Wednesday, June 14, 2017                                               11:03 AM

We have lost the thread of our government lately. The most recent outrage—the Attorney General sits before a Senate intelligence committee, refuses to answer reasonable questions, and refuses to offer a specific legal reason for refusing to answer—and the Senators don’t threaten him with contempt charges. Some seem to think that America has obsessed over ‘rights’ long enough—and it’s time to start focusing on privileges.

When Cracker Sessions is forced, further along, to respond, “I am not stonewalling”; he is actually saying, “I’m stonewalling, alright—and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Think about it—the only reason anyone would feel called upon to say, “I am not stonewalling” is if it had been preceded by a lot of unanswered questions and a Senator accusing him of stonewalling. To my mind, a mere verbal contradiction of such an accusation is the height of hubris and privilege.

And there was no sign that Sessions was loath to talk—we rarely see such huge swaths of time filled with mealy-mouthed vagaries that reach only one point—they prevent the demanding Senator from asking another question, and eat up that Senator’s time. This is an effective stonewalling technique—if one overlooks the stark contrast between Sessions’ oral pussy-footing and Comey’s forthright willingness to share any pertinent answers he could.

Sessions also added to the flurries of ‘blessings’ and ‘God’s will’s the GOP enjoys throwing around, lately—and it makes sense: God helps those who help themselves—and, boy, do the Republicans like to help themselves. Plus, the ignorant can only command respect when they point to a higher power to explain their incompetence. Those foolish Democrats too often try to make their points with mere reason—don’t they know we live in a post-fact society?

While Democrats suffer from a lack of leadership, the Republicans suffer from a surfeit of mislead-ership. I grant the pragmatic nature of their approach—it is far easier to mislead public opinion that it ever was to form a more perfect union. Idealists make the mistake of trying to tell people what’s good for them—which makes idealists like nagging doctors—and just as popular. Salesmen have a much easier job—they just have to convince us to sign the lease (or vote for a candidate) and let next sales-year take care of itself.

All good things must come to an end—and all bad things, too (GOP, take note). Good people are too busy to cause trouble—that’s why evil goes un-swatted awhile—good people are not going to stress about the small stuff. Evil un-swatted, however, tends to grow and grow. Evil even starts to think it’s acceptable—and is surprised when good people get fed up with the mounting evil.

Outrage is a powerful force—enable it at your peril. A passing faux pas is no great worry—but a looming conspiracy of evil can only spur people to respond. Think Boston Tea Party. Think Watergate. Unbridled abuse of power contains within itself the seeds of its own destruction. Cheaters never prosper.