Democrats by the Numbers

With Al Franken the undisputed senator from Minnesota, the Democrats now have a filibuster-proof Senate. The last time that happened -- in the wake of Watergate -- they passed a bunch of procedural measures, like lowering the filibuster-breaker from 67 to 60. They also put us on the metric system and then slowed us down to 55 mph.

We all know how those last two went. We're still buying gas by the gallon and cruising the interstates at 65 mph and then some -- unless you're on I-66 during traffic times or a presidential motorcade.

Before the Dems let their numbers go to their head, here are a few numbers they need to seriously consider. A new Gallup poll shows "a statistically significant increase since last year in the percentage of Americans who describe the Democratic Party's views as being 'too liberal,' from 39 percent to 46 percent. This is the largest percentage saying so since November 1994, after the party's losses in that year's midterm elections," according to a CNN editorial.

Another Gallup poll shows that 40 percent of Americans consider themselves conservative, 35 percent moderate and only 21 percent liberal. "This represents a slight increase for conservatism in the U.S. since 2008, returning it to a level last seen in 2004," according to Gallup.

The numbers also are telling when it comes to President Obama's hurried push to change healthcare. According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released this morning, 51 percent of people surveyed say they favor the president's healthcare plan, with 45 percent opposed. But when questioned more closely, most of the people surveyed are concerned that their healthcare costs would go up if the president's proposals are passed. And only 20 percent think their families would be better off under the Obama plan.

So before the Dems spend trillions more that we don't have on public insurance programs or a Hawaiian bank partially owned by a Democratic senator, they may want to chew on some of these numbers for a while. But in the meantime, don't put it past them to pull a few more procedural shenanigans to give themselves even more power.

Ignorance of Intolerance

Yesterday, my husband caught up with an old schoolmate online. When the woman found out he had worked in the Bush administration, she cut him off with "We have nothing in common. Since you don't share my opinions, I have no reason to talk to you."

"How do you know?" Job asked her. "You have no idea what I think."

She responded with a list of all the hot-button issues and her stance on each of them. She then basically said that if he didn't agree with her straight down the line, they had nothing to talk about. The irony was her inconsistency. For instance, she's for animal rights, but she enjoys eating meat. (Job informed her that he's for people's rights, but he doesn't eat much meat and I'm a vegetarian.)

The clincher, of course, is that she can't stand conservatives because we're intolerant.

You know, refusing to talk to people who hold different views is like thinking you have nothing more to learn after you graduate from high school. It's like visiting another country but insisting on staying at American resorts, eating American food and hanging out only with Americans (who share your opinions, of course). It's like reading only one book, singing one song and wearing the same outfit every day for the rest of your life.

It is a lonely life devoid of adventure and intellectual growth. It is the ignorance of intolerance.

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