Newt Gingrich is praising House Republicans for their revolt against the "Do-Nothing" on Energy Prices Democrats in Congress. Gingrich is urging them to continue to stand strong for increased domestic oil drilling to combat high gas prices. He also called Speaker Nancy Pelosi's leadership in preventing an up or down vote on the issue a "petty dictatorship."

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on Tuesday applauded the House Republican energy protest, calling it the first “serious energizing revolt we’ve seen since the early 1990s.”

“I’m very proud of House Republicans,” Gingrich told a group of GOP activists gathered for a state and local summit organized by GOPAC, a Republican political action committee he once headed.

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) has taken on the House GOP mantra of “drill here, drill now, pay less” and is using it on the presidential campaign trail, and the message stands in stark contrast to Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) advice to consumers to combat high prices at the pump by making sure their tires are inflated properly, Gingrich said.

Obama’s message translates to “inflate here, inflate now, avoid reality,” he remarked.

Gingrich plans to meet with House Republicans Wednesday morning to discuss their continued protest of Democratic leaders’ decision to recess Congress without holding a vote on legislation expanding drilling.

House Republicans’ mock sessions on the House floor, which they’ve been holding without microphones or C-SPAN coverage since Congress officially adjourned last week, have made national headlines. And Republicans have pledged to continue the floor speeches on energy throughout the week and possibly up until the Democratic convention later this month.

Gingrich referred to a new poll conducted by Dave Winston that found that three out of four Americans believe that Congress should vote on a bill expanding drilling.

He also blasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for adjourning Congress and shutting down the power to the microphones on the House floor instead of allowing Republicans to speak out about the need for more drilling.

He said that decision shows that she is running a “petty dictatorship.”

“During the energy fight, she cut off the energy to the House floor so [members] couldn’t talk about energy,” he said.