Look, I know that sometimes, as a conservative, I come across as a little harsh about those of the opposite political persuasion – I certainly don’t mean to. But I have to admit, what is someone who takes this country’s social and economic problems seriously to do with a political ideology that continually uses juvenile, threatening, and devious methods as a way to try and get their message across?

First, the juvenile: Check out this story from Florida. This is EXACTLY what I’m talking about. Do Republicans and conservatives, in defending Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s “Path to Prosperity” budget proposal, have all the cures to what ails this country economically? Of course not, and I don’t think anyone – even Rep. Ryan – is saying they do. But what he has done is put forth a thoughtful alternative to President Obama’s recent so-called “budget proposal” (I say so-called because it’s nothing but a bunch of tired Democrat talking-points that does nothing to address the deficit and cut the size of government spending) in the hopes that Democrats will put forth their own serious proposal – something the country is still waiting for.

Don’t hold your breath.

Next, the threatening: Believe me, I want serious, even passionate, debate over how this country is going to right its ship economically. Everyone who cares about this country’s future should want – and demand – the same. But when you have the NLRB threatening a major private-sector employer who simply wants to control its labor costs in a very competitive marketplace by opening a non-union shop in South Carolina, or we witness angry mob actions and other threatening tactics by public sector unions in Wisconsin in response to a Governor’s proposal to get his state’s deficit under control, I have to wonder if Democrats have anything of substance to offer in the coming economic debate.

Finally, the devious. It’s no wonder we live in such cynical times. While I as much as anyone have applauded the President for taking out Osama bin Laden, one has to wonder after the past couple of days what – if anything – the White House can ever tell the truth about. One would think that an important accomplishment like this would simply be announced and followed with the appropriate level of detail. Now we’ve got photoshopped White House photos, staged press conference re-enactments, and an appalling evolving narrative about what the actual circumstances were around the bin Laden raid.

Look, this country is facing a cataclysmic collapse of its social and economic order if we don’t face our reckless spending, entitlement program, and mounting deficit demons square on, and we must find a way to come together to debate and address these problems in a mature, thoughtful, and honest way. Given the above, I’m very pessimistic about that ever happening. I hate to say it, but the more I think about it, the more I think this country gets what it deserves in the end. It just bugs me that I’m likely to be around to see it happen.

I think Bob Hope had it right after all.