SOMEBODY GET A ROPE! SOMEBODY FIND A TREE!

One of the darkest blots on American History is the terror of lynching loosed on freed slaves and their descendants in the last half of the 19^th Century and the first half of the 20^th.  Quite often, the mad demand for vengeance led the mob to lash out at the handiest target, whether that person was guilty of a crime or not.

Now, a city burns because “justice” was denied.  I suppose the new definition of justice is just hang somebody, even if he didn’t commit a crime.  Welcome to the first half of the 21^st Century.

THE CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST

A few days after President Obama first took office, he held a meeting with the Congressional leadership.  He discussed, among other things, his goals for economic recovery and invited all the leaders to join him in working to resolve the economic crisis.

At the end of the meeting, the Minority Whip, Eric Cantor handed him some notes on modest ideas to further that goal.  The President took them, but told Cantor that it was his own plans that would go through.   "Elections have consequences," he told Mr. Cantor.  "I won."

At that time in January 2009, the Democrats controlled both houses of the Congress.  Now the Republicans have taken control of both houses.

For four years, the President has been protected from having to show any backbone because Senator Reid has refused to let most legislation even reach the floor for debate or vote.  He did this so that his own caucus would not do something stupid, such as actually passing legislation received from the House and sending it to the President to be signed or vetoed.  That was OK with me, because the voters kept the Senate in Democrat hands and elections have consequences.

Now Harry Reid is as irrelevant as Mrs. Pelosi.  Senator McConnell and the Republicans are in control.  For the President, the chickens of arrogance are clucking away in the Oval Office.  Elections have consequences, and that works both ways.