King Stays in DC for Drilling Protest

King Stays in DC for Drilling Protest

Steve King is one of two dozen Republican U.S. House members staying in Washington during the AUgust recess to demand a vote on offshore drilling.

King spoke Monday on a darkened House floor, next to a giant photo of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with the words “I am trying to save the planet” underneath.

King said Pelosi has decided that “saving the planet is worth more than saving the Homo sapiens.”

The Republican protest is continuing without lights, microphones, or C-SPAN cameras. Those are all under the control of the Speaker, and Pelosi says "an offshore drilling vote would "mislead the American people as to thinking it's going to reduce the price at the pump."

King, of course, disagrees. "We're asking for a vote on the floor of Congress, a recorded vote, so the people of America can determine what their member of Congress stands for: more or less energy, higher or lower prices."

“It can’t hurt; it may help,” a senior GOP aide told The Politico on the condition of anonymity. “It’s great for the base, and we needed to do something for them.”

Iowa's other House members are back home, meeting with constituents and getting in a little campaigning. Republican Tom Latham spent his Monday at town meetings in Greene, Franklin and Hancock counties. He's also protesting inaction by the Democratic leadership -- but his beef is not about offshore drilling. "I voted against adjournment because it is wrong for Congress to leave without fulfilling what is a solemn promise to help Iowans and others in the Midwest waiting for flood relief," he said in a press release.

Democrat Dave Loebsack, meanwhile, spent the first days of his "vacation" in one-on-one meetings with constituents who were flooded out of their homes.