Tension is building between party lines as Election Day creeps around the corner.

Those involved in voters’ projects bite their nails in hopes that their efforts have paid off. Political candidates scurry to swing states for one final try at winning support.

Meanwhile, political satire group Capitol Steps tours the country and belts out tunes such as “I Like Big Cuts and I Cannot Lie” and “Fakey Purple Heart.”

“We have always been equal opportunity offenders,” says Elaina Newport, co-founder of the Capital Steps. “We are not out for political agenda. One of the things that make this country great is that we can talk freely and make fun of our leaders.”

Capitol Steps started in 1981 when a group of Capitol Hill staffers provided entertainment at a senate office Christmas party by performing political parodies of popular songs, Newport says.

After popularity grew, Newport says her days in Washington were over as she had stumbled across a new full-time job.

“Besides, this was probably more fun and probably more respectable than working on Capitol Hill,” she says.

Capitol Steps has been busy keeping the show up to date this year while still providing a comic outlook on more serious topics, Newport says.

“Of course there are some things that aren’t funny, but even with a situation like a war, there is always a politician that you can make fun of, say, Don Rumsfeld or Saddam Hussein,” she says. “Even in the most serious situation there is a politician or public figure that is fair game.”

Newport says political humor is important, especially with all the heat that is surrounding the election.

“We like to point out the irony in what politicians are trying to say; even if you just watched CNN all the time, you would go crazy, especially this year because it is so vicious,” Newport says. “I think we need to relax and have a little bit of a laugh.”

Newport says she has mixed feeling about election years. “I love and hate election years,” Newport says. “Early in an election year it is very tough — you try writing a joke about Dick Gephardt. It’s very hard to make jokes about a candidate people know nothing about; later in the year, it is much easier.”

Capitol Steps has plenty of experience with election years and Newport says after 23 years, they have realized running out of material will never be an issue.

“We have been around for four presidencies, five if you count Hillary,” she says. “We worried for a while that the politicians would get confident and solve all the problems. That only lasted for about five minutes.”

As politicians and activists are frantically running around trying to accomplish last minute election goals, Capitol Steps is busy making people laugh.

“It is kinda a weird way to make a living, you don’t think, ‘Is this good or bad for the world?'” Newport says. “You think, is this funny?”

Who: Capitol Steps

Where: Stephens Auditorium

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday

Cost: $14, $16 student,$28, $32 public