More Americans began paying attention to C-SPAN when viral videos highlighted short video clips of Capitol Hill antics. Both sides of the aisle are aware of this, so it's not unusual for members to play up floor speeches solely for the Internet. However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., demanded all C-SPAN cameras off when Republican members stormed the floor to protest the August congressional recess before a debate on energy policy House Democrats managed to block a bipartisan offshore drilling initiative and left GOP members talking energy policy and high gas prices in the dark, without microphones or cameras. Pelosi knew the power of such video would have been harmful to Democrats the moment it went viral on the Internet and was replayed on national news, but audio and some video of the incident leaked to the Internet from a cell phone video and is posted on Eyeblast.tv.
