A story about monkeys on the loose in Washington has U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Springfield, taking heat.

Here's some background from the New York Times Blog, "He told a tale about British soldiers who had built a golf course in India and had to adapt to the game in a whole new way. They didn't anticipate that they'd be joined on the course by monkeys, who would swoop out of the nearby jungle, grab the golf balls and toss them around, he explained."

The story goes on to note, "The golfers had to establish a firm rule. "You have to play the ball where the monkey throws it. And that is the rule in Washington all the time."

Salon.com critiqued the speech this way, "Yes, you read that right: the point of the story was that like British golfers, conservatives in Washington have to play the ball where the monkey throws it."

Salon goes on to comment, "Blunt, who's running for Senate in Missouri next year, didn't explain precisely why he chose an analogy about monkeys to illustrate the difficulties posed by the party that opposes the country's first black president. (They both like to screw up the white man's golf game?) Perhaps it was just a really, really stupid parable to choose. But he may have had posts just like this one in mind, later in his speech, when he told conservatives not to worry about accusations of racism."

The Huffington Post blogged, "It seemed like a direct window into the psyche of the revanchist wing of the GOP; politics is a golf game and unruly Democrat "monkeys" have swarmed out of the jungle to disrupt the play. Since it is impractical to "eliminate" the monkeys, accommodations will have to be made. Republicans will now "play the ball where the monkey throws it."

The crowd laughed and applauded. Mr. Blunt elaborated a little on the changes he's seen. "You know the world is turned upside down, when Al Franken is in the United States Senate, and Tom DeLay is going on Dancing With The Stars," he said.

To see video of Blunt's comments, click here