A Missed Video Opportunity

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Lawmakers already have shown a willingness to challenge outdated House rules that fail to recognize the realities of communication in the information age.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.