"If con is the opposite of pro," the folks behind The Daily Show ask in their new book, America, "then isn't Congress the opposite of progress?" Which sounds like a spot-on observation this morning, as Iraq burns and our Republican Congress cynically fiddles:

You don't have to turn on the TV to see campaign ads these days. You can watch Congress.

The Republican-controlled House and Senate have begun taking up bills, not with any expectation they will become law, but with the intention of stoking the presidential campaign and energizing the party's political base.

...."If you can't make a law, you make a point," said John J. Pitney Jr., a professor of government at Claremont-McKenna College.

Duke University law professor Erwin Chemerinsky added: "There's no doubt that Congress is trying to use votes on hot-button topics for political gain before the November election. There is perceived political gain in just having a vote."

Your Congress at work. Really makes you proud, doesn't it?

POSTSCRIPT: Had enough of this garbage? Then help put a stop to it -- here and here.

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