In Blazing Saddles we witness a meeting of Governor William J. Le Petomane and his cabinet. At one point the Governor, in view of the possibility that they may lose their “phony-baloney jobs,” leads a chorus of harrumphs around the table to show how seriously he and his cabinet members are taking the crisis.

Fast forward to our Republican Congress and its many meaningless investigations. They too are harrumphing, just acting out being vigilant and deeply concerned as part of the camouflage show they are always presenting to distract the nation from the virtual crimes committed by big money. The Republicans in Congress are not there to make things happen, they are there to prevent anything happening that might diminish the earnings of the hyper-wealthy persons and corporations that put them and sustain them in the cushiest job one could imagine.