Bob Barr on the House of Representatives Energy Sit-In

Bob Barr held a conference call with bloggers this week; I asked what he made of his former Republican colleagues in the House protesting the congressional recess and making speeches to an empty room about the need for offshore drilling.

My reaction to that is the same as my reaction to President Bush's repeal of the 1991 executive order that his father signed, that made it even more difficult than pre-existing legislation to engage in offshore drilling. I commend the president. Where has he been for seven and a half years? I commend the House Republicans for finally standing up and doing something, but where have they been for the last seven and a half years? Are they serious about this or has this been an action taken to gain some headlines in advance of the Democratic and Republican conventions. The timing is, to be honest, a little suspect. But all of that being said, it's good that they're finally doing something. But to do something that will improve their standing in the polls before the election, I expect that will take more than standing on the House floor making speeches with the power turned off. It would take a lot more than that to create an agenda that will win them votes.

Barr was actually there for the first two years of the period he's talking about, of course, but I got his point. More Barriana here.