John Culberson

#dontgo is officially a movement. MoveOn is mobilizing against the House Republicans and the rightosphere this afternoon. I don't think they've ever done this in response to a grassroots conservative protest. Something has changed. 

There has been nothing worthwhile to speak of in recent years that's emanated solely from the base like this has. It's worth our time to take a step back and understand what made this success possible.

First, while Reps. Mike Pence and Tom Price provided the spark by starting the House floor revolt, it was the rightosphere (and crucially, the Twitterverse) that poured the gasoline.

Elected officials cannot start movements on their own. They need a willing audience to activate. The audience was primed by John Culberson leading the revolt against the ridiculous House franking rules. (On the issue side, it was primed by Newt's "Drill Now" movement.) That solidified Culberson, and by extension minority Republicans, as the troublemakers storming the gates with technology, and Democrats as the lame defenders of an old order. That is the natural role of any political minority, but one House Republicans, accustomed to the majority, have been uncomfortable embracing. Until now.

Good points. Then again, we're Republicans, so we obey the rules. But did we do so to a fault in this case? -Patrick

Much ado has been made about the House Republican protest against Democrats for adjourning without a vote on energy policy, and with good reason. It is both a politically momeentous occasion and a technological one.

But thus far, this public relations battle has been a missed video opportunity for the GOP. Someone needs to be capturing this event on film for posterity.

Yes, there are good reasons why that hasn't happened. In a display of cowardice designed to save her party from embarrassment, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., ordered the cameras in the House chamber turned off, and C-SPAN dutifully and complied. Unfortunately, C-SPAN has a monopoly on congressional floor coverage. Cameras are banned on the floor and in the press and public galleries.

But if Republicans want to make the most of this confrontation with a recalcitrant majority, they need to find a way to film it. The on-site Twitter coverage has been great, but online video is far more powerful. There's a big difference between reading the words "Crowd chants 'USA! USA!' and 'Drill now!'" and actually seeing that enthusiasm as it happens.

If this truly is "the Boston Tea Party of 2008," as Arizona Republican John Shadegg said on Twitter, then someone needs to start dumping some tea.

Lawmakers already have shown a willingness to challenge outdated House rules that fail to recognize the realities of communication in the information age. Why not challenge the rules against video from the floor?

Someone obviously already did so with a cell-phone camera, but the grainy, choppy footage was merely symbolic, not substantive. Americans deserve to see and hear more.

C-SPAN can't buck Pelosi's orders and stay in business, but would she risk challenging a fellow House member who taped a debate, or at least one side of it, that Americans are entitled to hear? To do so would be an even greater PR disaster for Democrats.

Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas, or some other high-tech revolutionary should take a videocamera onto the floor and show the tape that C-SPAN can't. And if Republicans don't want to go that far in testing the House rules, then have the debate somewhere other than the House chamber. Move the proceedings outside the Capitol building for everyone to see.

If Republicans continue the protest, the liberal media will keep ridiculing it and burying the news. But the Internet makes it possible to bypass the media and have the energy debate neither the liberals in Congress nor the liberal media want America to hear.

Put it all on Eyeblast.tv. We'll help spread the word.

As the GOP at the national level seems to fall into a state of self-inflicted depression, and particularly about its prospects online, it's good to see some GOP Congressional candidates who can actually think outside the box. Three in particular have broken out with next generation online presences.

In a race Soren spotlighted yesterday, the Rothenberg Political Report highlighted a particularly clever use of the medium. In IL-11, GOP candidate Marty Ozinga snapped up the URL IamNotaPolitician.com and is using it to feature a high resolution video that plays directly off paid advertising. The campaign is using all the resources at its disposal, TV, online advertising, and signage, to drive to the site.

The site itself is very striking. The words I AM... placed next to a video, starting on "I Am Not a Politician" and ending with "I Am Committed." This defies almost every piece of conventional wisdom about political web design. The site is almost a perfect roadblock. It mentions the main site address (www.martyozinga.com) but doesn't link to it until the very end.

Though the page could honestly have used a simple registration box, I've got to admire the boldness and the discipline behind sticking with such a minimalist concept. It shows that online video doesn't have to be a tiny, blurry YouTube box, but can look good, be well-produced, and tell a story. I particularly like the thumbing of noses at every campaign manager who *swears* that unlike every other district in America, all the people in their district are all on dialup (you know who you are...).

Yesterday, TechDirt, one of the leading technology blogs, played a little defense on the debate about House Franking rules on the use of external sites.

Rep. John Culberson responded in the comments.

If the Ds rule change were in effect today, before I could post this, YOUR website/blog would have to be preapproved as complying with House rules, my post would require a disclaimer that it was "produced by a House office for official purposes," and the CONTENT of my post would have to preapproved by the House Franking Committee as complying with "existing content rules and regulations."

Now, TechDirt is correct that under the current rules, Culberson is not allowed to post this comment at all, but that is the problem. House Democrats are proposing a rule that does not solve the current problem in any meaningful way. Their solution would not allow members and staff to respond to blog posts in comments.

That's objectively crazy. That's why the Republican proposal should be adopted, not the luny Democratic one. That should be the debate that we are having.

The Sunlight Foundation -- the geek in me *loves* how they mix WebDev and politics -- is keeping tabs on which members have disclosed their earmark requests, and is asking for your help (this is supported by CAGW and the Club). Please call your Congressman using the widget below and ask if they'll be come clean about their earmarks.

Tonight, I was able to knock one more off the list. On Twitter, I asked John Culberson, the Qiking Congressman, if he'd disclose his. He replied back within two minutes saying he has, every year since 2001, with request letters posted on his website.

I came across this blogpost from a village president in Illinois's 14th district (where Democrat Bill Foster replaced Dennis Hastert) who's already on the receiving end of the earmark gravy train. In the post he talks about how his lobbyist got it done. So much for "change."

I was contacted yesterday by our former lobbyist in Washington, DC to inform us that Carpentersville has been included on the House Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee Bill for a $400,000 earmark for our Community Response Team (CRT). This earmark was due to the efforts of our new Congressman, Bill Foster, who myself and our Village Manager Craig Anderson met with not long ago to give him our list of projects that we have been attempting to get some federal assistance. The money most likely will not be seen until early next year. But this money will help our Police department combat gang crime in Carpentersville. It will be a big help in that ongoing effort.

He also pledges his support for Foster's reelection because of the earmark:

Congressman Bill Foster has shown some very good skills since being sent to Washington to represent the 14th Congressional District. He has come through for Carpentersville and I will not forget that in November.

He has open comments on his blog. Perhaps someone should ask Mr. Sarto (politely) why it's okay for members of Congress to use our tax dollars to buy the support of local officials like this. How can we make it so that Foster and this guy DO NOT get credit for this earmark once people see the corrupt process by which it was awarded?

BTW, Foster is a newly elected Democrat in a Bush +10 district, so this looks like firsthand proof that Pelosi is fast tracking his earmarks.

Because not everyone can be as unscrupulous with your tax money as the village president of Carpentersville, Illinois, it was reported last week that an Ohio company turned down a $1.6 million earmark because they didn't want it getting in the way of their private sector funding. Bravo!