James Taranto, "Best of the Web" @ the Wall Street Journal
Whither the Angry Left? You'd think the big Democratic victory in 2006 and the promising campaign of Barack Obama would have soothed them, but no. Today the House, by a bipartisan 293-129 vote, passed compromise legislation on wiretapping of overseas terrorists, and to judge by the reaction on some blogs, the left is as unhinged as ever. A sampling (quoting verbatim):
-- " 'New Democratic Congress' Earns It's Whopping 17% Approval Rating(RealClearPolitics)By Crowning King Bush And Funding His WarIn Iraq With ZERO Restrictions. Why? Well, because the Dems expect Barack Obama will be our next president, so why NOT 'crown' the lame duck known affectionately by his [ahem... VERYfew--again,RCP] fans as 'Dubya,' since the 'Royal Torch' will soon be passed on to their 'Inherit King of The Oval Office Throne,' Barack ('Barry') Obama. Obviously."--GunTotingLiberal.com
-- "[Rep.] Lamar Smith [R., Texas] luvs it. Gosh, it makes him feel cozy and safe. Like a fuzzy sweater or a teddy bear, perhaps. . . . [Rep. Sylvestre] Reyes [D., Texas] thanks all of them. [CHS notes: I may barf.] Post 9/11 blah blah blah. . . . [Rep. Mac] Thornberry [R., Texas]: boogah boogah booogah terrorists are scary boogah boogah boogah political issue blah blah blah. . . . [Rep. Trent] Franks [R., Ariz.]: Jihadist terrorism and nuclear proliferation...boogah boogah boogah..."--Christy Smith, Firedoglake.com, "liveblogging" the House debate
-- "I guess I hope President Obama uses his powers responsibly, but on some level I'm sort of rooting for massive abuses so the right can get what they've been asking for."--Matthew Yglesias, TheAtlantic.com
-- "It's bad enough watching the likes of Steny Hoyer, Rahm Emanuel and a disturbingly disoriented Nancy Pelosi eviscerate the Fourth Amendment, exempt their largest corporate contributors from the rule of law, and endorse the most radical aspects of the Bush lawbreaking regime. But it's downright pathetic to see them try to depict their behavior as some sort of bipartisan 'compromise' whereby they won meaningful concessions. . . . Surrendering and fearful: that's the face of the Democratic Party. It's how they show they're not weak."--Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com
-- "I'm not as livid as Glenn."--Andrew Sullivan, TheAtlantic.com
For a balanced view of the subject, see the editorial in today's Wall Street Journal. 
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