Are Democrats in touch with reality?

What in the heck are they trying to do?

To themselves.

After Democratic opposition to budget cuts and devotion to higher taxes prevented $4 trillion in spending cuts the United States needed to avert a downgrade on its debt, Sen. Jay Rockefeller spoke to the West Virginia Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.

The tone of his remarks was offensive even for a partisan event.

As the Daily Mail's Ry Rivard reported, the state's senior senator admitted that he has become "somewhat obsessed" with members of the tea party.

Rockefeller called them "extremists" who have "hijacked" the Republican Party and by extension the House of Representatives and the Senate, and committed "legislative extortion."

"They have absolutely no shame," Rockefeller added, "and that's an interesting concept because I've never really been up against that before - people who will do absolutely extraordinarily bad things that are extraordinarily bad for the country and not care about it," he said.

Also on Saturday, 30 American families and six Afghan families suffered the tragic loss of brave men.

After that, the images flashed by and began to pile up.

On Monday, the stock market tanked.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said it would keep its target interest rate for overnight loans among banks at a record low for at least two years to support an economic recovery that's "considerably slower" than anticipated.

On Wednesday, over the objections of news organizations, the Pentagon banned news coverage of the return of 30 American servicemen because 19 of the 30 families did not want coverage of their arrival at Dover Air Force base.

But the White House released a photo anyway.

Of President Obama looking heroic.

In that company?

If it was intended to look respectful, it came off looking self-serving.

On Thursday, with unemployment at 9.1 percent, U.S. credit downgraded, and the stock market having fallen into a second swoon, President Obama declared:

"There is nothing wrong with our country."

Yes, there is. It's bankrupt.

We can't afford our entitlement programs. Federal spending is out of control.

The president has yet to release his own plan to cut the budget.

Darlene Superville of The Associated Press reported:

"His toughly worded message - he said there was frustration in his voice in case anyone missed the point - came amid a series of polls showing that people are disgusted with political dysfunction and are dispensing blame all around, including on Obama."

"There is something wrong with our politics," the president said.

"Obama sought to channel the public's anger in order to avoid being sunk by it himself," Superville explained.

Insulting the fiscally responsible people the electorate sent to Washington is probably not the best way to go about seeking re-election.

In November 2010, American voters cost Democrats 63 seats in the House of Representatives, cut their majority in the U.S. Senate, and cost them 700 state legislative seats.

In November 2012, Democrats all over the country go before the electorate again.

Insulting the millions of Americans who voted for fiscal sanity, calling them "extremists" in the bargain, is not a winning strategy.

The people who shazammed the ballot in 2010 weren't all tea party adherents.

They weren't even all Republicans.

One recent poll shows the president's rating not only lower among Democrats, but at a record low 31 percent among independents.

(Yes, at the moment, independents rate Republicans even lower.)

But the notion that Americans no longer care about reckless spending, record deficits, record debt, low economic growth and high unemployment is a bad bet.

As is any delusion that what Americans really want is higher taxes instead.

Maurice is editorial page editor of the Daily Mail. She may be reached at 348-4802 or ha...@dailymail.com.