Thousands of people from all walks of life are expected to participate in rallies for jobs and the economy tomorrow, Sept. 1. They will gather at three venues in Houston, Port Arthur and Corpus Christi, Texas, where they will make their voices heard.

Some of the attendees are likely to be energy workers whose jobs are on the line due to the offshore drilling moratorium and the threat of higher energy taxes. But they won't be the only people who attend.

It's expected that Wednesday's rallies will be similar to the series of rallies held last fall, in which the participants included union members, teachers, homemakers, farmers, small business owners and operators, and veterans--all of whom were citizens and voters who recognized the importance of energy to their lives, economic welfare of their communities and the energy security of the nation.

As we've noted before on this blog, oil and natural gas are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. The oil and natural gas industry supports 9.2 million American workers and provides the energy used every day to ship goods and services, heat and cool homes and businesses, and fuel economic growth and prosperity.

The people who attend the rallies understand that higher taxes and fewer opportunities to develop new energy resources can lead to less domestic energy production and fewer American jobs--exactly the wrong prescription for the sluggish economic recovery.

During the Texas rallies, the participants will hear remarks from local business and civic leaders. Those who attend the Houston rally will be entertained by Bruce Robison, a country singer-songwriter, who proudly mentions the rally on his Web site. The Bandera, Texas, native has written songs that have been hits for George Strait, as well as Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, among others.

We invite you to attend a rally and stand up for jobs and the economy. If you can't attend, you can watch the Houston rally live streamed on the Energy Nation Web site. I hope you'll tune in on Wednesday, 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Central.

I will attend the Houston rally and tweet my observations, and I'd also encourage you to follow the rallies conversation on Twitter via the #rallyforjobs hashtag.