Federal fiascoes of 2011: What tops the list

Want to sound off on pay freezes, government shutdowns and Muffingate? Now you can, by voting on the biggest federal fiascoes of 2011.

Washington Post’s Ed O’Keefe announced earlier this week on the Federal Eye blog that he was looking for readers’ help to determine the biggest government “oops.”

And readers were more than happy to oblige: At the time of writing, 7314 votes have been cast on 12 ideas. Did the mismanagement at the Dover Air Force Base mortuary anger you? Vote for it. Were you bemused when the social media world erupted in outrage over a Transportation Security Administration screener's note telling a passenger “Get Your Freak On?” It's on the list too.

But what really disgusts many is federal waste. Benefits paid to dead government workers and stimulus recipients owing millions in taxes currently top the list of “oops,” followed by the Justice Department’s “Fast and Furious” scandal and the various threats of government shutdown.

You can vote on existing ideas or even submit your own. Think the supercommittee’s breakdown was a scandal? Or that Solyndra was an outrage? Perhaps you’d like to include a particular government official on this list, someone who embodies public sector flops? (Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is already on the list.) Submit your vote on Federal Eye or on Twitter, using the #govoops hashtag.

You can also share your comments here below on what other events (or people) deserve to be on the list of federal failures. It won't count in the Post's poll, but we're interested.