BEST READ OF THE DAY

Tom Coburn (R-OK) on " Congress's real problem? A lack of restraint on spending"

The gridlock theorists should remember the wise words of Thomas Jefferson: "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."

Underneath much of the analysis about gridlock is a real and wonderful fear of the people. It is heard in heated rhetoric about the "angry mobs," the "tea partiers" and so on. January's special election in Massachusetts shows that the balance of power is shifting back toward the people, and toward liberty.

When John Podesta, a top Democratic adviser and former White House chief of staff, recently said our political system "sucks" -- apparently because a majority of the American people rejected a government takeover of health care -- he was unintentionally highlighting Jefferson's point. In our system, angry mobs -- motivated citizens -- are the lifeblood of democracy. The threat to liberty comes from angry elites -- elected leaders who ignore the obvious will of the people until they are voted out of office.

Read the whole thing. Coburn, a physician and U.S. Senator, is the chief critic of earmarks and raising the alarm about the national debt.