Even though he needlessly apologized, that’s still not good enough for the Dems, their resolution seeks to force Issa to grovel from the House floor.

WASHINGTON — Democrats stepped up their condemnation of Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) Thursday with a second resolution to reprimand the Oversight Committee chairman for a pattern of “offensive” behavior against lawmakers from their party.

They tried once before to get the House to condemn Issa for cutting off the top Democrat on his committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings, in a hearing over IRS scrutiny of political groups last week.

And like that bid, this one seems doomed. Nevertheless, it highlights the deep, lingering anger that Democrats feel for the Californian, who they believe has abused his role atop a committee meant to ferret out waste and abuse in the federal government.

This time, the so-called “privileged resolution” offered by Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) expands the claims of abusive behavior by Issa, including trying to prevent a witness from answering questions from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), and turning off the microphone of Rep. John Tierny (D-Mass.) during a dispute.

“Chairman Issa’s conduct in committee and his repeated attempts to silence Democrats is offensive and needs to be condemned,” Kildee said in a statement. “We live in a democracy, one that allows for open debate and dissension. That’s the way our framers intended for our legislative process to work, where there would be respectful debates in Congress about the important issues we face as a nation.

Issa apologized to Cummings after the March 5 spectacle at a hearing in which former IRS official Lois Lerner refused to testify. But the resolution would have demanded a more formal mea culpa, with Issa making amends from the floor of the House. It also would have declared that Issa broke the House’s code of conduct, which says members “shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.”