To paraphrase Tolstoy : “All  ordinary  congressmen are alike.  Every wacky congressman is wacky in his/her own way.”  In contrast, most US Senators tend to be more dignified. They’re  thoroughly vetted by their own party, and  the media in the states they represent. But when it comes to  congressional candidates, it seems like anything goes.  Especially in states with mega cities and numerous congressional districts.  This year’s strange Republican congresspersons  boggle the mind.  If you thought the Democratic Squad was off the wall,  hang on to your hat. There’s another wacky new squad in Congress.

Let’s start with last season’s  Democratic Squad.  There’s Rep.  Ilhan Omar of Minnesota who was rumored to have married  her brother.  In 2019, she filed a joint tax return with her future husband while she was still married to the old spouse.  It goes on and on.  Then there’s Rashida Tlaib from Michigan who declared on the first day of Congress that her main goal was to get rid of Trump, and loudly declared, “we’re going to impeach the m…….f……..  Such crude behavior  would not fly in Indiana, but apparently it pleased the constituents in her district.

Next,  we have  Alexandria Cortez who, among other things,  killed a deal with Amazon that would have provided thousands of new jobs to constituents in her New York  district.  Finally, extreme liberal Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts  who wants the voting age lowered to 16, and  has sparked anger by calling for “unrest in the streets.”

If you live in fly over country, you’re probably wondering how anyone  could have voted for these  extremists.  But not to be outdone, the Republicans  have managed to produce their own wacky new squad in Congress.

Topping the list is George Santos, a pathological liar from New York  who faked his resume and entire work history to get elected.  Why?  Because the Democrats paid him no mind, and he got caught up in a Republican sweep.  Next, we have  Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia who recently  claimed Bill Gates wanted to force people to eat burgers grown in “peach tree dishes.”      Lauren Boebert ran a restaurant in Colorado  where the wait staff  carried guns. Finally ,there’s Matt Gaetz who’s currently under investigation for sexual misconduct in Florida.

It’s kind of scary, but it demonstrates the danger of knee jerk voting.  Most Americans vote for the party, not the individual candidate.  They rarely listen to the candidate speeches, or God-forbid, read about their platforms in the newspapers.  If you’re a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat or Republican, the poll workers will happily hand you a one party ballot.  No explanations necessary.

So now, Republicans have their own squad to grab headlines and distract from the important work of congress.