Inside the Beltway

FROM THE OMG DESK

Uh-oh. How much do Americans hate their own Congress? Let us count the ways. Between March 10th and 14th, the Pew Research Center asked 1,500 adults to tell it: “What one word best describes your impression of Congress these days? Just the first word that comes to mind?” Only one positive review and two political references emerged among the dozens of negative, emotionally charged responses - all volunteered. The most oft-cited word leads the pack:

Dysfunctional, corrupt, self-serving, self-centered, selfish, self-absorbed, inept, confused, incompetent, ineffective, lazy, bad, suck(s), poor, crook(s), crooked, disappointing, gridlock, deadlock, idiots, idiotic, slow, mess, messed up, messy, lousy, terrible, disorganized, unorganized, divided, good, stupid, children, childish, child-like, dissatisfied, do nothing, failing, failure, inadequate, greedy, joke, jokers, not good, partisan, socialist, useless, worthless, bull(expletive), chaos, clowns, frustrating, frustrated, horrible, inefficient, liberal, liars, money-hungry.

YOUR BIDEN STATS

Indeed, the ever-enthusiastic Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. muttered a choice cuss word near an open White House mike before his boss took over to bask in health care reform glory Tuesday. The moment is already immortalized on YouTube and emblazoned upon an instant T-shirt priced at $23.50, courtesy of the wags at Zazzle.com. Mr. Biden, meanwhile, presented the press with a political moment, not to mention a gleeful journalistic challenge. Here’s what they did with it:

370 - The number of stories the moment generated within 60 minutes of its occurrence.

“F—ing”: Term preferred by The Washington Times, Associated Press, CBS News, Times of London, Huffington Post, New York Daily News, Seattle Post Intelligencer, Entertainment Weekly.

“F-Bomb”: Term preferred by the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, CNN, New York Post, Politico, USA Today, Kansas City Star, Newsday, Russia Television, National Public Radio.

[fracking]: Used only by The Washington Post

The real expletive: Britain’s Guardian newspaper, Reason, Rolling Stone.

THAT WAS QUICK

In less than 48 hours, the Republican National Committee (RNC) has already raised more than $1 million for its “Fire Nancy Pelosi” campaign, a grass-roots outreach that appeals to dissatisfied folks to, uh, vote certain members of Congress out of office, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The burgeoning funds are a symbol of sorts.

“Crossing the $1 million threshold so quickly demonstrates the frustration voters feel at being neglected throughout the health care reform legislative process - the meetings behind closed doors, the sweetheart deals, the lack of input,” RNC spokesman Doug Heye tells Inside the Beltway. “This will allow us to retire Nancy Pelosi by also retiring Democrats in Congress who supported ObamaCare.”

JUST SO YOU KNOW

“Special Agents from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) are warning the American public to be vigilant of Internet scams and Impersonation Fraud - especially those promising true love, but only end up breaking hearts and bank accounts. According to Army agents, CID is receiving frequent reports of various scams involving persons pretending to be U.S. soldiers, who get romantically involved on the Internet with female victims and prey on their emotions and patriotism.

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