On Friday, Nancy Pelosi adjourned congress in the middle of a debate regarding gas prices and offshore drilling. While House Republicans were arguing their side of the issue, Pelosi cut their microphones, turned off the lights and shut down Congress for a five week vacation.
Pelosi's actions show her obvious disrespect for the democratic process. Since when was it okay for the Speaker of the House to refuse to hold a vote on an issue just because she disagrees with it? Is voting on controversial issues not Congresses sole purpose? If Pelosi is so sure that offshore drilling is not a way to ease consumer pain at the gas pump, she should argue her case to the rest of the House and allow them to vote on it. She should have enough confidence in her own ability to articulate a point that she would have no need to worry about the results of a vote. The House is controlled by Democrats; if they vote against her position, she is obviously misguided.
Regardless of your politics, or your position on offshore drilling, you should at least agree with me that refusing to allow debate and democracy in the United States House of Reprsentatives is repulsive.
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2 comments:
Here's the deal. If republicans actually wanted to do something about it, they would have made it a major issue months ago. It was just a political stunt by a party that is on the verge of posting major deficits in both the house and Senate. So don't blame Pelosi for adjourning a session that was scheduled to adjourn at the time.
Sure Congress was scheduled to adjourn, however, had it been a Democrat-backed issue, this would've played out much differently. The truth is, about 65% of Americans support lifting the ban on offshore drilling. By refusing to even hold a vote, Pelosi is disregarding popular opinion and instead pushing her own agenda.
This is a perfect example of the inefficiency of party-politics. Trust me, I realize that Republicans have been guilty of similar tactics, this is just a recent event that I felt was worth mentioning. My ultimate goal here is not to bash Democrats. I simply want to point out that rather than constantly fighting against their rival parties, our "Representatives" should try to actually represent us (both Democrats and Republicans).
Offshore drilling is not a long-term solution to our energy needs. But, by increasing our supply of oil, we can help to begin lowering gas prices. Obviously the real focus needs to be put into research and development of alternative forms of energy. The oil acquired from limited offshore drilling can help carry us into the era of new technologies.
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