the floor when this began, but the crowd has grown to about 20, according to Patrick O'Connor.

It grew and Nan tried to shut it down but they did call for President Bush to invoke his Executive right to call the smug bastards back from recess and debate this like the people's reps should. Get ready for war:

The daring insurrection on the House floor has come to a quiet end. There was a presser that included a call for the president to exercise his right to call Congress back into session.

In response, Nancy Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly offers the following quote: "The New Direction Congress led by Democrats has offered real solutions to bring down energy costs, promote renewable fuels and energy efficiency, and promote oil production right here in America. But a majority of Congressional Republicans have voted NO each time. They should go home to their districts and explain their record of obstructing common-sense proposals to address the pain at the pump being felt by American consumers and businesses."

Nice try. We want drilling, we want oil shale production and we want it now. What a lame response from the cowardly, do-nothing Congress led by Pelosi. This is a loser issue and Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid know it so they'll try to keep their powder dry and hope prices keep going lower during the recess. Here's to hoping Bush has the huevo's to call them back to session and hold their collective feet to the (carbon-producing) fire.