SYLVESTER MATUSCHKA

CNN's Erick Erickson is at half-mast:

We hear more of the same from Dick Morris, who reminds me quite a bit of Gollum lately ("There's going to be a government shutdown, just like in '95 and '96 but we're going to win it this time and I'll be fightin' on your side!") Oh Dick, you populist seven-figure Beltway operative!

See, this is why people of the Erickson/Beck ideological persuasion are terrible people. It's not because we're elitists who believe that everyone who disagrees with us is a terrible person. It is precisely because they get off on nihilism. People who cared about the country A) probably wouldn't consider something as draconian and stupid as a "government shutdown" and B) if so, would treat it like an unfortunate necessity. "There is no other option," they would solemnly say, "except to grind the gears of government to a halt." With a heavy heart they would injure the country in order to save it. They would be wrong, of course, but at least their intentions would be good.

Instead they behave like a bunch of 14 year-olds at a UFC match. DUDE THIS IS SO FUCKING AWESOME, I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL WE GET TO BE OBSTRUCTIONIST ASSHOLES! DUDE, DUDE, TRY THESE NACHOS! They are getting wood at the mere thought of making people suffer and breaking things. This is what excites them. These are the kind of people who, as children, torture animals for pleasure. And as adults they get a kick out of the death penalty and bomb-camera footage on The Military Channel.

Don't forget, they haven't even won anything yet. They're rock hard because of a mid-August generic poll. Are they going to have a good year? Of course. The country is still a mess and the economy hasn't improved since the last election, so we have every reason to expect voters to drunkenly lurch back and forth between the parties in a desperate search for a solution. Should they be behaving as though they're already in power? (Well, since the majority party does whatever they say I guess we can't blame them for that.) Hmm. God help them if they don't take the House; if the best they can do after two solid years of absolute hysteria is chip away some seats from the majority, they're in trouble. And if they do gain power, what do they expect to happen after two years of accomplishing absolutely nothing?

These people are not just mean, prone to making bad decisions, and slavishly adherent to a very silly set of ideological beliefs. They are sick. And now that they smell blood, their masks are slipping off.

(PS: To cure the suspense, Sylvester Matuschka was a Hungarian mass-murderer who sabotaged trains and was sexually aroused by watching them derail and explode. He springs to mind every time I see a Republican talk about what the party intends to do with a majority.)