But all I was getting were Kuttner's "on the one hand, but on the other hand" arguments as to whether it is in Democratic interests to retake one or both houses of Congress come November. His thesis is that America is such a mess thanks to years of Republican misrule that fixing it could be a thankless task for Dems, who might be better off waiting for the deluge of the 2008 presidential elections. For the record, Kuttner does come down on the side of taking power now.
Though tempted to cut short my reading, I persevered, and my patience was rewarded. For in closing his column, Kuttner cut loose with a bit of over-the-top rhetoric worthy of Soros on steroids:
"If the Democrats do take back even one House, they can be thankful that the country has veered back from the precipice of despotism."
The "are liberals patriotic?" debate has become a stale one, so let's not engage it here. But I would certainly say that anyone who sees the United States as teetering on the brink of totalitarianism inhabits a country entirely different from the one I know and love.
