The Young Turks: Video: Cenk Uygur: Congress Does Nothing, Almost Literally & It's Not Just Republicans

Just to be serious for a minute and then go to being an asshole. Today's Progressives (lets say) especially MSNBC make the mistake in how they judge Congress. They also make the mistake in what they call Congress. They call it the Republican Congress even though Republicans only control the lower house of Congress. And they refer or our national legislature as the Congress and Senate. As if they are two different institutions apparently unaware that the Senate is not only part of Congress. But the official and actual upper chamber of Congress. Unlike a lot of other developed countries.

But the mistake that Cenk Uygur makes in this video even though he seems to be aware that the Senate is actually part of Congress along with the House of Representatives is how he judges Congress. You shouldn't judge Congress and that is what both chambers pass together after they work out the final bill, by how much legislation they pass. That would be like judging a cook by how many meals they prepare. Or a pitcher by how many pitches they throw. Or a teacher by how many students they teach.

You should judge Congress by what actual legislation they pass. The quality of legislation they pass, not the quantity of legislation they pass. A pitcher could throw 110 pitches in a game, but if he gives up six runs on ten hits and they are all earned. Or a cook makes a hundred meals one night and half of their customers comes down with food poisoning. Or a teacher with a hundred students, but half of them can't read at grade level and the teacher is an English teacher, well these people aren't doing their jobs even if they are doing a lot of work. They aren't doing a good job the job they were hired for.

The productivity of this Congress a divided Congress with a Republican House and a Democratic Senate (what the American people voted for) is as slow as a mule in a NASCAR race. They simply aren't acting on things that they should be doing. Like fixing the highway trust fund and passing a highway bill to use as an example. But it isn't a bad Congress because they aren't passing a lot of legislation. But what they are actually doing. Are they passing good legislation or not. Are they addressing the concerns of the country, or not and this Congress is clearly failing at that.