Latest dispatch from the "dissent is patriotic" is dead front: Howard Dean has accused those who don't share his political views of being "authoritarian people who fundamentally don't believe in democracy."
Poor Howard, who declared the times to be very "frightening and disconcerting," made his astounding accusation on today's Up With Steve Kornacki while attempting to explain the Republican sweep on the statehouse level.
Yes, let's consider all the things those awful, authoritarian Republicans stand for: taking an ever-increasing part of your paycheck because government knows better than you do; forcing Americans to buy health insurance whether they want to or not; speech codes on campus and disinviting speakers with unpopular views; banning big soft drinks and forcing school kids to eat what the government thinks is best.
Oh, wait. It's liberals/Democrats who stand for all those things. Never mind.
Note: readers are invited to add to the list of Big Brother Knows Best items that liberals support.
Note Deux: the only thing Dean offered in support of his assertion that Republicans fundamentally don't believe in democracy was GOP support for voter ID. Yes, how intrinsically undemocratic, to demand that voters do what is required to buy a six-pack or a carton of smokes.
HOWARD DEAN: It's very, very disconcerting. We're basically rolling ourselves back to the 1920s. This is an authoritarian group of people who fundamentally I don't think believe in democracy given their views on voting rights, and it's a very, very frightening time. And if the Democratic party can't step up to the plate, then I think you're going to see a third party.
