Tomorrow is Election Day, and that means it's time to decide which candidates will get your vote in the midterm elections. But if you think this election doesn't matter because it's not a presidential year, John Oliver has news for you.
Oliver brilliantly took on state legislatures during his monologue on his weekly HBO political satire show Last Week Tonight. Though there's a lot of talk over which party will rule the U.S. Congress after this election, Oliver shows that the real power lies in state legislatures. And that is an unfortunate fact indeed.
During his 17-minute monologue, Oliver gives you a quick overview of everything you need to know about the members, functions and controversies of America's state legislatures. Oliver's report will convince you that you need to start paying attention to your state legislature because it's probably very entertaining. One representative starred in a campaign ad with a hawk on his arm, one talked about spanking his partner while waiting for a legislative session to begin and another representative channeled the anger of Moses while in session. It's so amazing, you won't be able to look away.
But while we all get a good laugh out of this, we have to keep in mind that these are the people that are really running the country and whose actions have a direct impact on our lives. Everyone complains about how inactive the U.S. Congress is, and it's actually true. Congress passed 185 laws this year while state legislatures have passed more than 24,000, Oliver reports. This is all not so funny anymore, is it?
Believe me, it gets worse. Oliver also points out the dark side of state legislatures, of which there are many. One state representative called Islam "a cancer," another managed to remain in office after being accused of shoplifting condoms and driving while drunk and the tax-exempt, private organization called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) helps legislators draft conservative bills with corporate interests in mind. And for those lawmakers working with ALEC, Oliver only has one thing to say to you: "I hate to sound like Billy Baldwin's agent, but you can't just copy everything ALEC does. It's pathetic."
If you stick around until the end of this clip, which you totally should, you'll be rewarded with Oliver calling some of the state legislature races even though zero percent of precincts have reported. How is Oliver able to do this? Is he psychic? Have people somehow voted early? Is this another sign of corruption in the government? You'll just have to watch to find out.
Image: HBO
