Via Gateway Pundit. “We are a political body,” he acknowledged sadly in his floor speech after the vote, and darned if Democrats didn’t prove him right. First they offered an amendment that would have reduced his punishment to a mere reprimand instead of the Ethics Committee’s recommendation of censure. A clear majority of them voted yes on that, simply because a reprimand would have spared him the baby wrist slap of having to stand before the House during the reading of a censure resolution. The amendment failed when 105 Democrats joined with an almost unified GOP in voting no. (Three Republicans voted yes, one of whom was Ron Paul.) Then, on the censure vote, dozens of Democrats who preferred reprimand sucked it up and voted yes on the harsher punishment to cover their asses and make sure they could say later that they’re all pro-ethics ‘n stuff. Final roll: 333-79. Then, just to make sure everyone realized how much they hate having to deliver this baby wrist slap, a bunch of them got up and gave him a standing O after his predictably self-serving speech. Remember, this is a guy who was found guilty on 11 counts, including failure to pay taxes while he was chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Pathetic.

He’s the first congressman censured since 1983 and only the fifth in the past century. You can watch an ashen-faced Pelosi deliver the formal reading of the verdict over at Mediaite. A fitting final note for “the most ethical Congress ever.”