Tea Party groups are pretty worried about their newly elected stars going to Washington and immediately becoming corrupt spineless hacks. So they're hosting their own orientations, to school these incoming freshmen properly. And the inter-Tea Party competition is fierce!

In today's edition of Meet Your Republican Committee Chairs, we look at Rep. Joe Barton — energy industry puppet, BP apologist. He wants to head the powerful Energy and Commerce committee. Why? To destroy those energy-saving lightbulbs that hippies love.

South Dakota Congresswoman-elect Kristi Noem narrowly won the election season's "hottest race" — the one with two under-40 female candidates — last week. And now her drooling male colleagues in Washington may give her a spot in the leadership!

A whole bunch of Democratic staffers on Capitol Hill soon will be unemployed, like every other American. So in their last days, exiting staffers are being granted career advice, résumé building, and... grief counseling.

Remember how Democrats would simply wait until after the election to pass all of their bills, during a pressure-free lame duck session? Did you buy that? Because they're already dropping most agenda items, including a "Don't Ask Don't Tell" repeal.

Sean "The Lumberjack" Duffy, who was on The Real World's 1997 Boston edition, won the race for the U.S. House seat from Wisconsin's 7th District. The first reality star elected to Congress is a Republican. Who would have guessed?

Tomorrow's election map looks much like 2006's, but with the parties reversed: the ruling party will probably lose the House, possibly lose the Senate, and probably win a California gubernatorial election for consolation. Here's a preview.

Tonight, Jon Stewart mentioned that many Republican Congressional hopefuls are screaming, "Washington is broken!" to get elected. Then, Stewart reminded us that John McCain's been saying it for two decades... by playing a hilarious reel of McCain doing just that.

According to Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, "The single most important thing that we," the Republicans hoping to retake Congress, "want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." Mitch! You're supposed to say "fix the economy."

A gossipy new Christine O'Donnell profile investigates the men in her life—from the lawyer who bought her a house and frequently spent the night ("the walls upstairs are very thin") to her new male roommate: a Christian rocker.

Krystal Ball dressed as a naughty Santa at a party "right after college." Her then-husband wore a dildo on his nose and leash around his neck. Years later, Krystal decided to run for Congress in Virginia. Guess what happened next?

You know why House Democrats despise Senate Democrats? Because they've passed 420 bills that the Senate has ignored. And they're all important: One names a post office for dead actor Jimmy Stewart. Can the Republic survive with such legislation tabled?

More than 130 ex-Congress members have composed a strongly worded letter to all candidates, asking them to ignore partisanship and focus on "problem-solving." Because if they don't... then they'll get another strongly worded letter, with sad faces in the margins.

On Tuesday, Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) gave a speech about domestic violence on the floor of the US House of Representatives. Behind Poe sat his grandson, who repeatedly dozed off—even after being slapped by an aide! Watch inside.

Congressman Ted Poe took his grandson to the House floor earlier this week, to show the youngster American democracy in action! The grandson clearly wasn't impressed, however, and comically struggled to stay awake while grandpa shared terrifying domestic violence tales.

While Congress may have tackled the TV commercial loudness situation, it's punting pretty much everything else into the post-election lame duck session, when political pressures will supposedly be muted. The current tally of bills they'll consider? Oh, around 20.

Treasure it, because it's rare: The Senate has passed a good-sounding bill! Ever notice how you're watching a TV show and then it cuts to commercials that are ten million times louder? That appears likely to end now.

Members of Congress used to love appearing on The Colbert Report, but apparently that's over. Says an aide to a previously embarrassed Colbert guest, the experience "is like herpes. It never goes away, and it itches and sometimes flares up."

Congress has approved a stopgap spending bill, so the government can maintain operations until after midterms.

After this summer's hilarious floor brawls, the House finally was able to pass its $7.4 billion health bill for 9/11 responders today. Now this extremely popular bill will go to the Senate, and the Senate will go on vacation.