Despite the public outcry over Rep. Ken Calvert's ethical woes -- an outcry from across the political spectrum -- last week, the House of Representatives approved [1] Calvert's new seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee:

During the vote, several Republican shouts of “no” prompted the GOP to call for a show of hands, which indicated a lopsided vote in favor of Calvert’s appointment, according to several GOP sources present. There was an objection to confirming the appointment by a show of hands, and at least one member called for a secret-ballot vote. But that move would have required a unanimous agreement, and at least one member objected. As a result, the effort failed, the sources said.

This week, some GOP members were still lamenting the decision.

“It’s like we didn’t learn anything from last year,” one GOP lawmaker said, referring to the November elections and the loss of the party’s majority control.

But Democrats as well as critical Republicans had the power to take matters into their own hands to prevent the assignment.

All committee assignments must go to the House floor for approval after the Republicans conference or the Democratic Caucus selects them. Party leaders usually bring the committee assignments to the floor through a unanimous consent agreement, which fails if even one member opposes it and calls for a recorded vote.

Under such a scenario, party leaders likely would pull the resolution to avoid forcing members to vote on a controversial committee assignment — a vote that could be used against them in campaigns.

This could have been stopped -- it wasn't.