Farewell to 109th: They Took So Much — But Boy, Did They Give

Oh, you sweet 109th Congress. We hate to see you go!

That’s a minority opinion, of course. Some three-quarters of Americans think you’ve done a horrible job. Some even say, with all your (admitted) boozing, (alleged) whoring and (convicted) extortion, you’re the worst Congress ever. And frankly, if we didn’t know you so well, we’d probably agree with them.

You did only manage to stumble in to work 218 days over the past two years. And your inbox certainly piled up: there’s all that intelligence you never questioned, a sprawling disaster of a war you didn’t oversee, and of course the largest, most complex government budget in the history of the world, which you failed to rein in — this year, you didn’t even complete it.

And some of you simply lacked the credibility to do your jobs. Like the intelligence chairman who hunted for WMDs in Iraq even after the most ardent WMD-believers in the administration had given up the ghost. Or the most senior lawmaker for environmental issues who insists global warming proponents are brainwashers.

But the haters don’t remember how much you’ve given. A whopping 19 members offered yourselves up for federal investigation! And what goodies you showered us with along the way: The fake charities, the cash in the freezer, the IM chats, the bribe menu, the FBI raids (oh, the raids!). And the hooker rumors, the sudden trips to rehab, the junkets to forced-abortion sweatshop islands, the “prosecutors have assured me I am not a target of any investigations”-s. When is a fundraiser not a fundraiser? You pondered this kind of question. You used your wives to take money you couldn’t. And we’ll treasure forever your many, many, many, many, many resignations!

Readers, you’ve shared this wild ride with the Schemin’ 109th — what are you going to miss? Send us an email and let us know.