Stewart On Blocked DADT Repeal: 'Are We Run By Assholes?'

Huff Post

Last night on "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart lamented the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" failing to move forward in the senate, leading him to ask if the United States really is "run by a**holes."

Just like the 9/11 first responders' health care bill that was "snatched from the jaws of victory" by the Senate, another seemingly popular bill can't become a law. The problem lies with both Republicans and Democrats acting like a**holes, as Stewart so artfully put it, beginning with Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich) attaching the repeal of DADT to a military arms bill, forcing those who normally wouldn't vote to repeal to do so or risk looking soft on defense.

This terrible strategy begins a snowball effect of a**hole behavior, when GOP leader Mitch McConnell asks for 20 amendments to the bill, of which Senate majority leader Harry Reid says they could have one and also tied a "Dream Act" to the bill regarding illegal immigration, that conservatives would presumably not vote for.

After this tit for tat battle, Senator John McCain filibusters, and Stewart does all he can to keep from making innuendos when he suggests the Senate not try to "push this through." Still, Stewart had to state the obvious:

"Are we run by a**holes? Indeed."