I happen to know Taibbi and Shellenberger, as well as Bari Weiss, another author of the Twitter Files. They are independent souls. None is a Republican; all three began life as liberal Democrats and are now, in Weiss’s phrase, “politically homeless.”

But nobody was really expected to believe the accusations hurled at them in the hearing, least of all the accusers, which probably accounts for the listlessness that prevailed between bursts of performative anger. What, then, motivated the House Democrats to such a determined exercise in personal destruction? Many possible explanations arise. The kindest would be that they found the issue to be a loser and wanted to change the subject. A psychological theory might propose that they lapsed into a state of political psychosis, striking wildly at those who punctured their fantasies.

The worst-case scenario, to which I subscribe, is that the Democrats were acting on principle. Their behavior reflected, quite faithfully, their current understanding of government.

[I agree — and that’s what makes this so disturbing. — Ed]