larvatus | out of the wilderness (Reply)

Democrats gained seats in the House and (now, thanks to Biden) a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate because they were seen as more willing and able to work seriously on the problems facing the country. Here again the public was right — the Democrats are making tough policy choices and even playing their role as a check on the administration, especially in economic and financial policy, while the Republicans have become not just an ineffectual out-of-power party, but a parody of an ineffectual out-of-power party, spouting mean-sounding nonsense on major policy issues (“Government spending doesn’t work!” “There is no such thing as global warming!” “Hunger is a good motivator!”), and taking hypocrisy in their personal lives to new levels of self-indulgent weirdness (“It wasn’t just an affair, it was a love story!”). It’s as if they’re trying to get a head start on another 40 years in the wilderness.

—David Epstein, Political Economist at Columbia, “Palin Proves Voters Were Right in 2008”,
The Huffington Post, 6 July 2009 11:49 AM

Political science professor David Epstein, 46, was charged Thursday with having a sexual relationship with his daughter, 24.

—Sarah Darville and Leah Greenbaum, “Professor David Epstein charged with incest with his daughter”,
Columbia Spectator, 10 December 2010