Connecticut Politicians Play Solitaire, Talk Smack

This marvelous photo of the Connecticut legislature is making the rounds, occasionally mislabeled as a photo of the U.S. Congress:

An accompanying article in the New Haven Register tracks the nasty fallout from the discovery that politicians totally get sick of each other yapping all the time. State Republicans—incredibly relieved that the AP photographer was on the Democratic side of the house in the 12th hour of Monday's session—are demanding apologies from their colleagues for playing solitaire and checking ESPN while state Rep. Lawrence F. Cafero Jr. (R-Norwalk) was yammering on:

Voters "expect their elected officials to represent their interests, not be preoccupied with putting the red five on the black six," said Thomas Jagodinski, the Republican Town Committee chairman.

The Dems fought back with a surprising amount of vigor:

Democratic Town Chairman Richard Smith defended Lambert Thursday by lashing out at the Republican Party, calling it "a sad and pathetic little political party."

"Personally, I wouldn't think the Milford Republicans, which is up to their eyeballs in drugs, sex, developer kickback and alcohol scandals, would have the audacity to criticize a Democrat for simply playing solitaire."