My New York Post column is up. The subject: Nancy Pelosi vs. Sarah Palin.
No, not a steel-cage death match, but two conflicting political philosophies. In one corner, Maerose Prizzi, who doesn’t understand why the Tea Party Republicans have to be so obstreperous, and is both puzzled and troubled that elections matter as much as they do. Can’t we all just get along?
Elections shouldn’t really matter — because after all we agree on pretty much everything about the Nanny State: The federal government needs to take care of our nation’s kids, micromanage all economic activity under the Commerce Clause, and tend to the elderly — because if it doesn’t, who will? All this messy, let’s-pretend fighting at election time is just a distraction from the real business of snaking our tentacles into every facet of American life because, let’s face it, the American people cannot be left to their own devices. They’re too stupid and untrustworthy to make their own best decisions. That’s what politicians are for.
As Tammany Hall Democratic leader George Washington Plunkitt, famously said: “Me and the Republicans are enemies just one day in the year — Election Day. The rest of the time, it’s live and let live with us.”
In the other, la Sarah, who doesn’t understand why the establishment Republicans have to be such Boehners:
Then, taking on her own party’s leadership, she lit into the Republicans over the recent budget deal. “If you stand on the platform, if you stand by your pledges, we will stand with you. We will fight with you, GOP. We have your back. We didn’t elect you just to rearrange the deck chairs on a sinking Titanic . . . What we need is for you to stand up, GOP, and fight . . . fight like a girl!”
Conventional wisdom says that Americans don’t like partisan “bickering,” that we want our politicians to just get along. Principled combat and loyal — but vehement — opposition, the thinking goes, make Main Street uncomfortable.
Baloney. Disputation is as American as apple pie. It’s what made our country great — vigorous disagreement, not cringing servility. So let the battle begin.
Meanwhile, over on the home page, some idiot has taken it into his pinhead to make fun of President Obama with a rewrite of the old Li’l Abner musical, this one to be called Li’l Barry. Lefties have no respect for anything.