House Republicans Stage Protest In The Chamber Demanding A Vote On Drilling

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats adjourned the House, turning off the lights and killing the microphones. But the Republicans would have nothing of it. Republicans stayed on the floor to keep talking about gas prices. Politico reports that minority Leader John A. Boehner and dozens of other GOP leaders opposed the motion to adjourn the House. They argued that Pelosi's refusal to schedule a vote allowing offshore drilling is hurting the American economy. When the lights went off in the House and the microphones were turned off in the chamber Republicans continued talking in the dark until they came back on again. They were later turned off again and the dark protest continued. C-SPAN has no control over the cameras in the chamber and so the whole protest was not caught on their cameras. "This is the people's House," said Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.). "This is not Pelosi's politiburo." Minority Whip Roy Blunt "Although this Democrat majority just adjourned for the Democrat 5-week vacation, House Republicans are continuing to fight on the House floor. Although the lights, mics and C-SPAN cameras have been turned off, House Republicans are on the floor speaking to the taxpayers in the gallery who, not surprisingly, agree with Republican energy proposals. All Republicans who are in town are encouraged to come to the House floor." Politico described the scene as "kind of crazy. Normally, members are not allowed to speak directly to the visitor galleries, and visitors are prohibited from cheering. But in this case, the members are walking up and down on the floor during their speeches, standing on chairs. The visitors are cheering loudly. Some members even brought in visitors, who are now sitting on the House floor in the seats normally filled by lawmakers, cheering and clapping. Very funny...Rep Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) just pretended to be a Democrat. He stood on the other side of the chamber and listed all of the GOP bills that the Dems killed. He then said, 'I am a Democrat, and here is my energy plan' and he held up a picture of an old VW Bug with a sail attached to it. He paraded around the House floor with the sign while the crowd cheered." The protest lasted over five hours and ended with "God Bless America."

The following is a link to a great article by Charles Krauthammer on the Democrat refusal to allow for drilling: http://townhall.com/columnists/CharlesKrauthammer/2008/08/01/drilling_and_blissful_ignorance?page=full&comments=true


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