It didn’t get much play yesterday because of the Sarah Palin headlines, but Senator Joe Biden said something yesterday that takes presidential politics to the gutter and threatens democracy itself.
Anybody with a classical education will tell you that using the courts to destroy your political opponents was the singlemost destructive development in the last generation of the Roman Republic and led to its downfall.
That’s what the Democrat Veep nominee threatened yesterday when he said:
he and running mate Barack Obama could pursue criminal charges against the Bush administration if they are elected in November.
When is enough enough, Senator?
It’s this exact tactic which gave us the great orations of the “Greatest Republican of them all” Marcus Cicero, but unfortunately led to the civil conflicts which tore apart the Roman Republic and established the emperors.
This may seem like hyperbole, but Biden’s threat should be exposed for what it is: a populist tactic that places personal victory over the good of the country. Both parties should resist using the courts for the politics of destruction. Take a shower, Joe.