None of that mattered, however, because Friday afternoon Speaker Pelosi hit the gavel and said goodbye. Members happily said their goodbyes, grabbed some papers, signed a few year books official documents, and went home. Much to the chagrin of the twenty or so members of the Republican Caucus who stayed in a desperate protest to talk about drilling.

At one point the cameras were turned off and CSPAN began to broadcast press conferences rather than the floor. The Washington Post captured the moment:

"At the direction of the House Sergeant-at-Arms, the microphones in the House are also off, so the lawmakers present are yelling to make their voices heard. . . The lights were off, then on, and now off again."

Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) began to tweet his observations via his Twitter account. Other Members followed using Culberson's account to tweet something of their own, including Rep. Mike Pence, Rep. Mike Rogers, and Rep. Rob Bishop. For those of us who couldn't watch it in real life or on CSPAN, watched it all unfold in real time via search.twitter.com's use of the tag #dontgo. TechPresident's Nancy Scola called it a "Congressional first."

"Michigan Republican Mike Rogers returned to the House floor in shorts and sandals to take his turn at the podium, as the Republican talkathon continues on the House floor, hours after the chamber formally recessed for the week," Politico reported at 3:23pm

Conservative columnist and blogger Robert Bluey reported via his Twitter account that he was forcibly removed by the Capitol Police.

A little after 5pm the Washington Post reported the end of the protest with the GOP singing a chorus of God Bless America and Twitter Search was filled with staffers, bloggers, and Republican Members vowing that this would go on throughout the course of the month of August with occasional appearances on the floor for Republicans who will come back to speak on the topic of drilling. @briansikma has already promised that Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) "will head back to Washington Monday morning to protest the adjournment without energy reform."

Scola at TP continues:

"DC doesn't quite seem to know what to make of this one-of-a-kind situation, and, of course, new social technologies like Qik and Twitter make it all the more ground-breaking."

Regardless of partisanship, I have to agree that there is nothing more democratic than something like this. And the use of technology to increase transparency at a time when TV clearly failed is notable. Making trouble is always a fun way to spend a vacation.