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Gingrich: GOP ready to shut government down over drilling

  • Story Highlights
  • Republicans continue protests calling for vote on offshore oil drilling measure
  • Democrats blocked vote on measure before Congress went into recess
  • GOP is considering a government shutdown to force a vote, Gingrich says
  • Democrats say they will not allow government to be shut down
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By Lisa Desjardins
CNN Radio
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- He led Republicans into government shutdowns in the 1990s, and now, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich indicates his party is seriously considering another shutdown threat to force a vote on offshore oil drilling in September.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is drawing attention to a Republican call for offshore oil drilling.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is drawing attention to a Republican call for offshore oil drilling.

House Republicans brought Gingrich to the Capitol on Wednesday, partly to revive media coverage of their speech-making protest in the chamber, now in its fourth day.

The rest of Congress is gone for August recess, but several Republican House members have been speaking on the floor of the closed-down chamber, calling for a special session to vote on drilling and energy.

Gingrich did attract more camera crews, and he used the opportunity to point to what may be the GOP's next strategy: If Democrats refuse to hold a separate vote on oil drilling, Republicans could try to block the votes needed to keep government running past September 30. Video Watch Gingrich return to the Capitol »

"Are [Democrats] really prepared to close the government in order to stop drilling?" Gingrich asked. "Because I think the country will find that to be a suicidal strategy."

The precise maneuvering of a shutdown threat is complicated, but it revolves around the fact that key government spending bills expire when the fiscal year ends September 30 and Congress must vote next month to keep the government operating.

One of those spending bills, for the Department of the Interior, contains the hot-button provision banning offshore oil drilling on the outer continental shelf. If that bill expires, as it is set to do at the end of September, then so does the drilling ban. Republicans believe a majority of the House opposes the ban, and thus a vote on whether to keep government running could also become a vote on whether to allow offshore drilling. Video Watch House Republicans demand a vote »

The parliamentary possibilities are numerous. But Republican House Leader John Boehner's office thinks the votes are there, on both sides of the Capitol, to support drilling and energy expansion. Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith confirmed there are many options on the table for September, including a shutdown threat.

"If Democrats want to block what a majority of the House and Senate want, they can proceed with a strategy that would in effect shut down the government," Smith said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office responded quickly with a statement from spokesman Nadeam Elshami. "Democrats will not shut down the government," he wrote, "but it is not surprising Newt Gingrich would raise that threat since he and the Republican Party shut down the government in the 1990s."

Gingrich's political game of chicken with then-President Bill Clinton led to two government shutdowns in late 1995 and early 1996. The moves backfired, and polls showed more Americans blamed Gingrich. But he defends his decisions.

"We shut the federal government down, for a brief period, in order to get a balanced budget," he told CNN Radio. "That was a deliberate systematic strategy."

Now the strategy seems to be an all-out effort to heap pressure on Pelosi, who opposes offshore oil drilling and has so far not scheduled a vote. iReport.com: Is drilling the best option?

Democrats call the floor speeches and photo opportunities a "hoax." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer sent out a statement saying, "Republicans are doing nothing but pushing the failed Johnny-one-note policies of the past."

But Republicans keep adding pressure. After three days of speaking under shadows in the unlit House chamber, the GOP congressmen found themselves facing six television cameras and at least three dozen reporters when Gingrich joined them Wednesday. The equivalent news conference Tuesday morning attracted a single camera and approximately 10 journalists.

Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam would not say how long he and his GOP mates will hold the floor. But there is a clear sense of political momentum, as well as a lot of rah-rah, among Republicans rotating in and out of the chamber.

"The energy level is high," Putnam said, "and I think we've got a lot of energy left in us, don't we?"

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About 15 Republicans behind him cheered.

Gingrich pushed a broader view. "I think the energy level has shifted between the two parties in the last couple weeks," he said, "and my hunch is there are a lot of Democrats back home who are tap dancing."

All About Oil Production and RefiningNewt GingrichU.S. House of Representatives

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