At the request of Congressman @PeteHoekstra, I just called Speaker Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) and left a voicemail urging her to allow a vote on important energy legislation to help give America some relief at the pumps.

Naturally, I recorded the call using YouTube's quick capture:

For the record, this is the first time I've ever called a Congressional office (outside of working on the Hill).

Please call and do the same: 202-225-0100

Make sure you Tweet it, blog it, and post on YouTube if possible.

@EATerrell, @JMansour, and @AbbyAlger on Seesmic:

The House adjourned this morning without considering energy legislation. Nancy Pelosi and company were quick to make an exit, turning off the lights and the microphones in their wake. But some House Republicans stayed on the floor. At 3:30pm, they're still on the floor staging what's being called an "uprising" and a "revolt."

The lights are off. The microphones are off. CSpan isn't taping it. Nancy Pelosi "sent Capitol Police to clear the press gallery [and] lock the doors" according to news on RedState, but "Reps. Bunt, Shadegg, and Hoekstra have been taking turns remaining with media in the gallery in order to keep it open."

This revolution is not being televised. But thanks to online communication we know about it. It's on blogs like RedState, it's on the Twitter feeds of Reps. Culberson, Boehner, and Hoekstra. And now it's spreading as one person brings it up to another. I just mentioned it to a non-political friend in Texas. Her response? "Wow. This is like old school politics. This is amazing!"

This revolution is not being televised, but who the hell cares? To borrow from Rep. Culberson's tweet this morning: "Here is a powerful use of social media - when they turn off the mike we can still communicate."

Front-page of the Politico - House Republicans yet to seek consensus on an "agenda." An agenda is a small, limited set of core principles that everyone in the Conference should get behind and support.

I get the importance of agreeing to a core set of principles. In January 2006, I worked with Congressman Kingston on his American Renewal Project which was embraced, but not widely.

Indeed, six months before an election, it seems like everyone has a plan of ideas for the "limited" agenda items that they will, together, take forth to the American people. Everyone thinks their ideas are the way to go forward.

Among other plans out there:

* John Boehner has a Republican Agenda to fix a broken Washington.

* Mark Kirk has a Suburban Agenda.

* Jeb Hensarling has an Action Plan for House Republicans.

Gone are the days of Newt Gingrich's Contract for America, a plan which every Republican got behind and backed. A unified agenda back in 1994 was possible because of Newt Gingrich's intoxicating personality and strong leadership style; but it was also a different time, a time before the Internet inspired a culture of choice and information.

Today, thanks to the Internet, each Member of Congress can and should be fighting in the trenches for the hundreds of issues which drive their voters to the polls under the banner of the Republican Party. The Internet provides a medium to distribute our message like never before. We can fight on thousands of fronts.

Rather than being forced to to pick a few, limited set of agenda items, House Republicans should change the game and act more like iTunes and NetFlix -- offering conservative, libertarian, and independent voters a lot of different choices -- all of which can only be found under the larger brand -- Republican.

UPDATE 2:13 PM: James Joyner of Outside the Beltway disagrees with me because he argues that taking my approach would effectively dilute the Republican brand. Not really. If you're a "Republican" you have already agreed to a certain core philosophy. But to win back the Long Tail of the Republican Party - the Radiohead Republicans, the Punk Republicans, [insert brand] Republicans - we must start communicating more effectively and speaking to the issues that people care about. The only way to do that is by leveraging the Internet.

Larger than life music and great narration when you're telling the story, that's how:

The video above was produced by the House Republican Conference led by Chairman Adam Putnam of Florida. His video guru is Nathan Imperiale, one of the youngest and most talented operatives in the House.

To you Nathan, a helping of porridge. Keep up the good work.

Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor of Virginia just launched an online petition urging conservatives to "Stand With Rush (Limbaugh)" against liberal attacks.

The text of the petition reads:

One failure after another, Washington Democrats have built a record of legislative failure; one disappointment after another, Washington Democrats have failed to deliver results to the people who got them there.

This must be why, just nine months into their tenure, the Democrat-led Congress hit an 11% approval rating – that is the lowest in recorded history. Facing their record of failure, Washington Democrats decided to try and distract – and so they took a man’s words out of context, then they went on the attack.

It is at moments like these when we need to band together as conservatives and fight back. That is exactly what the Red State community and so many other conservatives around the country have been doing.

This issue is bigger than you or me, it is bigger than Rush Limbaugh. With the recent liberal effort to resurrect the "fairness doctrine," we have to recognize that free speech -- conservative free speech is under direct attack. These are issues that speak directly to the core of the modern conservative movement – are we going to allow ourselves to be pushed around by liberal extremists, or are we going to fight back?

I want to send Washington Democrats a message that their attempts to distract aren’t working – I stand with Rush Limbaugh against liberal attacks.

Rep. Eric Cantor
EricCantor.com

If Cantor's thinking about running for that VA-SEN seat, he's going to have a nice head start on building an email list of supporters.

The editorial board of TechRepublican would like to welcome Congressman Jeb Hensarling to the discussion.

The federal budget is about setting national priorities. Much like the way your family spends money, sometimes the government must make difficult spending decisions. This year, Congress has a clear choice: We can put our fiscal house in order and make those difficult decisions today so that our children can achieve the American dream tomorrow, or we can force American families to send even more of their hard earned money to Washington so that a bureaucrat sitting in a comfortable Washington office can decide how to best provide their children.

That is why, along with Rep. John Campbell and my colleagues in the Republican Study Committee (RSC), we obtained the pledge of 147 members of Congress to uphold the President’s veto of any federal spending bill that exceeds his budget request. Read more here, here and here.

So far this year, the Democrats have passed the largest tax increase in history and authorized over $105 billion in new domestic spending – BEFORE the appropriations bills have even reached the floor. The have also authorized what will become the largest tax increase in history - $392 Billion. That is why House Republicans are united around our effort to hold Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats accountable for their outrageous tax hikes and their hollow promises of fiscal responsibility, to protect American taxpayers.

We intend to continue to use all means within our power to highlight the Democrats’ empty promises of fiscal responsibility while working to ensure that taxpayers are protected from the massive tax hikes that fuel their runaway spending.

What can you do to help? Get the word out – call your Congressman to urge them to support our effort. You can access the list of members already supporting our effort here.

You are at the front line of a conservative grassroots effort to change the way that government does business – and we need you. Along with Rep. Campbell, we will keep the effort strong in the House. We need you to keep the effort going in the blogosphere. Thanks to David All and Tech Republicans for leading the GOP new media efforts, which will be an important part of any meaningful legislative effort. Keep up the great work, and talk soon.

Like you, one of my daily watering holes is the popular conservative blog, Redstate.com.

Over the past few years, I've enjoyed watching Members of Congress post blog entries at this popular website on hot issues in Congress, beating up on the Dems, or even fleshing out big ideas.

Today I was pleased to see two Republican Members of the House, Reps. Jeb Hensarling of Texas and Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan posting original content. Mr. Hensarling even posts a great YouTube video worth-a-click.

Of course, many House Republicans, led first by my former boss, Congressman Jack Kingston back in 2005, have always looked at Redstate as a top outlet for conservative thought and discussion. But it's always good to see the candle is still burning bright in the House Republican caucus.

Keep up the good work.

On a similar note, TechRepublican would welcome guest posts from any Republican elected official about the intersection of technology + politics. Please email us if you'd like to join our discussion.