Theatrics And Props Add Flavor To Energy Debate

It's hard to keep coming up with new ways to bash Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the oil drilling and energy issue, so Republicans are turning to props and theatrical moves to keep our attention.

Standing at the mikes this afternoon outside the House chamber, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) pulled out a bundle of gas receipts from constituents in his Texas hometown. Each one had a note written on the back, and one even went for the heart strings, saying that "sick and dying children" are not making it to cancer treatments because gas prices are too high to make trips to the hospital in some cases.

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) went for an obvious photo op shortly after McCaul spoke, holding up a bike tire pump, saying this was the Democratic solution to gas prices. (Crypt question for readers: Can you use a bike pump to properly inflate car tires and improve gas mileage, as Barack Obama and John McCain have both suggested?).

McCaul marched his pile of receipts down to Pelosi's office and left them with a security guard. Pelosi, of course, is out of town on a book tour, as Republicans have reminded us several times this week. A few photographers shot pictures of McCaul's trip to the speaker's hallway, and that was it for the day's theatrics.

UPDATE: Here's one other piece of flair handed out by Republicans today: A list of 139 newspaper, TV and radio stories that have appeared in local news around the country covering the GOP energy revolt, so it's clear that this rump session is getting a ton of air time and ink around the country.