September 3, 2005

Anger-based politics

By Thomas Lifson

A Holiday Weekend Classic

Anger has become the energizing force of America's Left. The legacy of the 2000 presdiential election for the Democrats is a crippling sense of entitlement to the support of the American people, unjustly denied them by villainous figures, ranging from Halliburton to Rove to an allegedly right wing Supreme Court.

The energy generated by the resulting anger has been a prize sought by party officials and candidates alike. But like the thrill brought on by amphetamines or other nervous system stimulants, the short term surge comes at the cost of longer term damage to health.

Anger has become the fashionable political mood in America—region>'s faculty lounges, big city newsrooms, and best—attended Democratic political events. Howard Dean, the former governor of one of America's smallest states, has propelled his candidacy to a commanding position,