Was the House’s technical glitch an accident?

As House lawmakers raced to pass bills before the August recess, their work came to a dead halt Friday because the electronic voting system failed, delaying work for almost an hour and adding another layer of tension onto the partisan proceedings.

As it turns out, someone had disconnected the power plug on the electronic tally board that shows lawmakers the votes of their colleagues, according to House Democratic sources.

That put speculation into overdrive: Did someone unwittingly trip over the cord, or did a disgruntled member yank it to disrupt what Republicans see as an oppressive majority agenda?

Even as hundreds of members of Congress milled around the House floor and leaders from both sides wrestled over what to do next, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said aloud what many of his colleagues were thinking.

“For all of us who think that dastardly things are going on, I guess we are trying to figure out who is doing the dastardly things,” Hoyer said.

Conspiracy theorists noted that Republicans had plenty of motive, as they were still fuming Friday over a controversy involving the vote tally board that took place late Thursday night.

Rep. Michael McNulty (D-N.Y.), who was presiding over the chamber at the time, declared the failure of a Republican motion even though the board showed Republicans ahead 215-213 when he hammered the gavel to end the vote.

Angry confusion ensued and Democratic leaders had to reopen the vote and persuade lawmakers to switch sides to defeat the motion. Republicans were enraged and made such an uproar that Hoyer felt compelled to propose an investigation to get to the bottom of the dispute. 

But Brian Kennedy, spokesman for House Republican Leader John Boehner (Ohio), said there’s enough suspicion to go around.

“There were theories that malfunctions on Friday were the result of tampering with machines Thursday night to clear the ‘stolen vote,’  Kennedy said. “My sense is that these are questions that would be the subject of the select panel.”

A six-month vacation sounds good, but we’ll take the A/C

It’s official: Not a single conversation took place Monday that did not involve the weather. It’s hot. It’s gross. We know.

But let it be a comfort that Washington has always steam-cooked its inhabitants in August — and some say that had some decent policy implications for the country.

Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) recalled chatting with former Sen. Jim Eastland, a Southern Democrat from Mississippi, asking the long-serving politician what was the most significant thing that happened since he took office in 1941.

“He looked at me and he said, ‘Air conditioning,’” Biden recounted on MSNBC Aug. 3.

“‘Before we had air conditioning,’ he said, ‘that sun would beat down on that dome, heat up that place,’ he said. ‘It would get too hot and we’d leave Washington, and we’d leave for the year,’” Biden quoted Eastland as saying.

“‘Then we got air conditioning, stayed year-round and ruined America.’”

Congress finds new ways to bleed interns

The plight of congressional interns is well known.

Mostly unpaid, often overworked, occasionally swept up in a scandal or two — is there anything more we can take from these wretches?

How about their blood?

The office of the House chief administrator is kicking off a blood drive on Aug. 17, and spokesman Jeff Ventura said it is targeting the campus’s meekest in this year’s campaign.

“They say you can’t get blood from a stone, but interns are a different story,” reads the poster that Ventura says will publicize the blood drive.

Ventura said he is putting his own intern to work this week, calling every congressional office to ask for a commitment of a blood donation from one intern therein.

The drive will take place in the Cannon House Office Building Caucus Room from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.

But don’t worry, interns, at least you’ll get one of those free meals you’re always chasing: This one will consist of some juice and a cookie. 

DeMint loses Senate GOPers

If the weather has gotten too warm for you in Washington, try the office of Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) — we hear it’s more than a little chilly in there.

Rumblings of GOP frustration with the self-styled cowboy have grown to a roar, as staffers complain that the anti-earmark crusader and his like-minded staff are going too far.

To wit: A long list of Republican aides frequently circulate newspaper articles or blog postings of the “Go! Fight! Team!” variety. But the day after FBI agents raided the home of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), DeMint legislative director Matt Hoskins e-mailed to Republican aides a news story detailing allegations against Stevens. Hoskins even helpfully highlighted the details that could connect earmarks to criminal behavior.

Recipients of the missive were livid.

“Everyone’s like, ‘What is he doing?’” one aide who received the e-mail said.

In truth, many Republicans have been angry with DeMint since the ill-fated immigration debate began this spring. He became the face of opposition to the long-negotiated legislation, proudly supporting a “poison pill” amendment, even though he didn’t agree with its substance.

But recently, aides say, DeMint and his aides have made their fight personal, going after earmarker-in-chief Stevens whole hog, even though the Alaskan is already having what appears to be a very long, very bad day.

One conservative GOP aide said the person who will be more hurt in the end is DeMint himself, whom many agree has already marginalized himself within his conference.

“There are ways to make your policy point without going after a fellow Republican,” the aide said.

DeMint spokesman Wesley Denton’s response? “No comment.”

Alexander Bolton contributed to this page.