The C-SPAN cameras were gone and the microphones were off, but that didn’t stop a small group of Republicans from taking over the floor after the House adjourned Friday to attack Democrats for starting a five-week summer recess without doing something to lower gas prices.

“Madame Speaker, Where art thou?’’ Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, shouted from the well of the House. “This room is vacant of most members of Congress. Where, oh where, has Congress gone?’’ he yelled to about a dozen other Republicans, the tourists in the gallery, some House pages, and Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio, the lone Democrat who witnessed the unusual proceeding.

Republicans want Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to call the House back into session to vote on the GOP’s energy plan, which calls for lifting a long-standing ban on drilling off the east and west coasts, drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and more conservation and research on alternative energy sources.

“Bring the Congress back. Let’s have a real up or down vote,’’ Minority Leader John A. Boehner said after coming into the chamber from a press conference. “The American people expect Congress to represent the will of the American people.’’

Pelosi and most other Democrats oppose GOP efforts to drill in the Alaska refuge or end the offshore ban. They say tens of million of acres of federal land and ocean floor are already open to drilling, and have proposed legislation to force oil and gas companies to explore their existing leased areas or give them up.

Around 12:30 p.m., the bright TV lights in the House chamber were turned off, as Chief Deputy Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., was speaking.

Cantor didn’t miss a beat, declaring, “Turn off the lights, turn off the mikes, kick out the press because they [the Democrats] don’t want to deal with this important issue.”

Pelosi’s staff was unperturbed. “The House is in adjournment. The lights are off, the mikes are off,’’ said Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly. “They can talk all they want. We’re just doing what we normally do.’’