Lyrics The Hokey Pokey

All about the Benjamins: Comic raps on follies of debt-ceiling fight

Raps about rival gangs are so Clinton-era. It's all about Democrats and Republicans these days.

Comedian Remy Munasifi appears in a music video posted Tuesday on YouTube called "Raise the Debt Ceiling," about the current impasse on Capitol Hill.

With about 39,000 views as of Wednesday afternoon, the video has gone somewhat viral. The video appeared on ReasonTV, the YouTube channel for Reason magazine , a libertarian monthly that promotes what it calls "free minds and free markets."

The music video features the comic superimposed in front of Washington landmarks, Benjamin Franklin's $100-bill mug and a graffitied wall inscribed with "Greenspan 1987-2005" and "Fed Life." Throughout the video, he employs an apropos "raise the roof" dance move.

Munasifi appeared Wednesday on "CNN Newsroom."

"When you watch the coverage, it's Republicans calling the Democrats crazy and the Democrats calling the Republicans crazy. I was looking at the debate and thinking, 'Look, you're all crazy.' And all this spending kind of fits in well with a bad rap."

"Raise the Debt Ceiling's" lyrics feature references to dwindling funds for social services and tongue-in-cheek references to current events. One verse includes the lines:

"Bail out all kind of cars / got all kind of whips / ladies ask me how I get 'em / I tell 'em stimulus!

"Social Security surplus? /  Oh, guess what? it's gone / I got my hands on everything / like Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

"Ain't got no Medicare trust fund / son, that's just absurd / spending every single penny that / we see, son, have you heard?"

The song's bridge is a mock C-SPAN clip of two fictional lawmakers spouting rhythmic jargon within the "committee on spending a crap ton of money." The characters' names also ring a political bell.  The Republican senator is named Fran Tarpington, while the Democrat is F. Lee Bailout. In the same segment, Munasifi is asked if he has "a comment for committee" and responds, "I make it rain."

"Raise the Debt Ceiling" departs from traditional rap songs, many of which brag about spending money, by questioning the habit of "droppin' $100 bills and million-dollar bombs.

HAVE YOU EVER...: Have You Ever Done The Hokey Pokey of Life?

Everyone knows these famed lyrics (insert lyrics here as I'm not putting them in my blog! haha http://bussongs.com/songs/hokey_pokey.php). We sang them as children most likely in a big circle in kindergarten (or perhaps in a bar as well as adults?), but have you ever really thought about what they mean? Well after a week of ups and downs I started to think about the lyrics and coined my week the Hokey Pokey of Life   week. Most of my life I've waited for the ball to drop any time something good came along, as it generally did. Whether it was boyfriends, plans, jobs, potential exciting happenings of life, things just seemed to end suddenly and it was hard to take. For the last month I've been feeling really great about where my life has been heading. I found love in writing, been to some great events and just generally have been feeling happier and more confident these days! I have felt like I'm moving forward rather than laying stagnant in one position and I feel a zest for life again. However with that said, this past week has been rather difficult, as many obstacles were thrown at me. Now I know these obstacles are not big in some people's eyes (except for my dog), but when they are bunched together, the whole combined experience just deflates you. I wonder "why can't life just keep moving forward, instead of forwards, backwards, forwards, backwards?? BAH!" Since childhood I've gone through some pretty volatile times with my family, and was sexually assaulted and sexually harassed in my late teens/early twenties. The last years or so have also been pretty stressful. I have never felt that feeling of stability because something was ALWAYS occurring that set me back a hundred steps. I felt like giving up A LOT! but kept on going with plenty of support behind me which I'm truly grateful for. I seemed to always pick the harder road and I'm learning to change that. It was hard seeing certain people sail through life with ease, achieving all their goals, and getting everything they wanted. I couldn't help but think "why does all this shit have to happen to me??" To put things in perspective (when I started to go down that path of thinking), I thought about all the people that had it much worse than I did and from there I just kept trying to improve my life.When things started going well this month and then these obstacles were presented to me, I thought to myself... "I'm doing the damn Hokey Pokey!!!