Arrogance Will Cost 'Tyrannical' Dems Dearly

Congressional Democrats appear to have confused having the ability to push through any legislation they want with having a mandate to do so, writes Fred Barnes. The Democrats have abandoned bipartisanship and are going ahead with issues like health care reform and cap and trade despite growing public disapproval, Barnes writes in the Wall Street Journal.

A backlash against similar arrogance from congressional Republicans in 1995 helped Bill Clinton get re-elected and many analysts expect the Democrats to face a similar reaction for ignoring public opinion, Barnes notes. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote of the "tyranny of the majority" in his 1835 work American Democracy, Barnes writes. But if the Frenchman were around today, he may have dubbed the congressional majority acting without a mandate from a majority of Americans "the tyranny of the minority."