RIP: Hank Johnson’s campaign song; Akin’s ‘Soviet Union’ reference

Score one for website-scrubbing, guys. Gone (but not forgotten) this week are two congressional webpages, both of which prompted snickers on Capitol Hill just a few days ago.

The first is a campaign song written for Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), which ITK pointed out last Tuesday features a really catchy beat and a few funny lyrics, notably one about how Johnson’s constituents need “bad transportation.”

The song had been in use since late 2006, but as of Thursday afternoon, the multimedia section of Johnson’s site contained only videos — no MP3 song.

A spokesman for Johnson declined to comment on the scrubbing job. ITK, however, is sad to see it go.

The second item on the chopping block was the term “Soviet Union,” which was used by Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) on Wednesday.

In a statement reminiscent of a Cold War-era memo, Akin expressed concern that President Barack Obama’s space-exploration policy would “leave the United States reliant upon the Soviet Union.” Given that the Soviet Union disbanded in 1991, this scenario is highly unlikely.

By Friday afternoon, the Web team in Akin’s office had done its duty and “Soviet Union” had been replaced with the more current “Russian Federation.”