In his masterpiece, Common Sense, Thomas Paine observed:

Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent; selected from the rest of mankind their minds are early poisoned by importance; and the world they act in differs so materially from the world at large, that they have but little opportunity of knowing its true interests, and when they succeed to the government are frequently the most ignorant and unfit of any throughout the dominions.

Paine may have been discussing the British monarch circa 1776, but his insight is equally applicable to Obama and Co., who reign like kings while exhibiting ignorance and incompetence. This is particularly surprising, given that many liberal policymakers, including Obama, are highly educated, and therefore presumably adept at critical thinking and analysis. But after seven years of Obama leading the Democratic Party in insane notions of transforming the country, it is clear that rational thought and common sense are skill sets greatly lacking among liberal elites.

Whether blinded by ideology, motivated by egocentrism and nihilism, or solely focused on their goals of destroying America’s exceptionalism (while ensuring that Democrats rule forever), liberals are incapable of scientific inquiry, common sense analyses, and reason. Their irrationality is best illustrated by examining some of the faux wars they have chosen to fight and the real ones in which they have surrendered.

Global Warming: The fight against anthropogenic global warming, manmade climate change, or what normal people simply refer to as “weather”, has been a cause celebre of the left since Al Gore jumped onboard the gravy train a decade ago. Much like other liberal causes, this war has become a religion for its proponents. However, environmentalists have become religious fanatics who pronounce the science “settled” and consider any views to the contrary blasphemy. They urge the prosecution of skeptics including one Democratic senator suggesting that “climate denial” should be made a “crime against humanity.”

Liberals are so blinded by their nihilism that they proclaim this the greatest threat to mankind notwithstanding the global proliferation of Islamic terrorism, an imminently nuclear Iran, nuclear-armed rogue regimes in North Korea and Pakistan, and precarious relationships with other foes such as Russia and China.

And while logic would dictate that the way to win this made-up war would be to reduce one’s carbon footprint, the elites championing the cause are actually burning fossil fuels at record-breaking rates as they live the lives of kings. “Let them eat cake” is the unspoken mantra whispered at White House dinners. While Obama, Kerry, and Gore fly around the globe in their private jets, the rest of us are forced to use inefficient energy-saving appliances, ridiculously expensive light bulbs, and toilets with no water pressure. Our elitist-in-chief lectured Americans, "We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times," and proceeded to heat the Oval Office to a temperature appropriate for growing orchids. Forget about SUVs; the man obsessed with climate change travels in a limousine known as “The Beast”.

At least two cars travel with the president wherever he goes, and they get a humble 3.7 miles to the gallon. The president's motorcade is surrounded with up to 45 other armed vehicles, including an identical decoy, local police, a mobile communications center, more armed vehicles, and an ambulance.

By his own estimation, Obama himself is an existential threat to mankind.

Islamic Terrorism: Anyone questioning the liberal mantra that Islam is a religion of peace, despite data to the contrary, is labeled an Islamophobe with the aim of shutting down honest debate. Islamists declared war on the U.S. well before 9/11 and yet liberals still refuse to name the enemy. To liberals, political correctness trumps common sense. Irrationally, they are importing hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees despite knowing that terrorists are entering the country. FBI training materials were insanely scrubbed of any mention of jihad, Islamic extremism or other terms potentially offensive to Muslims, likely resulting in Tamerlan Tsarneav slipping through the cracks. And while logic would dictate expanding the number of terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, Obama is releasing known terrorists back to the killing fields, common sense -- and his oath of office -- be damned.

As Stephen Hayes noted, despite Obama prioritizing “emptying the facility over the security of the country,” and then lying about it, the mainstream media has been MIA. This is no surprise given that the liberal media have, for the most part, given the president a pass on his responsibility for the rise of the ISIS caliphate, expanded Iranian hegemon, Russian and Chinese aggression, and the years-long Syrian civil war.

Gun Control: Never letting a crisis go to waste, liberals have once again renewed efforts to take away the guns of law-abiding citizens notwithstanding that they may help thwart a terrorist attack. Refusing to recognize that terrorists will not only obtain guns whenever they want but that their weapon of choice is more often a bomb, liberals’ inability to reason has and will continue to lead to loss of life and limb. Only a change in commander-in-chief will save Americans from living through decades of terrorist attacks on our shores.

Iran: War with Iran? Whatchu talkin bout, Willis?  Gary Coleman’s famous line is the reaction the administration and Iran deal supporters project when anyone questions the wisdom of Obama’s weak-kneed diplomacy with the mullahs. That irrational mentality ignores the fact that Iran has been at war with America since the Iranian Revolution and hostage crisis in 1979.

Liberals ignore chants of “Death to America,” the murder of our soldiers on battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan, Iranian-sponsored terrorism across the world from Buenos Aires to the Gaza Strip, and breaches of international law including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Yet as illogic would dictate, liberals support a deal that, in effect, allows this rogue mullahcracy, the world’s largest state sponsor of Islamic terror, to go nuclear. Go figure.

