By now, many of you have probably heard of the #dontgo Movement that has sprung up in up in support of House Republicans who are refusing to go on vacation until Congress passes a bill to solve the energy crisis.  It started as a small group of Congressmen and their supporters using the hashtag #dontgo on Twitter to discuss what was happening on the floor of the House.  However, it quickly grew much larger than anyone expected, with thousands of Americans following along and demanding that Speaker Pelosi call Congress back.

Today, the #dontgo team launched a website where supporters can go to learn more and find out how they can help.  Check it out.

One of the leaders listed on the #dontgo Crew page is Maryland College Republican Executive Vice Chair Evan Lazerowitz.  It’s great to see our members getting involved in national activism projects like this, so way to go, Evan!  (I would say it’s because MDCRs are the best of the best, but that might sound biased—I was the MDCR State Chair last year).

Yes, to counter the GOP’s successful efforts at exposing the truth the liberal Democrats don’t want you to hear (namely that Dems don’t want to vote on oil drilling or anything that would bring down the price of oil/gas), MoveOn.org is planning a counter-protest (read: astroturf) tomorrow afternoon at the Capitol.

So, while Republican leaders in DC are demanding that we actually debate the American energy crisis and try to solve some problems for Americans who are suffering daily at the pump…MoveOn.org will help their Democrat friends by creating a distraction by waving their hands frantically in a nearby location.

Hopefully, they will behave with some dignity, but their history suggests otherwise.

Here’s the email they sent out to their membership in the DC area (names of spies protected):

—— Forwarded Message
From: “Noah T. Winer, MoveOn.org Political Action” <moveon-help@list.moveon.org>
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:11:__

To:

Subject: URGENT: Emergency rally in DC

Tomorrow (Tuesday), we’re organizing an event at the Capitol to highlight the GOP’s extensive ties to Big Oil. We’ve invited the media, and having a good crowd is critical to show them that voters don’t want oil industry gimmicks, they want real solutions like alternative energy to solve our energy crisis. Can you make it at 4 PM?
<http://pol.moveon.org/0805oilrallyrsvp.html?id=13396-9767871-GTosdix&amp;t=1> Click Here <http://pol.moveon.org/0805oilrallyrsvp.html?id=13396-9767871-GTosdix&amp;t=2>
Dear DC-area MoveOn member,

Republicans have been escalating their attacks on Obama and the Democrats over oil drilling, and we need to push back hard. Will you come to our emergency rally outside the Capitol tomorrow (Tuesday)?

House Republicans have been “protesting” ever since Congress adjourned on Friday because Speaker Pelosi blocked their offshore drilling plan. Speaker Pelosi blocked their plan because it won’t help lower gas prices—but it will line the pockets of Big Oil executives, the same people donating millions of dollars to Republicans.

But Republicans are working hard to make it seem like they’re fighting for cash-strapped commuters—and not the oil companies who wrote their plan.

So tomorrow (Tuesday), we’re organizing our own protest to highlight the GOP’s extensive ties to Big Oil. We’ve invited the media, and having a good crowd is critical to show them that voters don’t want oil industry gimmicks—they want real solutions like alternative energy to solve our energy crisis.

Can you make it at 4 PM on Tuesday?

Here are the details:

What: Rally to Stop Big Oil Gimmicks
Where: US Capitol Building
Meet in front of Grant Memorial (statue of Grant on a Horse)
On the Mall, 1st    Street, between Pennsylvania Avenue and Maryland Avenue,  below the west front of the United    States Capitol Building Click Here for a Map <http://www.moveon.org/r?r=4008&amp;id=13396-9767871-GTosdix&amp;t=3>
When: Tuesday, August 5, 2008 at 4 P.M.
RSVP: http://pol.moveon.org/0805oilrallyrsvp.html?id=13396-9767871-GTosdix&t=4

Republicans have been dominating the debate around gas prices for weeks with their sham drilling plan. Oil drilling is a gimmick and the only reason they’re pushing for it is because their donors in the oil industry want it.

Their latest stunt is getting a lot of press coverage. But no one has challenged their ridiculous arguments, so we have to.

Here are few key facts about oil drilling:
It’s a gimmick. The US only has 1.6% of the world’s oil. And drilling could take over a decade or more to produce any oil.1
It won’t lower gas prices. Even after a decade-long wait, the price will barely drop a few cents per gallon.1
America knows drilling won’t work. According to a recent poll, 54% of poll respondents said they did not believe more drilling would lower gas prices. And 63% said opening up public lands to oil and gas drilling is more likely to enrich oil companies than to lower gas prices for American consumers.2
Voters are ready for real solutions.  The public overwhelmingly believes (76%!) that policymakers should focus on investing in new energy technologies including renewable fuels and more efficient vehicles rather than expanding exploration and drilling for more oil.2
Tomorrow, we’ll call out the Republican stunt and remind the media and the Republicans that voters want real solutions—not oil industry gimmicks like drilling.

