Madame Speaker, Where Art Thou?

One of my father-in-law's favorite quotes is: "If you always do what you've always done...you'll always get what you've always gotten."

So, to our vacationing members of Congress, thanks for continuing to ignore the people's desires to drill offshore and find LOCAL means of energy. If you're not around to vote, maybe people will forget? Maybe the energy concern will go away, right? Grrrrr.

On April 19, 2006, the then Senate Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi stated, "Democrats have a plan to lower gas prices…join Democrats who are working to lower gas prices now.”

Since Democrats have been in power with promises of lower gas prices, $4+/gallon gas prices have become common place.

Yesterday, the lights and mics were turned off and the House had stopped TV feeds to C-Span after the pre-noon vote to adjourn Congress for the August recess. Republicans, however, demanded that Congress stay in session until it did something about high gas prices.

"Madame Speaker, where art thou?" shouted out Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, in a glancing rhetorical shot at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "Where oh where has Congress gone?"

Democrats blocked Republicans from a vote on allowing more offshore oil drilling and increasing domestic oil supplies. Meanwhile, Democrats argued Republicans blocked their efforts to stop market speculation, press oil companies to develop the leases they have and force the president to release oil from the strategic petroleum reserve.

The result is that Congress is leaving town without a comprehensive energy bill.

Yet, the Democrats had a plan in 2006 to lower gas prices. It take two years to put the plan in place?!

I say it's time we fire our representatives (okay, NOT re-elect them) who have gotten too accustomed to always doing what they've always done...which gets us what we've always gotten.