Republicans Go Web 2.0 for House Protest

			February 9, 2010 Log in / Register
			Text Size

America’s Confused Approach to Afghanistan
By William Pfaff

Haiti, Forgive Us
By Amy Goodman

The Terror-Industrial Complex
By Chris Hedges

Kidnapping Is Not Charity
By Eugene Robinson

And Now for Another Big Toyota Recall

Palin Calls Global Warming Research ‘Snake Oil Science’

Scientists Uncover New Risk Associated With Thirdhand Smoke

NASA Needs More Moonage Daydreamers

Congress Has a Snow Day

Soldier Accused of Waterboarding 4-Year-Old Daughter

Sarah Palin’s Cheat Sheet

The Super Bowl: Perfect Backdrop for the Abortion Debate

Nationally Themed McDonald’s Burger Causes Kerfuffle in Italy

Sarah Palin Speaks at the Goofball Convention (Raw Video)

Tracing the Neural Circuitry of Humor

Larry Blumenfeld on Ned Sublette’s ‘The Year Before the Flood’
By Larry Blumenfeld

Two Books Take On Tintin, Boy Reporter

Pseudo-Reality Web Show Zooms In on Abortion Issue

When China Rules the World

Dig led by Martin Jacques

Financial Meltdown 101

A Dig compiled by the editors of Truthdig

Messiah

by Gore Vidal
Fine, Collector's Copy ~~$250~~ NOW $100

Kalki

by Gore Vidal
Very Fine, Collector's Copy ~~$150~~ NOW $80

Jr. Baby Doll T-Shirt

$21

Republicans Go Web 2.0 for House Protest

twitter.com

House Republicans are camping out in the Capitol, trying to pressure an up-or-down vote on offshore drilling. The lights and the C-SPAN cameras are off, but a number of lawmakers have turned to new media sites such as YouTube and even Twitter to microblog their dissent.

L.A. Times / Countdown to Crawford:

It is Day Two of the GOP revolt over energy, and the debate is taking place in a darkened House floor with no microphones, no lights and no C-SPAN cameras (on orders of the Democratic speaker). So Republican congressmen pushing for an up-or-down vote on offshore oil drilling have taken to twittering (notifying an army of folks, in 40-word bytes), posting Qik and YouTube videos and corralling unsuspecting tourists to plead their case to the public.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi adjourned the House Friday over Republican objections, saying that offshore oil drilling is a false hope and that rushing back from vacation to vote on it would “mislead the American people as to thinking it’s going to reduce the price at the pump.” At the White House, spokesman Tony Fratto said the president would not call Congress back from vacation because Pelosi might then just gavel them back into recess again. Sort of a physical manifestation of the policy gridlock that already consumes Washington.

Read more

More Below the Ad

Advertisement

TAGS: congress energy gop house media oil pelosi politics republicans twitter youtube

Related Entries

February 8, 2010 Congress Has a Snow Day
February 8, 2010 Rep. John Murtha Dies at 77
February 8, 2010 Palin: ‘It Would Be Absurd Not to Consider’ Presidential Run
February 8, 2010 Wall Street Fat Cats Revolt, Send Money to GOP
February 8, 2010 Finish Health Care or Go Home

Email to a friend

Get truth delivered to
your inbox every week.

Previous item: McCain Camp Gets Big Checks From Big Oil Execs

Next item: Russia and Cuba, Together Again

Elsewhere: .

Comments

Are you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig.

By Hulk2008, August 5, 2008 at 11:20 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

The Republicans held the majority in Congress from 1994 thru 2006 and never made the slightest attempt to change automakers’ habits or those of oil companies or even “oil terrorists” like Chavez of Venezuela or the OPEC nations (OPEC still produces about the same amount of oil as they did 30 years ago). Now they are playing “political theatre” in the last 6 months of the Bush administration hoping they can upstage any kind of program to change the status quo. Note that of the 68 million un-drilled acres for which Big Oil already has licenses, 30 million are considered “off shore”. McCain’s speech yesterday in South Dakota implied that it would be feasible to even drill in the Black Hills.
It’s just desperation and the hope once more to dupe the electorate. Unfortunately, their bogus tactics seem to work on “we (boneheads)the people”.
We will probably get nothing done no matter who is elected - or so little that our “Ship of State” will slowly sink beneath the waves of global corporate greed. “Rollerball” was SO right on - so prescient of our future.

Report this

By Arby, August 5, 2008 at 10:37 am #

The Republicans are so lame as are we the people…
The U.S. had an effective energy policy back in the late 70s after the oil embargo until Reagan/Bush made deals with OPEC and reversed most of the policies… The Republicans are the ones that created this mess!!!

Carter speech from 1977: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carter/filmmore/ps_energy.html

Report this

By cyrena, August 4, 2008 at 11:20 pm #

Absolutely fucking amazing!!!

Report this

By diamond, August 4, 2008 at 6:08 pm #

I’m glad you can still laugh Thomas Billis. Reminds me of the Brits laughing their way through the blitzkrieg during World War II. The difference is you’re being bombed by your own government.

Report this

By Thomas Billis, August 4, 2008 at 4:57 pm #

You got to give them credit.Down to the last gasp they will do the will of their"Corporate Masters”.John Boehner tearfully asked in his"Cross Of Oil” speech” would Jesus not want the oil companies to make record profits.”

Report this