Can you join us at 4 P.M. on Tuesday in front of the Capitol?

http://pol.moveon.org/0805oilrallyrsvp.html?id=13396-9767871-GTosdix&t=5

Thanks for all you do.

–Noah, Lenore, Ilyse, Nita and the rest of the team

Sources
1. “Correcting the Record: You can go to the Energy Information Agency,” Office of Speaker Pelosi, June 18 2008
http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=1390

2. “Americans Don’t Believe Bush, Industry Claims on Gas Prices, Poll Shows,” Wilderness Society poll, July 24, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/5v7mgp

Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 3.2 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here <http://political.moveon.org/donate/email.html?id=13396-9767871-GTosdix&amp;t=6> .

PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. This email was sent to Tierra Warren on August 4, 2008. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here <http://moveon.org/subscrip/coa.html?id=13396-9767871-GTosdix> . To remove yourself from this list, click here <http://moveon.org/s?i=13396-9767871-GTosdix> .

—— End of Forwarded Message

Talking with Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams at the Hertiage Foundation Bloggers meeting.Just found out there is more miles of pipeline than highway, who knew.One of there new major focuses is the competitiveness council: how do they keep Texas competitive in terms of job growth into the future.  One of the most important answers is energy.  Their purpose is to move towards a private/public partnership that can create zero emission power at lower costs.One of the creative things they’re able to do is use CO2 more effectively then any other nation in the world.  As Commissioner Williams put it “CO2 makes old wells come alive,” creating new returns from old production facilities.We also talked wind power, TX creating more win power then any other state in the nation.  The question becomes how do we capture that energy rather then distribute it immediately. 

Obama is holding a “Change That Works for You” event today with students in Taylor, Michigan. Sigh…

I feel like I’m beating a drum here, but when does Obama start to feel bad about all this hypocritical pandering? Look, just because we’re youth voters doesn’t mean that we will fall for anything and everything you tell us. Sometimes we do our own research, and it seems like Barack Obama is continuing to live in two separate worlds. There’s the one world where he has been a bi-partisan reformer, taking stands on unpopular issues for the greater good of the country…and then there’s reality where he simply toed the partisan line, or ducked an issue and cast his vote the way everyone else seemed to be voting. Meanwhile, John McCain has demonstrated his ability to bring about dramatic change in our government on issues of great importance to youth voters such as energy policy and the environment.

Listen, I get it. Having only one year of experience in the US Senate before you start running for president puts him at a little bit of a disadvantage in that he doens’t have much of a record to run on. But seriously, just making stuff up isn’t the way to run a campaign either.

Here’s one of my new favorites from his speech last night in Detroit:

“When Bush assigned Cheney to create energy policy, he met with the environmental groups once, the renewable energy groups once, he met with the oil and gas companies 40 times. Washington has become so dominated by the powerful, by the well-connected, that the voices of the American people are no longer heard.”

Ah yes, that horrible, evil energy bill that has led our country into this oppressive energy crisis…er, what? Oh? Oh, Barack Obama voted for the 2005 Energy Bill that he just referred to as the root of the problem in the energy crisis America is now facing. Well, I mean everybody was voting for it! It certainly wasn’t an issue anyone would want to take a stand on - do you know how risky those types of things are? Oh. You say John McCain voted against the 2005 Energy Bill…because

“This bill does little to address the immediate energy crisis we face in this country…I cannot in good conscience, vote to pass legislation that does not adequately address issues related to energy efficiency, security, and energy independence.” Sen. McCain 6/28/05

Obama has again tried to fool students on his record today in Michigan as he continues to live in two worlds. The first where The other world is full of the real results and actual voting record of John McCain as he’s fought for over 24 years in the Senate to enact dramatic change and real reform in our government.

Obama keeps telling students how “Washington has become so dominated by the powerful, by the well-connected, that the voices of the American people are no longer heard,”and yet he voted against the interest of the “American people” he cites in 2005.

His hypocrisy knows no bounds.

If Barack Obama really believes the stuff he says on the campaign trail about how our energy policy was formed, he should apologize for his vote for the 2005 Energy Bill. He won’t though because Barack Obama doesn’t represent anything new in Washington - just more of the same liberal games being played on a new generation of voters.