Rep. McCotter Stays Behind to Lead GOP Energy Speak-In

While other Republicans enjoy their party's convention in St. Paul, a small but motley crew of House Republicans stayed in Washington to continue staging their "energy speak-in" on the House floor, pounding away on the one issue they feel could save them from a Democratic tidal wave in November.

Even though the cameras have been turned off during the recess protest, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.), who is running the show this week, says members are on their best behavior. They're wearing suits and ties, sticking to the formal parliamentary jargon, and biting their tongues. "No profanity, nothing off color," says McCotter, who himself is prone to off-color jokes and antics.

Of the nine Republicans who participated in yesterday's mock session, Rep. Steven LaTourette of Ohio bonded most with the handful of tourists watching the bizarre floor proceedings from the visitors' gallery. "They love LaTourette, I cannot figure it out for the life of me," McCotter joked in a telephone interview.

Apparently, LaTourette got big laughs for his chart listing some of the more notable "accomplishments" of the Democratic-led House over the past year and a half, correlating the date of each measure's passage with the cost of gasoline on that particular day.

For example, according to the chart, a resolution congratulating the UC-Santa Barbara soccer team was approved on January 29, 2007, when gas cost $2.22 a gallon. In February of this year, House members approved a resolution commending the Houston Dynamo soccer team - when a gallon of unleaded gas cost $3.03. The Great Cats and Rare Canids Act passed the House on May 20, when gas had risen to $3.84 a gallon. And finally, on June 17, when Americans were paying an average of $4.14 a gallon to fill up their tanks, the House approved the Monkey Safety Act.

LaTourette even explaind to his newfound fans that he "loves furry little monkeys" but that he thought lowering the price of gas was more important at this point.

The congressman's improvisational stand-up act got a boost yesterday from an unexpected energy development. As McCotter told us, "Today is the first day the lights have been on, we can't figure out why."(Every other day of their fake session of Congress, the House sergeant at arms has left the lights dimmed.)

McCotter says running the House floor show is more fun than being at his party's convention in St. Paul, especially with yesterday's session. "The best part is, you had [Rep.] Vern Ehlers, who is a nuclear physicist, explaining energy. Then you had LaTourette explaining the Monkey Safety Act," says McCotter, "It was kind of like Jimi Hendrix opening up for the Monkeys."

And "fun" is relative, compared to his colleagues at the convention who are enjoying the late-night party circuit. "No, I'm eating soup out of a can in my basement apartment missing my wife and kids," McCotter insists.

Comments

The transition to a new energy post-carbon-hydrogen economy must be driven by free market economics which invest in America's extraction by environmentally friendly means: natural gas and domestic crude oil from the outer continental shelf and a 200 acre footprint in ANWR. Drilling rhetoric by Republicans has already caused the futures market for gas to speculate the price downwards in spite of anti-capitalist windfall tax punishments designed to further increase the cost of gas at the pump. Just like cigarettes, when the government raises punitive taxes on production of oil the price will be passed on to consumers quicker than you can say community organizer from Chicago. We need clean coal projects which create fuel for cars from gasified coal. We need nuclear plant expansion and resolution of the crisis of recycling and disposal of low-level spent nuclear fuel and rods currently stored near residential areas while democrat-mired congress hides in Yucca Mountain denial. We need true leadership on the new energy economy issue which ends the War of Poor People who cannot afford Pelosi/Obama/Reid $4 plus dollar gas. The Dems are actually trapped by alleigance to a radical environmentalist world-view: they really believe inflating tires, restricting domestic oil development, hampering extraction of natural gas on our shores, raising taxes against oil production to punish the oil industry, redistrubution of confiscated Big Oil ransom to citizens who will be buying $6.00 gasoline at the pump even as they drain the strategic national reserve while Warning our major gas import countries: Mexico and Canada that NAFTA will be renegotiated unilaterally in order protect unions after they are rewarded with an end to secret ballot union elections in the workplace. What a brave new cowardly tax and spend abomination.

Posted by: Ralph W. Conner | September 4, 2008 11:42 AM | Report abuse

wow

Congress has time to congratulate soccer players, but can't pass a budget

Congress has time to legislate safer monkeys and foreign cats, but doesn't have time for an up or down vote on drilling in America

Posted by: Anonymous | September 5, 2008 9:43 PM | Report abuse

Keeping your tires inflated and change the oil do save yiu on gas. NASCAR backs it up. DEMS are not asainst drilling we just want it to be included with alternatives.

1. She was mayor of a town of 5,000 people - that's comparable to the size of 4 high schools in Madison Wisconsin.

2. 1996 Mayor Palin wanted to BAN BOOKS in the library and fired the librarian.

3. 1997 Mayor Palin fired 1997, Palin fired the police chief, the town librarian, and finance director.

4. Alaska Court decided Palin had the right to fire city employees for political reasons. -- (Hmm... is that so) -- I doubt if the judge was correct.

5. 1997 Mayor Palin instituted a policy REQUIRING department heads to get her approval before talking to reporters - gag order on city employees -- (hmmm.)

6. Mayor Palin hired Abramhoff lobbying firm to lobby Sen. Stevens for earmarks.

7. 8/28/08 Gov. Palin LIED on to Newsweek Mag. that she "sued big oil." Truth is - Alaska sued big oil in 2005 - Palin was not governor in 2005 nor was she even running for that office in 2005.

8. Gov. Palin sued to get Polar bears OFF the endangered species list.

9. Todd Palin was a long time member of an Anti-American group, AIP.

10. Gov. Palin is being investigated for Abuse of Power.

11. 9/2/08 Gov. Palin refuses to testify under oath via deposition in her Abuse of Power investigation.

12. Gov. Palin refuses to let public schools teach sex ed - Palin supports ABSTINENCE only -- that has not seemed to help reduce unwanted teen pregnancy.

13. 8/28/08 Gov. Palin LIED on national tv about saying "no" to the bridge to nowhere money. Palin was FOR the bridge, TOOK the money ... but used the money on other things .. no bridge.

14. 7/2008 Gov. Palin admits on national tv that se has NO IDEA what the job description of the VP is .. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=006axc2aELE

Posted by: Katerina Deligiannis | September 9, 2008 5:40 PM | Report abuse

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