One of the more interesting intersections between the Internet and politics has been the ascendancy of political videos on YouTube. The phenomenon exploded this fall when the video of former Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) calling a staffer for now-Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) "macaca" likely cost him the election. But the flurry of political clips didn't subside with the election – this week three of the 20 most-viewed videos and three of the 20 top-rated videos feature members of Congress or parodies of them.

Shooting up the charts, for example, is this video of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) positively railing against Republican members of the Senate last week. They were holding up the minimum wage increase bill in hopes of extracting concessions for impacted businesses. Kennedy exploded with anger, asking, "Do you have such disdain for hardworking Americans that you want to pile all your amendments on this? ... What is it about working men and women that you find so offensive that you won't permit even a vote... we don't want to hear any more from [Republicans] for the rest of this session about permitting and not permitting votes in here when you're denying a vote on the most simple concept, an increase in the minimum wage. We don't want to hear any more about that. This is filibuster by delay and amendments. I've been around here long enough to know it when I see it and when I smell it." To get an idea of what Kennedy was so incensed about, check out Congresspedia's page on the minimum wage increase bill, which includes details on the amendments. (The bill, incidentally, just passed a cloture vote and is headed to a final vote on Thursday or Friday.)