Dept. of Strange Bedfelows

The Egg's editorial staff has spent the last week so exercised about shoddy prose that we have barely thought about politics. But that doesn't mean that the leaders and wannabees have stopped shaming themselves or the beloved Homeland. Not for a moment!

Here are some of the most egregious cases:

• Congressman Charlie Rangel isn't a crook. Just ask him. And he won't say he is, even if it helps him to avoid a trial. Dude is going down.
• "Dumbasses": Tea Party favorite Ken Buck got caught on tape wishing that the Party faithful, and particularly its Birther wing, weren't ... well, you get it. Also that crowd favorite Tom Tancredo wouldn't "open his mouth" so much. Honesty is refreshing, especially when inopportune.
• Islam is Not a Religion! Just ask Ron Ramsey, Tennessee gubernatorial hopeful. Apparently, it's a cult, and cults don't have free speech.
• "Don't Vote For My Dad": In what is easily the best campaign slamvertisement since "Ma, Ma Where's My Paw," the daughter of Oklahoma attorney and wannabee judge John Mantooth has taken out ads declaring that he "is not a good father ... is not a good grandfather ... [and] he would not be a good judge." But read Gawker for the bit about maggot-ridden chocolates!

Somewhere, George Washington is weeping.