The mid-term electioneering is underway all across the country. Incumbents and challengers are filling the airwaves and mailboxes with facts and lies in equal measure, with little concern about which is which. But since this is essentially a job interview with the American public, it seems appropriate to reflect on the job performance of the current Congress.

The 119th Congress (2025-2027) has the ignominious honor of being the least productive Congress in over 200 years – when we had only 17 states! Only 108 laws have been passed by this Congress. And you may need to remember who is in charge of which laws get a vote in Congress – that would be the majority party (Republicans in both the House and Senate). In the House, the only way to get a bill on the floor for a vote without the House Leadership agreeing to it would be a discharge petition – a petition signed by a majority of members (218) – essentially ensuring its passage in the House. In the Senate, a bill needs to move out of committee, with all committees controlled by the Republican Majority. So who are the voters to blame for no checks on the Presidency? That would be the do-nothing Republican majority.

Have the Republicans in the House been working hard to pass legislation? Not particularly. They have only been in session for 72 days this year. And they will not be in session again until after the November election. That’s good context when you hear your Republican incumbent candidates bemoaning the war in Iran, the price of gas, the price of groceries, beef imports from Argentina, tariffs on Canada, and any other items they claim to fight. And they are still getting paid while they eat at your local diner, shaking hands, and talk to your local media – $174,000 per year.

But that hasn’t stopped some candidates from protesting against the things that are angering their constituents. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (R-IA) is trying to get a promotion to Senator – and wants an end to the Iran War and lower diesel prices. This would appear credible if she had voted a single time to call on the President to end the war – she did not – she voted against ending the war 6 times. Senator John Husted (R – OH) has voted 13 times against ending the war in Iran – yet he complains about it on the campaign trail. Numerous midwestern representatives are saying that the nation should put an embargo on diesel fuel exports to lower their costs (mind you, refiners would likely just lower production to reduce excess supply and ensure their profits) – but none of them are in Washington voting on a piece of legislation to make such embargo occur. Senator Roger Marshall has been flip-flopping on the President’s proposal to give all adults a $5,000 dividend, out of concern for the national debt – without mentioning that one of the few bills he did vote for has increased the national debt in the past two years by about $4 trillion. If any of these principled politicians were trying to convince their constituents that they were asserting their power to better the condition of average Americans, then they would be in DC adopting bills to do so, whether the President liked them or not.

Every American should be giving their candidates who are in the current Congress a performance review. Any grade other than an ‘F’ for the candidates in the majority seems like you don’t really care how much goods cost, how many people from your community are being abused by the government, and how many Americans are in harms way or killed in a pointless war in the Middle East. If you don’t care – don’t vote. If you do care – fire the majority party’s representatives and try something new.

Only 72 days; only 108 bills passed. If they aren’t willing to put in the effort, they don’t deserve the job.

And the national disgrace continues…