House Republicans tout new poll on drilling

A growing majority of Americans believe that Congress should stay in session until an up-or-down vote is held on drilling, according to a poll released Wednesday by a Republican pollster.

Pollster David Winston of the Winston Group told House Republicans at a morning briefing that 68 percent of Americans want a drilling vote before the end of the 110th Congress. He also said the GOP is winning generic ballots by 12 percent on energy policies when the Republican and Democratic plans are compared, a source in the room said.

{mosads}Winston informed the members of his poll before Republicans took to the House floor for day four of their push to bring Congress back into session.

The poll states that 64 percent of Americans believe that drilling is part of the solution to the energy crisis while 57 percent of self-identified liberals say that Congress should not go home without voting on drilling legislation.

Seventy-five percent believe the economy is on the wrong track, according to the poll.

The survey encompassed 1,000 registered voters nationwide, and was conducted on Aug. 2-3.

"Winston polls are not sugarcoated," said a GOP aide present at the briefing. "It isn’t often Republicans walk out of a Winston polling briefing with a smile."

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) joined a fresh batch of House Republicans at a press conference packed with staff and reporters Wednesday morning to renew their call for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to bring the House back into session.

Joining their colleagues for the first time since the initial Friday protest were GOP Reps. Robert Aderholt (Ala.), Judy Biggert (Ill.), David Davis (Tenn.), John Doolittle (Calif.), Scott Garrett (N.J.), Ralph Hall (Texas), Patrick McHenry (N.C.), Adam Putnam (Fla.),

Dennis Rehberg (R-Mont.) and Chris Shays (Conn.).

Responding to the House Republican protest, Pelosi issued a release on Wednesday titled “Top Ten Questions for House GOP on Energy.” The questions include “When House Republicans were in the majority for 12 years, our dependence on foreign oil escalated.

Why didn’t House Republicans do something about America’s energy independence to ensure we wouldn’t reach the energy crisis we’re in now?” and “If House Republicans are for ‘all of the above,’ why do you oppose efforts to protect consumers like price-gouging and holding OPEC accountable for price fixing?”

House Democrats have said they have voted on drilling-related bills, pointing out their recent legislation on “use it or lose it.”

However, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) last week went further than Democratic leadership officials by embracing the upper chamber’s “Gang of 10” energy compromise, which calls for expanded offshore drilling.