witch hunt

The Associated Press reports that Republican Rep. Allen West said he believes at least 76 Democrats in Congress, all but one in the House, are Communist Party members, a claim that echoes Joe McCarthy's unsubstantiated 1950s charges that communists had infiltrated the top ranks of the U.S. government.

Addressing a town-hall meeting Tuesday in Florida, the freshman lawmaker was asked how many members of Congress are "card-carrying Marxists." West said that "about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party ... are members of the Communist Party." He did not provide names.

This is actually very good news, because it shows just how scared Republicans are right now.

When they're very afraid, as they should be at this moment, they start talking shit. The so-called Ryan budget is another example of this, and so was Mitt Romney's preposterous claim yesterday that over 90 percent of the laid-off workers in the current recession are women.

The Republican response to alarm, when their adrenal glands start pumping the "flight or fight" juice, is always to double down. They never have enough sense to back off. And I can't say this too many times -- the day is coming very soon when they're going to wish they had Obama and the Democrats back again.

About 19 days from now.