Posted by Teh Nutroots | Republicans were rarin' to go on this one, but the White House nixed it.
The White House has rejected calls from House Republicans that it convene a special session of Congress on energy, saying it wouldn’t make a difference....
Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) and Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) asked President Bush to convene the special session in an Aug. 1 letter. The same day, House Republicans launched an unusual protest on the House floor urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to call Congress back to work.
"Since Speaker Pelosi has decided not to keep the House in session to allow this vote to take place, we urge you to use the power vested in you by the Constitution to convene an immediate energy special session of Congress,” the letter said.
The protests continued Monday, with several House Republicans speaking on energy from the House floor, despite the fact that the House has adjourned and C-SPAN is not televising the proceedings. Cameras are not allowed in the House without the Speaker's permission. (The Hill)
But the Bush Administration knows a political stunt when it sees one. [DDay: "When even the Bush Administration sees the pathetic effort to bulldog the Congress back into session as a stunt, you know it's pretty ridiculous. "\ Or is busy with its own problems. Tony Fratto said:
“We don't have plans to call Congress into session -- it won't make a difference if Democratic leaders are unwilling to bring up a bill for an up-down vote,” said White House spokesman Tony Fratto....
“We know congressional Democrats won't pass all of the appropriations bills -- they've already demonstrated their failure with that -- but when they return they'll have a month to at least address the top priorities: funding our troops by passing the DoD [Department of Defense] appropriations bill, and the bringing to the floor of the Interior appropriations bill to allow for votes on oil shale and exploration of the Outer Continental Shelf,” Fratto said in an e-mail.(The Hill)
McCain's all for it. Pelosi wasn't available for comment. (The Hill) He hoped very much that Barack Obama would join him.
The Anonymous Liberal wrote:
Watching GOP House members in action is truly an educational experience. You may think you understand the depths of cynicism and hypocrisy to which some politicians will plunge, but until you've seen Republican members of the House do their thing, you really don't know the half of it....
As if to prove the point, the House GOP members have convened a fake session of Congress for the second day in a row to demonstrate their deep concern over the impact that high gas prices are having on the American consumer, whom they care so much about. Specifically, they're protesting Nancy Pelosi's decision not to allow a vote on off-shore drilling prior to the August recess.
Remember this is the same group of politicians who were in power for over a decade and not only did nothing whatsoever to prepare for this day, but actively fought against efforts to spur research into alternative fuels and reduce consumption of oil (such as raising CAFE standards on automobiles). In fact, they didn't even push to increase off-shore drilling, the policy they now put forth as the answer to all of our problems.
Dday unkindly--heh--gibed:
In a fit of inspiring campaign rhetoric, John McCain today announced that he would actually be willing to fulfill his Constitutional duty as a lawmaker in service to getting oil companies more reserves for their stock portfolios....
McCain hasn't been willing to come off the campaign trail since April, the last time he cast a vote in the US Senate (that's called value, Arizona constituents!). In that time he's missed dozens of energy-related votes - including one to stop tax break giveaways to oil companies where he would have been the deciding vote.
The difference here, the reason why McCain would be willing to get off his ass and go to Washington for the first time in four months, is that he wants to go get Big Oil some more assets they can use to make money, at which point he can return the favor.
We discussed the little reward that McCain received from some people who benefit from politicians who are especially good to oil companies here. You can also see [and read about] Obama's campaign ad attacking McCain's policies.
News Hounds talks about the Fox News effect.
Memeorandum has more bloggerty blah here. Good stuff. My picks (besides the ones linked above) are: Think Progress, The Carpetbagger Report, The Democratic Daily and Truthdig
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Progressive Magazine Asks Obama Stop Changing Positions and Start Standing on Principles
Watch Out Florida: Obama Signals Support for Offshore Oil Drilling
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