Keep Out The Clowns

We're not sure which is worse - when Congress is in session, fighting like children, or when they're out of town, on one of their many vacations, as they will be again next week.

If they're going to act like clowns, as some of them have been recently, we're not so sure it wouldn't be better for America if members of Congress didn't just go back to hiding in the offices and hotel meeting rooms of their lobbyists/owners.

We're not exaggerating when we call out members of Congress as acting clownish.

Take Sen. Chuck Grassley, Republican from Iowa, whose hypocrisy caught up with him Monday in front of his colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Last Friday, prior to the Boston bombing suspects being captured (or killed), Grassley attempted to politicize the bombing, saying the act of terror was a reason not to pass the bipartisan immigration reform bill. On Monday, when Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York addressed - in general - the politicization of the bombings by lawmakers and some in the right-wing media, Sen. Grassley's guilty conscience apparently got the best of him, as he exploded in anger at Schumer.

Meanwhile, Senator Lindsey Graham seems to be playing the part of the clown on the trampoline, flipping and flopping at a moment's notice. On Friday, Graham joined Sen. McCain in a statement saying that delaying or stopping immigration reform because of the events in Boston was wrong. Graham further stated that reforming our immigration system will strengthen our nation's security systems.

On Sunday, on CNN's State of Union, Sen. Graham then proceeded to blame the FBI - who has no primary role in immigration -  for being too weak. Graham proceeded to argue that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev - the Boston bombing suspect, who IS an American citizen - should be treated like like a foreigner, as an enemy combatant, then interrogated and tried in front of a military tribunal.

We won't even talk about the insane conspiracy theories of New York's Rep. Peter King. That kind of paranoid, fear-driven nuttiness goes way beyond clowning.

It isn't just Republicans on Capitol Hill who've been clowning around lately, though.

Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel, also of New York, has decided to sue Speaker John Boehner and six of his colleagues, charging that Rangel's 2010 House ethics investigation was mishandled, and that Rangel never should have been censured. Rangel seems to forget that the House vote in favor of his censure was a rousing bipartisan 333-79.

After just these few stories of failed criticisms, second-guessing, and conspiracy, it should surprise no one that we'd like to keep these epic-level clowns completely away from the Boston Marathon bombing investigation.

Thankfully, so far, it appears we're not the only ones looking for honest justice for Boston.