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Great House GOP Press Conference on Energy

Submitted by Matt Moon on Thu, 08/07/2008 - 14:05

Still live off of the House floor ...

Minority Whip Roy Blunt just finished a press conference with about a dozen other Republican members to explain the consensus of angst the American people have with the Democrat Congress on American energy policy.

My new friend Nick responded to my last post by showing me the plethora of local news coverage on the energy legislation protest. I admit that I now have egg on my face because there was obviously plenty of regular coverage; the real problem is that Republicans should take the time to be more creative about how to communicate this issue with local outlets. And creativity is exactly what I saw in this press conference.

Michael McCaul (R-TX 10) collected gas receipts from his constiuents from a recent trip back home, saying that the Democrat majority "cannot shut down the will of the American people." He showed a gas receipt from a constituent that had a note written on the back saying, "Nancy Pelosi, I used to be a Democrat!"

Pete Sessions (R-TX 32) held up a tire pump, calling it the Democrats' "new drilling platform."

The best stuff came from Mark Kirk (R-IL 10), a self-described moderate. I just finished a short one-on-one interview where he called on the Democrats to "expand the debate" because "the 'all of the above' strategy is the right strategy." Kirk gave a few other interesting pointers:

Congress voted to take a five-week vacation and will let important tax credits expire, risking more than 116,000 U.S. jobs and nearly $19 billion in U.S. investment, including the production tax credit for renewable energy, the residential energy efficiency property credit, and the clean renewable energy bonds. Tax credits for purchasing hybrid vehicles are only applied to the first 60,000 vehicles of each manufacturer, so all tax breaks for hybrids will have expired by the end of 2008 because Congress is on vacation.

Sending this stuff to local outlets takes a little bit more planning than what I have seen the last 6 days, but this is exactly the type of stuff I have been looking for. Sure, it's a little bit more complicated to communicate to the heartland, but 6 days of "GOP-is-protesting" stories gets old. Repetitive messaging has its place. But for an issue as complicated and as important as energy, creative messaging, including the "gas receipts" from McCaul and the "clean energy credits" from Kirk, works well in the new media and the localized old media.

Can the House GOP continue its momentum? Yes, as long as they continue to be creative like they were today.

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Comments

Wait a minute....

Submitted by davidfarrar on Thu, 08/07/2008 - 15:33.

...let me get this straight: Isn't this the one and same House minority whip, Roy Blunt, who could have defeated the House Democrat July 30th adjournment with his vote if he had only been there instead of attending a luncheoning at the Heritage Foundation when the vote was taken?

And now he's one of the guys trying to explain to us the consensus of angst the American people have with the Democrat Congress on American energy policy? Talk about political hypocrisy. I think this takes the cake.

As a Republican, the only explanation I would be interested in hearing from Rep. Blunt is why, as House minority whip, he couldn't do his job?

Please, somebody, tell me where I am wrong in this opinion, because House minority whip, Roy Blunt, apparently is too much of a coward to do it himself.

ex animo

davidfarrar

What I know of Blunt's absence

Submitted by Rob Bluey on Thu, 08/07/2008 - 15:46.

I can understand why you are upset at Blunt for missing the adjournment vote. Had he been there to cast a vote, the Democrats might still be debating. However, I want to correct an error and reveal what Blunt told me about his absence.

First of all, the lunch was not held at The Heritage Foundation, where I work. It was the regular weekly lunch hosted by Paul Weyrich. Blunt is a regular attendee.

When I asked him today about missing the vote, he told me that as soon as he learned that Democrats had called for a vote, he rushed back to the Capitol. He said they held the vote open long enough for Pelosi to cast her vote to adjourn, but closed it just seconds before he was able to reach the floor.

Blunt did not seem pleased by this at all. In fact, he told me that Democrats knew he was on his way back and purposely gaveled the vote to a close without him.

Make of it what you will, but those are the facts.

Let the record reflect...

Submitted by davidfarrar on Thu, 08/07/2008 - 23:46.

...the luncheon House Minority Whip, Roy Blunt, was attending while the House was voting on its adjournment motion, was the "weekly luncheon" sponsored by the Heritage Foundation and hosted by its Chairman, Paul Weyrich, but was not, in fact, held at the Heritage Foundation, itself.   Thank you, Mr. Bluey, for that correction.

Secondly,  Mr. Bluey; I deeply appreciate you taking the time to correct this matter, and to offer your testimony as it relates to Rep. Blunt's failure to cast the deciding vote against the adjournment motion.   Unfortunately, as well-meaning as it undoubtedly is, your testimony can be considered little more than hearsay in this matter.  I prefer to rely on direct testimony so those of us who don't happen to live inside the beltway can have a chance to determine the varacity of any statements made by Rep. Blunt's of his actions on July 30th.  It is with this in mind I have turned to Rep. Roy Blunt's own web-page, specifically to his "Whip Journal", wherein he makes the following July 30th entry:

" Break for a Job "Un-Well" Done
Jul 30, 2008  - Look at this blurb from last week’s Time: The 260 laws passed by the 110th Congress represent a 30-year low, and they include the naming of 74 post offices, not to mention the nonbinding resolutions designating July National Watermelon Month and recognizing dirt as an essential natural resource. Approval of Congress has sunk to a record low: 9% of people in a Rasmussen poll think lawmakers are doing a good or excellent job. The happiest news in this for the Democrats running the place is that about 40% of voters think the Republicans are still in charge. 

It’s pretty clear what the American people think about the job the Democrat-led Congress has done and with a performance review like that one - it's past time to get to work.  But, never one to let facts get in the way, this Do-Nothing Democratic Congress still believes they deserve a break for a job well done.  And that's exactly what they did today by voting to go on a five-week long vacation"... 
 

Search as I might, I can't find any reference at all to the fact that he, himself, failed to cast the deciding vote against the adjournment motion in his "Whip Journal", or that Democratic chincanery was to blame for such a catastrophic failure on his part.  Without a clear, written record of such allegations to proceed upon, it will be impossible to establish the truth behind Rep. Blunt's statement to you at this time. I am sorry.

Should Rep. Blunt somehow find the courage to supply us with a written account of his statement to you in his "Whip Journal", or anywhere else for that matter, I will be most willing to carry this matter forward so that we all can learn the truth behind his statement to you.

Should Rep. Blunt fail to offer such a written record in regards to this matter, I will be forced to rely upon the record as it presently stands... "to make of it what I will."

ex animo

davidfarrar