There Are Consequences

While Senate Republicans and Tea Partiers are having a good time enjoying the pleasures of uninhibited emotion, the real world continues.

So cheap publicity for a crazy Florida pastor, and easy reporting for lazy reporters, result in a riot in Afghanistan, with one person killed. That'll help the war effort.

And, while the Republican party has managed to retain a figleaf of responsibility in restraining itself from just saying no to the New START Treaty, they're still playing cheap political games. Not ratifying the treaty will have consequences: the rest of the world will see America as having lost its mind, and certainly any credibility in nonproliferation. As Steve Benen points out, the vote needs to come up soon, and ratification is a no-brainer.

Oh wait...

Update: Juan Cole suggests ten substantive stories that the media might have covered instead of the Florida bigot. And, as he says, I can think of more.