You Stay Classy, Republican Party

So the House is actually moving forward on the contempt votes for Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten in the US Attorneys case. Kagro X has all the details. But what's interesting to me is that the initial attempt by the Republicans to dirty up this vote came with a motion to adjourn before they had to face it. Only thing is, the motion to adjourn took place in the middle of the late Tom Lantos' memorial service on the floor of the House.

They're nice people.

UPDATE: Adding to the Fighting Dem attitude of the last 24 hours, we have this story suggesting that the House would be fine with letting the Protect America Act expire and never taking up the Senate version of the FISA bill. This would be a tremendous smack in the face to Bush, and while I don't believe it for the moment, they're saying all the right things.

Democrats insisted that a lapse would have no real effect.

The expiration of the powers “doesn’t mean we are somehow vulnerable again,” said Representative Silvestre Reyes, Democrat of Texas and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

The lapsing of the deadline would have little practical effect on intelligence gathering. Intelligence officials would be able to intercept communications from Qaeda members or other identified terrorist groups for a year after the initial eavesdropping authorization for that particular group.

If a new terrorist group is identified after Saturday, intelligence officials would not be able to use the broadened eavesdropping authority. They would be able to seek a warrant under the more restrictive standards in place for three decades through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [...]

“The president’s presentation this morning was, I think, basically dishonest,” said Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the majority leader.

Intelligence officials could continue intercepting suspect communications even if the deadline passes, Mr. Hoyer said. In pushing so hard for immunity for the utilities, he added, the Bush administration is “very nervous about what might be disclosed” if the lawsuits against the companies are allowed to continue.

“To some degree, therefore, I think it is a cover-up,” Mr. Hoyer said.

This would be an unprecedented show of backbone on the part of people like Steny Hoyer to ignore the pathetic pleadings of the President. That's why I don't quite believe it yet.

UPDATE: More on the Repubs disrupting the Lantos memorial here.