Looking at the 10 Worst Congressmen Again

[StreetKnowledge]

I kinda wondered how the 10 worst Congressmen that Rolling Stone named are doing these days. 9 of the 10 are, unsurprisingly, Republicans. But how many of them do we continue to have to deal with? Well.....

1 - Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
Resigned November 26, 2007

We don't have to deal with this moron any longer. Another of the DeLay types who treated Congress and the American taxpayers as their own personal piggy bank, as if it was their right. Goodbye, and we won't miss you.

2 - Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI)
Cruising to re-election

This is unfortunate, but Sensenbrenner's time as being the dictator of the Judiciary Committee is over, and we won't have to see him saying he'd criminally prosecute violations of FCC standards. (Yes, he DID say that.) This clown was also the introducer of the Patriot Act, and says it should be used in regular criminal cases. (Despite its constitutional violations, that is.)

3 - Don Young (R-AK)
Fighting an election, and losing

This 18-term pork king looks like he's headed for an electoral defeat. The Bridge to Nowhere is this idiot's doing. Hardly surprising considering the efforts of him and Ted Stevens brought home mountains of pork for Alaska, but between both of them heading for defeat and Sarah Palin's antics Alaska Republicans better find some new heroes, because all three of them are done like turkeys.

4 - William Jefferson (D-LA)
Runoff against Dem opponent, tossup

William "100Gs in the Freezer" Jefferson has been indicted on corruption charges and as a result faces a bunch of challengers. This seat is safe Democrat, but it may not be Jefferson holding it on November 5th.

5 - Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
Fighting an election, tossup

Lewis is the king of payoffs. During his time at the head of the House Appropriations Committee, he had control over a trillion dollars in earmarks, and used that to make his lobbyist buddies rich. He's being investigated for ethics and federal law violations. We may not have to deal with this guy for much longer, either.

6 - Tom Tancredo (R-CO)
Leaving the House

I think most of us know about Tancredo and his obvious bigotry, particularly towards illegal immigrants but pretty much directed at everyone who isn't white. Tancredo's half-baked Presidential bid sputtered out and he's announced his departing Congress, which is a good thing because this bigot is not somebody who will work easily with a black President.

7 - Dick Pombo (R-CA)
Lost to Democrat challenger in 2006

Sleep easier, wildlife. The man who wanted to destroy you so he could make more money as a cattle farmer is now long gone. Pombo was called "The most Dangerous Member of the House" by the Sierra Club, and for good reason. This guy was a certified nutcase, and that's before the nepotism and corruption allegations directed at him.

8 - Curt Weldon (R-PA)
Lost to Democrat challenger in 2006

Weldon was a crank conspiracy nut even at the best of times. How this bozo got to be Vice Chair of the House Armed Services Committee boggles the mind, but its not an issue any more. He was also investigated by the FBI for corruption (How many GOP guys have the feds got their eye on now?) but no charges were ever leveled against him.

9 - Hal Rogers (R-KY)
Cruising to re-election

Against most of this crowd, Weldon's tendency to defend his district's interest over the country makes him pretty mild, but it still got him called a "national disgrace" by the National Review. (To a Republican, that hurts.) Unfortunately, Rogers is a Republican in a part of the country where the Dems have got so little support they don't even have a candidate. At least he isn't as bad as some others.

10 - Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO)
Fighting an election, and losing

This woman has been called the Christian soldier, and makes guys like Sam Brownback look like social liberals. She's made people's bedroom behavior her career focus, and did so as a school board trustee and Colorado legislature member. Unfortunately for her, one of her enemies in Congress is Nancy Pelosi herself, and the Christian righties are fracturing. I think we'll be saying bye-bye to Musgrave soon.

[RB TexLa]

1. I gave money to Jefferson last week, he's going to cruise through both the Dem runoff and the

general.

Hate it for DU's little ethics choir. :)

[YOY]

2. That's 9-1

We're doing pretty f***ing good there but could do a wee bit better.

[StreetKnowledge]

3. Indeed

Young and Musgrave are history, but I don't think we're gonna have much chance of getting Weldon out. Taking out Lewis and Sensenbrenner would be a good thing, however. The more of those ten get escorted out the better.