Lord! Earlier this week Froma Harrop published a ridiculous column in which she accused the Tea Party of “economic terrorism” and further insisted “like the al-Qaida bombers” they are pursuing “the dream of restoring some fantasy caliphate.”

“Americans are not supposed to negotiate with terrorists,” Harrop harrumphed, apparently angling for the Joe Biden Cracked Cranium Award for Outstanding Discourse, “but that’s what Obama has been doing.” 

Bad enough, right? But the follow-up is even worse. Miffed that James Taranto pointed out that her column might be a bit at odds with the Civility Project run by the National Conference of Editorial Writers she heads, Harrop launched into a tortured definition of what constitutes “civility” that truly must be read to be believed and seems to obliviously stumble into suggesting that military force against the Tea Party would be justified were they ever to try one of those debt-ceiling-debate stunts again. Seriously.

Dissent, the highest form of patriotism–except when Froma Harrop determines it needs to be crushed for the good of the nation. Welcome to 2011, people.