What’s the difference between Al Quaeda and the Republican Party? Quite a lot, as it turns out. Only one of them so far has been able to bring American government to its knees, undermine global confidence in American leadership, tear up the fabric of America’s legislative values and imperatives, and create uncertainty and chaos in the world’s financial markets.

Only one of them works everyday to corrode the underpinnings of American democracy from within and destroy our democratic system. Only one of them actively works state by state to disenfranchise the poor, turn away minority populations from the polls, as well as students, the elderly and anyone else who might vote Democratic but would never in their lives commit fraud to cast those votes.

Yes, and only one of them works everyday to turn America’s social contract into worthless pieces of historic paper. Only one of them seeks to impoverish the elderly by reducing their monthly Social Security checks, forcing them to pay more for their health care, and to turn away 30 million uninsured Americans from the health care they’ve needed, and waited for, all their lives. Only one of them works everyday to ignore global warming, to deny evolution, to fight for the right of hunters and mass killers to shoot off 150 rounds per second, and to ensure their wealthy supporters can suck out every ounce of oil and gas from American real estate even if it means destroying our drinking water and agricultural heartland.

Yes, and while the Republicans are racking up score after score in the political terrorist competition, Al Quaeda has to content itself with merely having hijacked commercial airplanes and flying them into the World Trade Center and The Pentagon.

Perhaps if the towers had been filled with the elderly, the poor and Democratic Party supporters, the Republicans might have hijacked an airplane or two themselves before deciding on their far more effective strategy of shutting down the government.

Of course, had President Obama also been in the towers…