It is not the “fiscal cliff” that threatens this nation, but the mob-like tendency of Republican members of Congress to rule by tantrum.

Credit rating agencies, such as Moody’s, cite Congress’ behavior as reason to degrade the U.S. Treasury’s credit ratings. Yet Republicans ignore these warnings and plunge toward the cliff.

The “fiscal cliff” was their invention, when they tried to avoid raising the debt ceiling, which they routinely did dozens of times under Republican presidents. It was nothing more than a political move designed to defeat Obama’s bid for a second term, and all it accomplished was to make the recovery more difficult.

The only compromise that President Obama and the Democrats were able to eke out of them, was the plan which we now call the “fiscal cliff.”

This is no way to govern. It is not only immature, but very dangerous.

Republican attempts to shut down the government during the Clinton years portended such unruly behavior.

If we are to avoid a constitutional crisis, we had better tell the Republican Congress that they didn’t get the message of the last election.

The only thing worse than a dictator is a mob of dictators.