The "Do-Nothingest"

First we had this great interview of Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) by Stephen Colbert.

Now, in this editorial (more like a report), Contempt for Congress, by David Broder of the Washington Post, Broder reviews the anti-Congress climate from the recently finished meeting of the National Governer's Association. Governer's have typically had a reputation for being more "in-touch" with their constitutencies then their counterparts on Capitol Hill.

The Beltway Bunch appear to me as a group of out of touch, self-serving, and partisan caretakers who have figuratively "fallen asleep at the wheel." The list of issues Congress has either failed to face, or tackled with partisan and unimaginative solutions is too long to list here, but to get the list started: Social Security Reform, the Iraq War, Immigration Reform, the Dubai Ports Deal, etc.

Echoing Colbert's comments, "New Mexico Democrat Bill Richardson said, 'Congress has gone from unresponsive to hopeless. On everything from the minimum wage to immigration to energy, they've just given up. No one expects anything from them.'

Finally, I enjoyed this analogy, "Mitt Romney, the Republican governor of Massachusetts, said his wife, Ann, has likened the spectacle of Congress to 'two guys in a canoe that is headed for the falls, and all they do is hit each other with their paddles.'" I believe the comparison is slightly flawed, it is the American people (actually the Canoe is big enough to hold the entire world's population) in the Canoe, the Congressman are hitting each other on the head, but are lucky enough to be standing on the shore.