Lawmaker: Congress ‘a lot like magic’

Congress is up to some new tricks, with one Democrat unveiling a sleight of hand-filled video series to give viewers a “look at our nation’s Capitol using magic.”

“One of the things that not a lot of people know about me is that when I was younger, I used to work as a magician,” Rep. Mark Pocan (Wisc.) tells the camera as part of the new weekly segments, called “Magic Mondays.”

{mosads}“I never would’ve thought about it at the time, but doing magic was great preparation for a career in politics,” Pocan, 50, says in the clip before taking a jab at Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio): “Think about it: misdirection, sleight of hand, deception — heck, that sounds like Speaker Boehner’s 2015 agenda!”

“Just kidding, Mr. Speaker,” Pocan quickly adds.

“How can I explain the crazy world of Washington in a visual and hopefully entertaining way?” the lawmaker asks.

“How often have you heard a bill say one thing but actually does something completely the opposite? Like how we’ll save a program like Social Security by destroying it. Not very logical, but ultimately deceptive and tricky, kind of like magic.”

Pocan, a printing company owner, then attempts to put his magic where his mouth is by performing a card trick.

“See what I mean?” the House member says after appearing to make a stack of blank cards change colors and suits.

“Politicians too often say one thing but actually do another,” Pocan says with a smile, “It’s a lot like magic. And hopefully I’ll show you just how that works each week.”