Guess Who Made the List of the Worst Members of Congress?

Esquire magazine just put out a list of the 10 Worst Members of Congress.

The list includes:

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA)
Rep. Steve King (R-IA)
Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA)
Rep. John Murtha (D-PA)
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)

and…

Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA)

Wait, what?!

He’s our only openly non-theistic Congressperson!

Is he making us look bad?!

What do they say about him?

Stark gives bumbling, dyspeptic old fools who say stupid things a bad name. Choice recent example: accusing Republicans of sending troops to Iraq “to get their heads blown off for the president’s amusement.” Oh, and Stark’s been elevating the discourse in the House just like that for 36 years.

Ok, I think that line is over the top, but there’s no way his poor choices of words puts him in the same league as corrupt or bigoted politicians like many of the others on the list.

I now have an urge to subscribe to Esquire just so I can cancel my subscription.

Asylum Seeker

That’s a pathetic excuse for calling him one of the ten worst. He was a little over the top. Who in Congress could say that they haven’t said similar, or even worse, things than that? It seems that the only thing controversial or “bad” about this guy is that he is a little extreme in the way that he criticizes his detractors, too passionate and insensitive. If that were the most egregious fault that a person in Congress could have, America would be a frickin’ paradise right now.
QrazyQat

That statement sounds like an accurate description of reality. Our troops were sent over to Iraq for no good reason at the behest of a president who smirks whenever he talks about people being killed. You want disgusting? That’s disgusting.
Polly

It takes someone not blinded by god-belief to see the true evil behind our born-again president’s wars of terror against hapless peoples.
Chris (in Columbus)

Well at least they put Joe Lieberman in there…what a scoundrel that man is!
Robin

Well, on the plus side…

…they are totally correct about Minnesota’s Michelle Bachmann. She’s a total whack-job.
Desert Son

Note to Esquire: Lieberman is an Independent in political affiliation in the same way that a fish is a mammal. Lieberman’s been fawning at the court of Dubya for so long now that he thinks C-Plus Augustus actually is wearing clothes.

No kings,

Robert
llewelly

‘over the top’?
This is a war that has killed over a million human beings.
Stark has pointed out how disgusting the war really is.
QrazyQat

It looks like Esquire was simply desperate to find some Democrats for the list. William Jefferson certainly qualifies, but even Murtha, what’s he doing there? They say it’s because of his earmarks requests, but he’s well down the list of Congressional earmark requesters (and nof course you need to see what earmarks people are requesting — many are for terrific programs; some are for pork). But for instance Murtha’s $151 million in requests for 2007 (Esquire is mad about a $100 million dollar year) pales beside others. For instance the guy at the top of the list, Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss. $774 million in requests for 2007 alone ($837 million in 2008), plus an extra $480 million dollars for an alternate jet engine the military doesn’t even want.

Esquire is telling me that Murtha is worse than Cochran in earmarks? That’s nonsense. Of course that would leave them with only one Democrat on the list, which would be accurate enough but they just don’t have the guts to point out the obvious; that the modern GOP has become by far the most corrupt political party this country has ever seen.
T’s Grammy

Gotta admit I would have been surprised if they hadn’t put him in. Such is the bias against nonbelievers these days.

I too don’t think that remark was over the top. More right on the spot and he was likely holding back. It’s about oil and Christian vs. Muslim.
Nick

Once again ‘political correctness’ triumphs.(sigh)
martymankins

Shame on Esquire for including Pete Stark and forgetting to add Chris Cannon (R-UT). Cannon has uttered much worse in his days (which are numbered, thankfully)
Zeolite

I met Michele Bachmann in St. Paul when she was State Rep (or Senator?) in MN.

She was like one of the snobby mean girls from high school: a friend of mine got up to go the bathroom before a hearing in the capital building and Michele came and put her pile of books and papers on the chair my friend was in, and I (having no idea who Michele was) politely said:

“Oh, thats my friends spot, she just ran to the restroom”

and Michele said, “Well, its my spot now.”

and walked away over to other side of the room where one of the head-honchos of the DNR was seated and put her arm around him and starting talking.

She never came back to sit in the seat during the hearing.

At the time I was with an organization who needed assistance from the state so before I said something back to Michele about her rudeness my boss whispered in my ear something along the lines of “leave her alone, she’s trouble.”

So I agree with Esquire about her!