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That being the case, pro-drilling members of the House and Senate should issue special orders on the chamber floors. They would be seen on prime time television and possibly would be picked up by the mainstream networks. They should hold daily press conferences. They should appear on national talk shows and talk radio every day. Each senator should appear on local talk radio in his state and each House member should do the same with talk radio in his district. They should arrange for editorial board meetings with national and local newspapers. They should organize volunteers to go door-to-door to ensure that everyone knows each side of the issue and which position would be best for the American economy and American consumers.

Given the opinion of the electorate and her own contrary ideological position, it is no wonder Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has pulled measures lifting the ban on drilling from the House calendar. My understanding is that the Democratic Majority Whip's count demonstrated that the pro-drilling forces had enough votes to lift the ban. That would be a terrible embarrassment to the anti-drilling forces and the environmentalists.

Since the House and Senate Leadership do not want to help Americans, pro-drilling representatives and senators should initiate discharge petitions. Maybe, just maybe, a majority of legislators would be willing to ignore the majority leadership. If they can force a vote and pass pro-drilling legislation, President George W. Bush will sign it into law. If the anti-drilling forces triumph in the 2008 elections, which seems likely, it may be too late; for another generation we will be forced to use less oil and gas because of the high cost. We will be voting to make ourselves miserable and poorer unless we act now.

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Paul M. Weyrich is Chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation.

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.

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