Happy Independence Day!

Here's a delicious 4th of July treat ironically served up by that bastion of liberal thought, Harvard:

Just in time for the Fourth of July weekend, a Harvard study confirms: Not only do Republicans celebrate Independence Day more intensively, but the celebrations, in turn, tend to solidify Republican beliefs.

The three key findings of those attending July 4th celebrations:

• When done before the age of 18, it increases the likelihood of a youth identifying as a Republican by at least 2 percent.
• It raises the likelihood that parade watchers will vote for a Republican candidate by 4 percent.
• It boosts the likelihood a reveler will vote by about 1 percent and increases the chances they’ll make a political contribution by 3 percent.

What’s more, the impact isn’t fleeting. “Surprisingly, the estimates show that the impact on political preferences is permanent, with no evidence of the effects depreciating as individuals become older,”said the Harvard report.

Finally, the report suggests that if people are looking for a super-patriotic July 4th, [they] should head to Republican towns. “Republican adults celebrate Fourth of July more intensively in the first place.”

Looks like Republicans take seriously what Founding Father John Adams wrote after the drafting of the Declaration of Independence:

I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.

The commentary by Rush Limbaugh is can't-miss stuff:

Finally they admit it, the Democrats don't care about the nation's founding. They admit it! They admit that celebrating the founding of this nation is a Republican event. It's a conservative event that liberals are not welcome, that liberals don't care, and that they don't show up. ...

Is that not stunning? Or is it stunning? What does this say about the patriotism of liberals? What does this say? Fourth of July parades make people vote Republican. Fourth of July parades turn kids into Republicans. Fourth of July parades do all of this permanently.

"'The political right has been more successful in appropriating American patriotism and its symbols during the 20th century. Survey evidence also confirms that Republicans consider themselves more patriotic than Democrats. According to this interpretation, there is a political congruence between the patriotism promoted on Fourth of July and the values associated with the Republican party. Fourth of July celebrations in Republican dominated counties may thus be more politically biased events that socialize children into Republicans,' write Harvard Kennedy School Assistant Professor David Yanagizawa-Drott and Bocconi University Assistant Professor Andreas Madestam. Their findings also suggest that Democrats gain nothing from July 4th parades, likely a shocking result for all the Democratic politicians who march in them. 'There is no evidence of an increased likelihood of identifying as a Democrat, indicating that Fourth of July shifts preferences to the right rather than increasing political polarization,' the two wrote."

Democrats gather to protest their handouts being cut. That's their celebration. That's their parade. The Democrats and the unions, they get together when they think their benefits are being cut, when their handouts are being cut, when their food stamps are about to be shut off, that's when they get patriotic, that's when they show up. When they fear the freebies are about to run out, that's when they parade, except theirs are not celebrations. Theirs are instances of rage. I love this.

So, what we really have here is an acknowledgement that the political Left -- liberals and Democrats -- are against all of the concepts and principles upon which America was founded! Freedom, liberty, capitalism, individual achievement, smaller government, a strong military...these things are as distasteful to liberals as a silver cross is to a vampire.

If you want to boil it down, one could say that the liberal Left is anti-American.

Not that we didn't already know that, of course, but it's fascinating to see a famously liberal institution admit it out loud, just in time for the 4th of July.

Now that we know where everyone stands, enjoy your Independence Day! Kick back, have fun, enjoy time with friends and family, and remember who stands for American ideals...and who doesn't.