Having taken control of both houses of Congress in the 2006 elections, the Democrats proceeded to surpass even my own worst predictions concerning their domestic policies before they even took their seats. Raising the minimum wage will hurt the small businesses that create the most jobs and slow growth in larger companies. Forcing unions on Wal-Mart will result in America's largest private employer reducing its workforce. Creating State-run "free" healthcare will make Americans (especially those among the swelling ranks of the unemployed) more directly dependent on government benefits and therefore less likely to vote for politicians who promise to reduce those benefits. Refusing to fund border security and granting amnesty as well as government assistance (like Social Security) to illegal immigrants will create a massive new group of solidly Democrat voters. Manipulating the economy and national security to solidify their majority, however, is just an appetiser before the main course: taking the Presidency without the bothersome detail of winning an election.

Many on the Right reacted with glee to the news that professional mourner Cindy Sheehan stopped stalking President Bush long enough to lead a group in shouting down Representative Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) as he held a press conference. The Democrats courted and supported these people in order to gain power, and now it's only fair that they have to put up with the incessant whining, right? But the situation isn't as simple (or as entertaining) as it seems on the surface. I believe Sheehan -- who once deserved sympathy, then pity, and now only scorn for her shameless manipulation of her son's death -- is being used to furnish an excuse for action against President Bush. And Sheehan stands to gain some credibility, too, by attacking someone besides Bush for a change.

Those who remember their Shakespeare (they still teach Shakespeare in schools, don't they?) may recognise in the press conference disruption an echo of Richard III. After having ruthlessly murdered or discredited everyone who stood between himself and the throne, Richard (then Duke of Gloucester) set up a scene in which he would be "forced" to accept the crown against his will by the desperate pleas of London's citizens, led by the mayor. The Duke of Buckingham, who hid his own followers among the crowd to manipulate it, advised him to look busy and refuse at first, but reluctantly acquiesce to the crowd's demand:

The mayor is here at hand: intend [express] some fear;
Be not you spoke with, but by mighty suit:
And look you get a prayer-book in your hand,
And stand betwixt two churchmen, good my lord;
For on that ground I'll build a holy descant:
And be not easily won to our request:
Play the maid's part, still answer nay, and take it.
- Richard III (Act III, scene vii)