And Just In Case You Need Some Motivation

Worst. Congress. Ever.

But the 109th Congress is no mild departure from the norm, no slight deviation in an already-underwhelming history. No, this is nothing less than a historic shift in how our democracy is run. The Republicans who control this Congress are revolutionaries, and they have brought their revolutionary vision for the House and Senate quite unpleasantly to fruition. In the past six years they have castrated the political minority, abdicated their oversight responsibilities mandated by the Constitution, enacted a conscious policy of massive borrowing and unrestrained spending, and installed a host of semipermanent mechanisms for transferring legislative power to commercial interests. They aimed far lower than any other Congress has ever aimed, and they nailed their target.

"The 109th Congress is so bad that it makes you wonder if democracy is a failed experiment," says Jonathan Turley, a noted constitutional scholar and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington Law School. "I think that if the Framers went to Capitol Hill today, it would shake their confidence in the system they created. Congress has become an exercise of raw power with no principles -- and in that environment corruption has flourished. The Republicans in Congress decided from the outset that their future would be inextricably tied to George Bush and his policies. It has become this sad session of members sitting down and drinking Kool-Aid delivered by Karl Rove. Congress became a mere extension of the White House."

And don't miss The Ten Worst Congressmen:

1. The Highway Robber: Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.)

2. The Dictator: James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wis.)

3. Mr. Pork: Don Young (R-Alaska)

4. The Bribe Talker: William D. Jefferson (D-La)

5. The King of Payoffs: Jerry Lewis (R-Ca)

6. Mr. Bigotry: Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.)

7. Enemy of the Earth: Dick Pombo (R-Ca)

8. The Conspiracy Nut: Curt Weldon (R-Pa)

9. Bin Laden's Best Friend: Hal Rogers (R-Ky)

10. The Christian Soldier: Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.)

It's no accident that nine out of ten in the list are Republicans. They are the ruling party. They call the shots. Anything and everything we've been through the last six years is their show. There's no passing that buck.



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