Just the other week, I read the Republican campaign pledge:An arrogant and out-of-touch government of self-appointed elites makes decisions, issues mandates, and enacts laws without accepting or requesting the input of the many.
How dare they! Today, I read about the Tea Party's favorite senator, Jim DeMint, doing this:
South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint warned Monday evening that he would block all legislation that has not been cleared by his office in the final days of the pre-election session.
Here we have a political movement opposed to self-appointed leaders making unilateral decisions, but also one that applauds when self-appointed leaders make those unilateral decisions -- especially if it prevents any bipartisan cooperation on pressing issues. That Tea Partiers celebrate this man heaps shame on American history by clothing anti-democratic sentiment in revolutionary fervor. Do you think the Founders envisioned one senator determining what comes to a vote in the legislature, based on political pique in the run-up to an election?
-- Tim Fernholz
