Keystone Kops

term used to describe an inept group of people for their mistakes and/or lack of coordination and/or inability to get things done. Comes from a series of silent movies made by the Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917 about a group of incompetent policemen and their various escapades.

I don't know about you, but in the past few years, it seems to me that every time there is a major crisis, the government runs around like the Keystone Kops!