I was somewhat surprised by the fact that the vote in the US Congress on the annual "August Recess," was so partisan. Only a handful of Republican Representatives voted in favor. Washington, DC in August is a hellhole. It's extremely uncomfortable, and the August recess dates from the days before air conditioning, when it wasn't just uncomfortable to live here, but unbearable. While A/C makes the situation marginally better, it's still a poisonous environment. People succumb to heart attacks just going for a short bike ride.
Moreover, most Congressional staffs are overworked and underpaid, so they look forward to the adjournment to regroup, spend time with family, etc.. But the Democrats have gone on recess, while many Republicans (a half century or so) have chosen to stick around (and "sticking" is the appropriate verb) in order to make a point about drilling for offshore oil to mitigate an economy threatened with an energy related recession. At first CSPAN didn't cover the "refused adjournment," but, I noticed, today (Monday, August 4th) that their cameras are rolling.
Republicans have a lot of issues that they could choose to leverage the November congressional elections, but they're like the Model T color options. You can have any color you want, as long as its black. Or, in other words, you can take any position you want on energy production, as long as it's in favor of offshore drilling. And they're giving up their annual vacation to make the statement, while Democrats idly watch the Capital burn...
Though it may take awhile for the US public to notice what's going on, it will slowly dawn on people that the Democrats have deliberately chosen to twiddle during the hot August hell, while Republicans are showing up. And it may also slowly dawn on people, over the next month or so, that 90% of life is showing up.