- The Conservative Reader - https://theconservativereader.com -

US House Republicans Stand Up for a Second Day

I don’t always like some of the things that Steve King says (I think he may have good motives, but perhaps suffers from Bushitis), but I was glad to see he was still in Washington DC along with a number of other House Republicans to continue protesting the No Vote Vacation.  Here are King’s comments today [1]:

“We produce more renewable energy in our district than in any of the 434 other districts. In our land, we know about energy. Not Pe-la-la-losi-land! Here, we know what we’re talking about.”

[Puts up a huge poster of Pelosi] : “This is her dilemma: ‘I am trying to save the planet, I am trying to save the planet!’ She wants the planet restored to some imagined state of being. She says she wants to save the planet but doesn’t show concern for the homo sapiens that live on it! She doesn’t want our standard of living to go up, she doesn’t want more energy. We might as well backtrack and start at the Garden of Eden.”

It’s an amazing thing to finally see our Republican Leadership taking a stand and LEADING.  It’s unfortunate that it’s taken a groundswell of constituent pressure to motivate them to this level of action, but perhaps this may help to motivate an otherwise distracted electorate to become more focused on events in Washington and the work of their representatives.

House Minority Leader John Boehner’s blog [1] has been providing updates, and the media is starting to pay better attention to what’s happening.  On his site is also an opinion piece he wrote that was published in today’s Wall Street Journal [2]:

Washington, Aug 4 Last Monday The Wall Street Journal kicked off a debate on how best to allocate scarce resources to solve the world’s problems. Bjorn Lomborg offered a summary of the latest findings from his Copenhagen Consensus project, where he has enlisted some of the world’s top economists to address the issue. Over the next few Mondays we’ll offer views on the subject from top political and business leaders. How would you spend $10 billion of American resources (either directly or through regulation) over the next four years to help improve the state of the world?

The notion that Washington can spend its way out of any problem does not pass what I call “the straight-face test.” Rather than parceling taxpayer dollars out to fund a laundry list of government programs that will only paper over the problems facing our nation and the world, let the American people keep the $10 billion. They can use it far more wisely than Congress. Instead, let’s unleash America’s ingenuity to address the world’s challenges and improve the quality of life for every American, as we have throughout our history. And to do that, let’s begin by unlocking America’s vast energy resources — from our natural resources like coal, oil and gas to emerging technologies like alternative and renewable fuels.

The fact is, the best, easiest way to boost American investment in alternative fuels and lower our nation’s dependence on foreign oil won’t cost taxpayers a cent. Democrats in Congress have placed millions of acres of U.S. territory — far off our coasts, on the remote North Slope of Alaska, and in the Inter-Mountain West — off limits for energy development. By freeing those domestic resources and increasing the supply of American energy, we can fund development of better solar, wind, biomass and other breakthrough technologies. And House Republicans have a plan to do it — appropriately titled the American Energy Act, which reflects what we call an “all of the above” energy strategy.

If House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) would allow a vote on our comprehensive energy plan — a vote House Republicans and hundreds of Americans demanded on the House floor this past Friday, after Congress adjourned, in a historic revolt — we could create more American jobs, reduce America’s energy dependence on nations with ties to global terrorism, cut emissions to promote a healthy environment, and raise our quality of life. And, we could do it without raising taxes — and even without spending $10 billion. How? From the production of new American energy under our plan.

For example, the Congressional Research Service estimates that at $100 per barrel (far below today’s price), producing the estimated 10 billion barrels of oil in Alaska’s remote Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would generate $153 billion in new federal revenues. Consider the sums we could generate if we produced new American energy in the Outer Continental Shelf far off our nation’s shores, where an estimated 86 billion barrels are locked away, and in the Inter-Mountain West, where some 800 billion barrels of oil is trapped in shale deposits. The possibilities are seemingly endless.

Nothing is impossible with affordable energy and the promise it holds for investments in technology and higher standards of living. Water can be lifted from deep below the earth. The desert can bloom. Crops can grow where they never did before. Electric lights burn at night so that studying, reading and commerce can outlast the sun. None of this would be possible without affordable and available energy.

Reliable energy is among the most liberating forces in the world — socially, economically and intellectually. In those parts of the world where energy is scarce or too expensive for citizens, daily life is consumed with the drudgery that the absence of energy causes. My goal — and the goal of every parent — is to leave our nation and our world in better shape than we inherited it. Key to making that happen is to finally solve the energy crisis America — and the world — currently faces. That begins with a vote and real action on an “all of the above” energy plan, not with a laundry list of new, costly Washington programs.

A letter to the Speaker of the House [3] was posted on the “repcloakroom.house.gov” site.  It’s in PDF format.  You can also view it here at Hot Air [4]… they did a better job of making it look good on a blog than I can.  It includes at the end a discussion between George Stephanopoulos and Pelosi.  It’s worth reading.

Is anyone checking in on Nancy?  Oh, here’s a press release from her office today:

WASHINGTON, Aug 04, 2008 [5] — Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on Democratic proposals to bring relief to Americans at the pump:
“Democrats offered a real solution to high energy prices that would bring immediate relief within 10 days by forcing the President to free our oil from the nation’s stockpile. The Republicans propose to give away public lands to Big Oil, which will not immediately reduce the price at the pump and save Americans only 2 cents 10 years from now. This Republican hoax is unworthy of the serious debate we must have to reduce the price at the pump and promote energy independence.
“House Republicans have opposed forcing oil companies to drill on the 68 million acres they already control, new investments in renewable energy, increasing vehicle fuel efficiency standards, making mass transit more affordable, cracking down on price gouging, and releasing oil from the government’s stockpile. When it comes to energy policy, Republicans are once again promoting the interests of Big Oil and the Bush Administration that has resulted in $4 a gallon of gasoline.
“Democrats in Congress are aggressively addressing the range of economic issues confronting American families, and in the past few weeks alone, protected homeowners from foreclosure, invested in college affordability, ensured women receive equal pay for equal work, protected our children from toxic toys and products, and made another historic investment in veterans care. Democrats are producing and passing real economic solutions for the American people.”
SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House
Yeegads!  This one is so easy I’m starting to wonder why the Democrats are intentionally holding the country hostage!  This is just outragious!  As I’ve said before, contact your congresswoman/man!!!
The Republicans plan to return to the Capital on Tuesday for more.
Here’s an idea.  We have a number of politicians from Iowa (I think all of the current members of the Iowa Delegation and the people running against them) will be speaking at the Iowa State Fair this coming 2 weeks.  Along with John McCain.  We should all picket and protest at the Iowa State Fair.  It will be interesting to see if Steve King shows up, and whether he will confront the rest of the delegation or not on this.
BitHead hits the topic in his Nightly Ramble [6].
Update: Oh yeah, anybody notice the price of oil dropped yet again today?
Comments Disabled (Open | Close)

Comments Disabled To "US House Republicans Stand Up for a Second Day"

#1 Pingback By The Boston Tea Party: Edition 2008 « Thespis Journal On August 4, 2008 @ 9:04 pm

[…] Pelosi and her far-leftist/socialist agenda to “save the planet.” Check out Hot Air, The Conservative Reader, Wake Up America, California Conservative. Friday afternoon Boston Tea […]