Day Three Wrap Up

Here is a wrap up (with links) to what happened today. First let's start back at the Minority Leaders blog for a few quick quotes from today. Unfortunately live blogging was not in the cards today...

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX):

“Nancy Pelosi might think she is the most important person in the house…we know that the people are the most important…She cannot turn off the voice of the American people… who want more American energy.”

“We can’t wish it away that this is a carbon based economy… Dems try to sue it away… some say investigate… Republicans say lets try something else… that the people’s representatives be able to vote… We want an up or down vote.”

Rep. Ron Lewis (R-KY):

“The speaker flies in a 737 paid for by the people… I guess if you’re flying around in luxary you’re not too concerned about the people down below.”

“We cannot let one person say no to the American people.”

Then we have these quotes from the Republican Policy Committee blog who is also live blogging the continued "debate" from the floor.

2:49 - Rep. Jean Schmidt: "Police departments in rural, farming communities are being forced to go to bike and foot patrol." "School lunches are going up 50 cents this year because food prices have gone up as a result of energy costs."

2:44 - Rep. John Carter: "A man in my district spent 200 million dollars to build a plant to refine garbage and turn it into American made energy." "In Texas, it's gotten so bad, they're thinking about cancelling Texas high school football games for teams that have to travel." "Why are we ashamed of our domestic natural resources?"

2:30 - Rep. John Shadegg: "We need to change our policies to create American jobs. If we say today that we will drill tomorrow, the cost would go down immediately. When the President lifted the executive order on offshore drilling, within 4 days, the cost of oil per barrel dropped 16 dollars.

2:05 - Rep. Ron Lewis: "We can't get enough wind and solar energy into our tanks to get us down the highway." "What about the workers? What about the independent operator who has to park his 18 wheeler because he can't afford diesel fuel?"

1:12 - Rep. Jean Schmidt: "What's the Speaker's fear in debating it?"

12:58 - Rep. John Carter: "Schools face budget cuts and have contemplated going to a 4-day school week. What are families with 2 working parents going to do? It's about people, not politics."

Emphasis mine. Here is what some of the dead tree media had to say about the "debate".

Los Angeles Times: GOP’ers protest over energy — best show in town
Minneapolis Star-Tribune: GOP drills home its energy message in a sparse House
Associated Press: While Dems away, GOPers play on oil drilling
MSNBC: The revolution won’t be televised
Chicago Tribune Swamp Blog: House GOP’s oil-drilling protest resumes
Salt Lake Tribune: Bishop joins GOP colleagues in after-hours energy ballyhoo
ABC News Political Radar Blog: Thought Congress had Adjourned? GOP Lawmakers to Return for Energy Debate
Detroit Free Press: House Republicans protest in darkness
Agence France-Presse: Republicans take to shuttered House to demand oil drilling
New York Sun Op-Ed: ‘Drill, Drill, Drill’ Is Working
Investor’s Business Daily: Drill Through The Floor
CNN: House GOP leaders vow to keep up protest sessions
Dallas Morning News: House Republicans use sit-in to protest lack of drilling vote
Roll Call: Republicans Return to House Chamber to Protest Energy Policy
Time: The Politics of High Gas

Meanwhile, Speaker Pelosi has given her "blessing" to those Democrats who are in tight races to depart from the prescribed talking points and to say that they are for opening up the OCS for drilling. Needless to say, the ploy was so transparent that everyone saw through it almost instantly.

While all of this was going on, Minnesota's own Michele Bachmann

Last week, I introduced two new pieces of legislation as part of my comprehensive strategy for cutting the price of gas down to $2 a gallon.

The first bill, the Promoting New American Energy Act, would accelerate tax depreciation for investments in renewable energy, such as solar, wind, biofuel, geothermal and more. According to a study by the nonprofit, nonpartisan American Council for Capital Formation, investments in alternative energy experience less favorable tax depreciation rules in the U.S. compared to many other countries. My legislation will put America on better footing globally and take us one step closer to increasing our domestic energy production.

The other bill, the Fast Track Shale Act, would open up federal lands that contain oil shale, cut red tape binding U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regulations for commercial development of this shale and set in place new research and development that will help foster a better process of extracting this form of oil. BLM estimates that the oil shale-rich areas of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming alone hold 1.23 trillion barrels of oil. This oil would completely offset Saudi Arabia’s 1.2 trillion barrels of known reserves making the United States independent of foreign oil all together.

The cost of gas is really squeezing middle class families and I am committed to pursuing a comprehensive strategy to cut the price at the pump and put America on the road to true energy independence.

and John Kline were busy doing what ever was necessary to get the word out about the alternatives that the Democrats refuse to discuss.

Now MoveOn has acknowledged what is going on in the House so you know that the House Republicans are winning this PR fight.

There is no reason why this can not continue on through the August recess and as I said earlier, it should. If it does, and the Republicans continue to drive the discussion, this could be the turning point in what was supposed to be another disastrous election year for Republicans. Given how the top of the Democrats ticket is losing support daily, this could be the beginning of the end of Speaker Pelosi's reign in the House.