Congress is a quirky place. The rules are arcane. The people are diverse. The power struggle is real. We take a brief, and sometimes ridiculous journey through history to examine the beating heart of our democracy to find out whether or not Congress has always been this fucked up. We call out some of the best and worst actors in the 117th Congress, why it’s impossible to get anything done these days and look back at some of the biggest assholes that ruined it for everyone else. (Hint: Newt Gingrich has a starring role.) We finish with the biggest hurdles we face in straightening out this whole mess and the one priority that supersedes all else.

Show Notes:

The text of H.R. 1: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1/text

NYT Kinzinger Profile: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/15/us/politics/adam-kinzinger-republicans-trump.html

Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy by Adam Jentleson: https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9781631497773

The Man Who Broke Politics Story by McKay Coppins: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/11/newt-gingrich-says-youre-welcome/570832/

NYT Op-Ed. Former Congressman Steve Israel: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/09/opinion/steve-israel-confessions-of-a-congressman.html

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