Submitted by Sam Davis, Aug 14, 2007 09:00

It is always amusing to see elected politicians, whether they are Democrats or Republicans, seemingly scandalized that elected politicians of the other party would inject, heaven forbid, partisan politics into the business of government.

Preparing a partisan mud bath to drag the opposition through is more a time-honored political tradition than selfless public service, which Mr. Nadler knows or should know after more than a decade in Congress. And as a libertarian, I would much prefer that Congress and state legislatures "waste time" in spitting contests than "getting back to work." The "work" over the last few years in Washington, at least, has consisted of passing some of the most notoriously unconstitutional legislation in history, gutting the First Amendment with McCain-Feingold, creating trillions in new unfunded entitlements, federalizing local schools with No Child Left Behind, and signing off on a catastrophic foreign military adventure in Iraq, just to name a few.

Partisan mud baths, even those that come with expensive special prosecutors and legal staffs, tend to be far less expensive, and far less destructive of our rights and liberties.

And of course the ultimate insult is that Mr. Nadler probably expects us to nod our heads and take his comments as those of a serious statesman. Not a chance, Congressman.

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