Bill Thomas

honoring our rubber-stamp congress, whose members have found plenty of time to do squat

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Thomas breathes new life into the phrase “in bed with industry.” Despite the controversy surrounding the affair, Thomas went on to author the term’s key Republican health care legislation.

The Dan Quayle Award

Rep. Mark Foley, the son of a public school teacher, wanted voters to know of his opposition to TPA, or Trade Promotion Authority. He released a statement denouncing the “PTA.”

Senator John Breaux (D-La.) wrote a note during the stimulus package debate and pinned it to a Congressional elevator, reading “STIMULAS NEEDED!”

Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) pontificated last December on the need for yet another C.R., or “continuing resolution,” whereby Congress avoids shutting down the government by borrowing a few hundred million more dollars. Despite gales of laughter from Congressfolk, he persisted in referring to the need for “CPR .”

Senator Thomas Daschle (D-S.D.) denounced spending billions on Bush’s space-based missile-defense system, saying, “This isn’t rocket science here.”

Back | And the winner is…

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

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