Steny Hoyer: With friends like these...who needs Republicans?

Truth be told, I grew up in Steny Hoyer's Congressional District (the Maryland 5th...the fightin' 5th!). I can actually remember when it was Gladys Noon-Spellman's district, but that was a loooong time ago. He's always been a mixed bag of allegedly pragmatic politics, but this week has been particularly embarassing for those of us who voted for the man.

First, he stepped forth (on Fox News for pity's sake) and called Stephen Colbert's testimony before the House Judiciary committee's subcommittee on Immigration "an embarrassment".

"I think his testimony was not appropriate," said Hoyer, during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday." "I think it was an embarrassment for Mr. Colbert more than the House."

"You asked me, Chris [Wallace] whether the testimony was appropriate," he added. "I think it was not appropriate."

Really Steny? You think this was embarrassing?

I like talking about people who don’t have any power, and it seems like one of the least powerful people in the United States are migrant workers who come in and do our work, but don’t have any rights as a result. And yet, we still ask them to come here, and at the same time, ask them to leave. And that’s an interesting contradiction to me, and um… You know, “whatsoever you did for the least of my brothers,” and these seemed like the least of my brothers, right now. A lot of people are “least brothers” right now, with the economy so hard, and I don’t want to take anyone’s hardship away from them or diminish it or anything like that. But migrant workers suffer, and have no rights.

Yeah, I'm sure Stephen Colbert wishes he had that one back.

Not your finest moment, Steny.

And in a attempteed one-man filibuster almost as strange and stoopid as Chris Dodd's one-man crusade to keep Elizabeth Warren from heading up the Consumer Protection Agency, Steny seems to be hell-bent on preventing a vote in the House on Middle Class tax cuts.

Did I mention the Speaker of the House (above him) and the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (also a Marylander) are both in favor of holding a vote these cuts?

Steny? Not so much?

Or is this some bold move to garner support among the Corporate Dem set so that after a November Bloodbath, he can pivot their support into becoming House Minority Leader or Speaker?

UPDATE 10:08am, Pacific: Fingers crossed, but the Judy Chu (aka, the woman who asked Stephen the pertinent question in the video) represents the San Gabriel Valley and I will hopefully get a chance to meet her at this Sunday's Oktoberfest in Pasadena!