The Republican grandstanding yesterday really backfired. They didn't get the FISA bill they wanted. But -- there's more.
Prior to the walk-out, the Republicans had a plan. Rep. Tom Lantos (D, CA), the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, died this week. The House had a memorial service for him. In an attempt to get the Senate's FISA bill passed, the Republicans (few of whom attended the Lantos memorial service) called for a vote while the Democrats were gone. I guess they thought those do-gooder Dems wouldn't leave the memorial service and they'd get their bill pushed through. Dems fooled them. They left the service and the FISA bill didn't pass. Since this trick failed, the Republicans staged their walk-out.
After the Republicans walked out, the House still had a quorum and were able to pass contempt citations against former White House counsel Harriet Miers and former Chief of Staff Josh Bolten for their refusal to show up when subpoenaed to testify regarding the firing of U.S. attorneys and their refusal to turn over documents and e-mails.
I don't care how long it's taken the Democrats to learn how to deal with these kinds of dirty tricks. They've learned. Finally. And I hope to see more of this toughness in the future.