Is it just me or do others feel that liberal Democrats are cranky, maybe even angry?

Ironically, they’re cranky not because of the large number of covid deaths in 2021, high inflation, the border crisis, crime in our cities, challenges from Russia and China, or the botched Afghanistan departure.

They’re cranky for several other reasons.

Many liberal Democrat members of Congress seem to be unhappy with their greatest political victory. They have expressed regret for supporting the passage of the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which will improve America and prepare the country for the decades ahead. Yet it demonstrated to the nation that we can get big things done with Democrat and Republican support.

So why are they cranky?

Because they were unable to force moderate Democrats to vote in favor of rampant spending on social programs. The Congressional Budget Office reported that these social spending programs over a 10-year period would cost more than three times what the Democrat leadership claimed, without adequate revenue to pay for the additional cost. Eventually, these costs would be added to the nation’s $29 trillion debt and have a negative impact on already high inflation.

Some liberal Democrats also are upset that they cannot use the Republicans’ failure to help govern or pass meaningful legislation as an excuse to destroy or amend the Senate filibuster, as Republicans have demonstrated their willingness to help pass the infrastructure bill and raise the debt ceiling.

Furthermore, a number of liberals are disappointed that actor Jussie Smollett’s story was proven by a court of law to have been a hoax. They wanted America to believe that homophobic Trump supporters physically humiliated and attacked him while he was attempting to buy a sandwich in the wee hours of the morning. The far left jumped to his defense as Smollett performed the acting job of his life.

Then we had Democrats disappointed in Chief Justice John Roberts, one of America’s most popular public figures according to a recent Gallup poll (60% approval rating). Roberts, who was appointed by a Republican president, singlehandedly saved the Affordable Care Act, which baffled many Republicans. He did so based on his interpretations of the law.

Roberts recently disappointed Democrats by refusing to participate in the charade known as the second impeachment of Donald Trump. Why? Because of logic. Maybe you cannot remove a president who is no longer president — Duh! And for the record, the Constitution states that a true impeachment trial is presided over by the chief justice, not a partisan senator.

Now Congress is abrogating its real job of passing a budget and authorizing and appropriating spending bills for the federal government via “Regular Order” or, for that matter, even via a Continuing Resolution. Instead, Democrat leaders have kicked the can down the road yet again. Now, they would be five months late on their requirement to fund the government in some long-term manner.

Apparently disappointed in the Justice Department’s investigation of the Jan. 6 protest at the Capitol, Congress has decided that failure to do its basic legislative job warrants their doing the FBI’s job instead per the establishment of a select committee.

Americans can see what President Biden allowed in Afghanistan as a true insurrection. We saw heavily armed Taliban forces take over the president’s palace, the seat of government.

In my opinion, you cannot truly compare the Jan. 6 protest with the insurrection in Afghanistan. Other than disillusioned folks, nobody would believe that the U.S. government was going to be overthrown and the will of the people thwarted.

People have two basic questions concerning Jan. 6. One: How were thousands of protesters allowed to march to the Capitol without having a government-issued permit from the mayor of Washington, D.C.? Two: Who would ultimately be responsible for the security of the U.S. Capitol?

Answer: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader (at the time) Mitch McConnell. Both have one thing in common other than not doing this basic function well — they don’t like Donald Trump.

What happened on Jan. 6 had never happened before and will never happen again, as it should have never happened to begin with.

It should be noted that in a recent Gallup poll, Americans have given Pelosi and McConnell the worse approval ratings of any major political figure. Pelosi has the second lowest at 40% and McConnell the lowest at 34% — even lower than Biden (43%).

The American people seem to get it. Maybe that is why the liberal Democrats are cranky.

Gary Franks served three terms as U.S. representative for Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years. He is the author of “With God, For God, and For Country.” @GaryFranks

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