Not All Democrats Are Stupid

That is not a statement of fact, that is a profound wish -- call it a prayer. Read:

Democrats on Capitol Hill are drafting a strategy to attack the Bush administration and Republicans as having little regard for the privacy of Americans. "We will initiate at the beginning of this year one of the most serious debates and discussions on Capitol Hill in our history about individual rights and liberties," Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin said just before Christmas. The topic will be a major focus of the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of federal Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. as privacy rights -- the political code phrase for abortion rights -- already has become a major issue, Mr. Durbin said. Democratic leaders then plan to keep the issue alive as they continue their opposition to key parts of the USA Patriot Act, which is set to expire in early February unless extended. But the real payoff, Democrats say, will be the hearings into President Bush's authorization of warrantless spying on terror suspects. Already, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, said he wants to hold hearings on the matter.

Once again, the Democrats are putting themselves in the minority. A full 65% of Americans see nothing wrong with spying on the enemies of the United States -- whether external or internal. They see opposition to the Patriot Act as a concerted effort to make this country less safe by politicizing war. And this is an election year. My profound hope is that this stance will backfire and a large segment of Democrats will vote for the party that will defend their family rather than the party that will do anything to regain power.