As Congress returns for the fall session, the Democrats continue to behave in ways that would lead an observer to question whether or not they are even serious enough to be given the reigns of government. To begin with, there is the matter of Harry Reid declaring the townhall protesters to be “evil-mongers”. While no one can dispute that the behavior of some of the protesters was hardly conducive to a respectful dialogue, Reid’s use of the word ‘evil’, and the subsequent lack of any admonishment from the Democrats, betrays a fundamental lack of seriousness. The same Democrats who never cease to lecture the American people on the need to try and understand terrorists, corrupt dictators, criminals, etc, seem to have no such patience or understanding for certain segments of the American population.

 Then there is the matter of Attorney General Eric Holder appointing a special prosecutor to look into actions of CIA agents who were likely trying to do their duty in an ambiguous legal environment. While prosecuting acts that were clearly illegal at the time they were committed is what an Attorney General should be doing, it appears that Holder is looking to attack conduct that occurred shortly after 9/11 when the legal parameters for interrogation may not have been as well defined as they are now, and despite the fact that legal guidance coming from the Bush Administration indicated that many of the CIA’s now controversial actions were legal. In launching this probe, Holder is damaging the U.S. in two ways going forward. Firstly, in sanctioning what by all appearances is a politically-motivated witch hunt, he is opening the door for future administrations to prosecute members of an outgoing administration for what are effectively policy differences rather than blatantly illegal acts. Not only will this intensify the partisan divide in this country, but it could eventually lead to elections being far more intense and vicious than they are now as an outgoing administration attempts to secure the election of its friends in order to protect its members from being prosecuted by an unfriendly incoming administration. Secondly, our intelligence agents will certainly become more risk averse, legally speaking, as they worry that they may be prosecuted and have to defend themselves (with all of the financial burdens that such an action would bring) for something that may be declared retroactively illegal by a future administration or an unfriendly judge. It is difficult to see how micromanagment by lawyers will lead to enhanced effectiveness of CIA intelligence gathering. Assuming that the Democrats are not consciously and methodically trying to undermine and destroy the democratic/republican nature of the U.S. government as the U.S. military is consciously and methodically trying to destroy terrorist infrastructure in the Middle East, the actions of the Attorney General indicate a proclivity for indulging in ideological parlor games, as opposed to acting in a serious, thoughtful and competent manner.

 While the American people may have thought that they were electing a competent and reasonable alternative to Republicans in 2006 and 2008, the actions of the Democrats are starting to generate significant evidence to the contrary (i.e. Democrat support among Independents is falling). Rather than competence, the American people are stuck with a governing political party that appears more concerned with effectively declaring war on a segment of the U.S. population that it considers unfriendly (i.e. evil) than with formulating policies that will attract broad public support. The Democrats currently appear to be the equivalent of a spoiled teenager who is thrilled to death to have been given the keys to the family car and is determined to act on every immature impulse that comes into his head. Under these conditions, a teenager soon proves that he/she is not serious and mature enough to be trusted with important family decisions. The Democrats, by their recent actions, appear to be well on their way to proving the same thing to the American people.