Report from the bloggers' conference call about America Speaking Out

For many Americans, trying to communicate with their member of Congress probably seems like yelling on the telephone--with no one listening on the other end.

For instance, last year the House of Representatives passed two enormously unpopular bills, cap and trade and ObamaCare. People who spoke up against these and other bills at town hall meetings were denigrated as "un-American" by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

So there is a need for the House Republicans' new web site, America Speaking Out. Because speaking out is the American way.

Yesterday afternoon I participated in a bloggers' conference call about the site, hosting the event was Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who leads the GOP Whip Team calls.

"AmericaSpeakingOut.com is a site," McCarthy told us, "that individuals can come to and provide and submit an idea, or you can vote on an idea, or debate an idea."

On that site as I write this entry are discussions about the ongoing North Korea crisis, simplifying our tax code, and our course, the ballooning deficit.

Now is the site just for Republicans? No. "It doesn't matter what party you are with," McCarthy explained, "you can come to the web site and you can continue to give ideas and we will debate the ideas."

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington is the vice-chair of the House Republican Conference, and she echoed my sentiments about Congress not listening. "More than anything right now as we listen to people across the country they're frustrated with representatives, with congressmen, with senators who are not listening to them." She continued, "They feel too many in power right now think they know better."

Rep. Peter Roskam of Illinois was on the call as well, and I wasn't going to let the opportunity slip away to ask him if there was any chance Americans Speaking Out could be duplicated at the state level, particularly our state. Roskam's district begins just five miles west of my home.

"I think the whole country is watching this," Roskam replied, "you've got the entire political class that is watching this--if this as successful as it is likely to be, I think you'll see others rolling it out."

"This is revolutionary," McCarthy declared.

On a related note, Tania at Midnight Blue Says interviewed Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) about the site.

Technorati tags: politics news Republican cathy mcmorris rodgers washington state california gop Congress kevin mccarthy Illinois illinois politics dupage county peter roskam