When Congress went dark….
WASHINGTON – Call it a public relations stunt, a gimmick or a frivolous endeavor, but after the House was adjourned for the August recess, about 100 congressional Republicans were denied the opportunity to give routine five-minute speeches protesting Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to allow a vote on energy legislation – specifically an up-or-down vote on offshore exploration and drilling for oil and natural gas, the disgruntled Republicans decided to stage a protest.
It hasn’t gotten a whole lot of attention, but after Pelosi and the House leadership ordered the C-SPAN cameras shutdown and the lights turned out, a group of rebel Republicans continued speaking on the floor as a form of “protest,” which is set to continue up until the beginning of the Democratic National Convention in Denver on Aug. 25.
The scene is a bit of a bizarre one. While about 90 percent of the members of Congress have left Washington, every weekday morning, the darkened chamber of the House at the Capitol comes alive with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Then the regular rules of protocol are followed throughout the day as the insurgent GOP members take turns assailing their Democratic colleagues for going on vacation before getting anything passed.
The Democrats have dismissed it. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., called it a hoax. However, as long as gas prices remain high, it’s become politically untenable for some members to openly oppose drilling for more oil.
House Minority Leader John Boehner office, was offering members of the media – well, practically begging us – to come and watch with unfettered access to the proceedings and to the members who stuck around that are wandering the halls awaiting their turn on the floor.
August is a time of year when you don’t have to worry parking or getting a table at a restaurant, as the whole city slows down for the recess. But, since school is out, it’s still the peak time for tourists. So, surprisingly, the balcony and even some of the seats on the floor are full of tourists watching this bizarre unprecedented event.
One of the ringleaders, Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., even raised the possibility of Republican presidential Sen. John McCain speaking on the House floor – that would certainly garner a lot of attention. Shadegg told a group of reporters the only way that would be kept from happening is if Pelosi were to return to Washington.
“If Speaker Pelosi wants to stop Sen. McCain from speaking on the floor, she could come back and call us in to session,” Shadegg said. “But if she doesn’t come back call us in, I can certainly invite Sen. McCain out on the floor.”
Rep. Jo Bonner’s press secretary, Nancy Wall, told Lagniappe it was possible that the Republican congressman, who has returned home to Mobile, would come to Washington and participate in the protest.
“I expect he may,” she said. “We just found out this is going to continue to the end of the month.”
Back to Sweet Home Alabama
Since none of the Mobile congressional delegation up for reelection are facing a serious challenge to their seats (sorry Sen. Figures), Sen. Jeff Sessions and Rep. Jo Bonner are avoiding a lot of the rigmarole most members face with the upcoming general election – especially during a presidential election cycle.
According to Bonner’s press secretary Nancy Wall, the congressman will be participating in 12 town hall meeting throughout the district. Sessions’ press secretary Stephen Boyd offered a similar explanation.
“Sen. Sessions will be traveling throughout Alabama in August, holding public events and speaking directly with constituents on a number of issues,” Boyd wrote in an e-mail. “Many of his events will be focused on energy, the impact that high prices are having on Alabama’s families, and making sure that we are taking the right steps to lower prices, increase production of American energy, and decreasing our dependence on foreign oil.”
Pelosi: We All Want to Be More Like San Francisco, We Just Don’t Know It
One thing Bonner and Sessions won’t likely be doing is reading Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s book, “Know Your Power: A Message to America’s Daughters.” If you believe the stuff you read on the Drudge Report, the speaker only sold 2,737 copies of the book in the first week – after a media blitz that included “The View” and the “Today” show.
However, yours truly was one of the 2,737 that obtained a copy in the first week – a personally autographed copy of the book at that.
Shortly before the recess, Pelosi hosted a book talk and signing reception in Washington. She was asked why the “conservative Republicans” demonized San Francisco as out of touch with the mainstream. Her response: If the rest of the country knew what a wonderful socialist utopia San Francisco was, everyone would want their cities to be just like San Francisco – give or take a word or two.
“I have this theory about why they try to say that about San Francisco,” Pelosi said. “Because – I think it all comes down to economics – follow the money. I won’t go into my political speech about how the middle class has been ripped off.”
“But what I say is the following – they like to characterize/mischaracterize San Francisco that is a place out of the mainstream because I think they don’t want to follow our lead in this respect,” she continued. “In San Francisco, every child has health care until 25 years old. In San Francisco, we don’t have a minimum wage, we have a living wage. In San Francisco, the environment is not an issue for us, it is a value. It is an ethic – it is protecting God’s creation. And so the exploiters of nature, of workers and the rest – like to use other aspects of our lives, which we take great pride in.”
There aren’t many similarities between Mobile and San Francisco. Both cities are named after a bay, however both have some clear and distinct differences in the variety of nightlife their respective chambers of commerce tout.
Mobile can barely operate a bus system with a 9-percent sales tax. Imagine William Carroll and John Williams at the auditorium in Government Plaza trying to hammer out a womb-to-25 health care program on a Tuesday morning.
Some things are better left up to the individual.
Contact Jeff Poor at jeffreypoor@yahoo.com.
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