Poverty and Unemployment: Paine sensibly recognized, “From the errors of other nations, let us learn wisdom.” Unfortunately, the Democrats are so ignorantly enamored by European-style socialism, despite its complete collapse, that the U.S. economy has not grown during Obama’s reign and the divide among economic classes has widened.

Liberal economic policies like Keynesian taxing and spending and increased minimum wages are illogical and have failed. Affirmative action and other forms of social manipulation will not produce more productive members of society but rather, more resentful minorities. And bringing in untold numbers of indigent immigrants, whether Hispanic, Muslim, or otherwise, will only create more of a burden on government-run social welfare programs. The illogic of liberalism has led to a doubling down of failed policies that are creating more poor, unemployed, and government dependents -- and Democratic votes.

Racism: Obama, Holder, Jarrett and the gang would have us believe that we are a country of racists. Ignoring the fact that Americans elected an African-American to the highest office in the land twice, this gang of angry black folks is fueling the flames of hate -- at the expense of African-Americans. Obama’s divisiveness has set the civil rights movement back decades as Black Lives Matters groups protest violently, police across the country are paralyzed while crime rises, and everyone who does not agree that we are a racist country is labeled, well racist.

Enemies: Liberals irrationally imagine enemies around every corner. The enemies Hillary Clinton is the most proud to have made are Republicans, while Obama is Nixonian in his view that all dissenters are foes to be quashed. Whether sic’ing the IRS on those with whom he disagrees or ordering the NSA to spy on Congress and the Israelis, Obama has enlisted all troops to fight his perceived domestic enemies. His DOJ nonsensically fails to prosecute criminals (Black Panthers and CAIR) while fabricating cases against individuals who disagree with his policies, including Bob Menendez who voted against his Iran deal.

In the illogical White House, Israel, the Gulf States, and European nations like Poland and Ukraine are to be swatted with sticks while reset buttons, diplomacy, and carrots are openhandedly offered to enemies like Russia and Iran. Netanyahu gets a 45-minute lecture from Hillary when housing permits are issued. Rouhani doesn’t even get a slap on the wrist for violating international agreements, including shooting rockets at U.S. warships and testing ballistic missiles designed to destroy our allies and reach our shores. In liberal la-la-land, our historic friends are now our enemies on whom we spy and our decades-long enemies are friends who get $150 billion and nuclear weapons for doing nothing other than threatening our national security.

Tomes will be written in wonderment at the irrationality of the leader of the strongest nation in the history of mankind relinquishing control of one of the world’s most strategically important regions to Islamic fundamentalists. History will look back at an America that won the Cold War under Reagan only to reignite it under Obama. Our descendants will ponder how their ancestors abandoned American supremacy, ingenuity, and civility due to ignorance, idealism, and an irrational obsession with politically correct progressivism that led to the transformation -– and decline -- of this once great nation.

Constitution: Obama took an oath to defend the Constitution. He has been at war with its constraints since day one, usurping power from the other branches of government and ignoring the laws that he swore to uphold and the security of the country he vowed to defend. He has chosen to transform the country through a strategy of divide and conquer despite promises of bipartisanship and transparency. Whether ObamaCare, illegal immigration, or the Iran deal, Obama has reduced Congress to an insignificant thorn in his side.

He has fueled a nationwide disdain for the First Amendment as college students wish to repeal their free speech rights for fear of offensive Halloween costumes, being referred to as “he” or “she” rather than “zhe,” or ideas with which they disagree. Safe spaces, coed locker rooms and unisex bathrooms in elementary schools and government-funded harvesting of fetal tissue at Planned Parenthoods are all the rage these days. American history teachers are liberals who distort U.S. history, lie to their students, and create future progressives misunderstanding the world and ill-equipped to think critically. Open debate? Not so much.

Obama’s over-reaching executive actions and regulations are being litigated in untold numbers -- because they are unconstitutional. Whether welcoming illegal immigrants en masse and illegally handing them work permits or rewriting Congressional legislation unilaterally as he did with ObamaCare, Obama does not believe in the Constitutional limits of office. His hope is that if his actions are on the books long enough, they will become impossible to reverse. His failure to analyze the destructive nature of a president who ignores 225 years of tradition and governance is par for the course (for the most prolific golfer and vacationer in the nation’s history).

Can Republicans help usher in a new “Age of Reason?” One can only hope, but one thing is clear; under the dictatorial, insanely irrational policies of the liberals dominating the Democratic Party, the country is destined to fall into the same abyss as the Roman Empire. Unlike Paine, liberals are intolerant and unwilling to reason let alone debate their positions, shutting down all civil discourse and opposing views. Years of Democratic rule have resulted in division, chaos, violence, and a decline in civilized and societal norms. Would that a modern-day Paine write Common Sense, Part II to inspire a new revolution in the country; one in which Americans once again rise up to gain their independence against an oppressive government.