One of the most astounding self-inflicted political wounds in recent memory has been the insane criticism of the $20 billion escrow fund set up by President Obama as a “shakedown.” And now another high profile wingnut pundit, Mark Levin, is attacking Bill O’Reilly for trying to bring some sense into the discussion: Mark Levin attacks ‘phony, populist idiot’ O’Reilly over BP fund.

“Let me explain something to you, Mr. Cable TV!” says Levin, not using O’Reilly’s name. “British Petroleum was in the back pocket of the Democrat Party! It gave Obama a million dollars. It backs cap and trade!” And he defends Rep. Joe Barton for “speaking the truth.”

He may have been inarticulate about it. There was no need to apologize to BP. I get that. But if you have an IQ over 12, you get his point, which was: we can’t have a president with the power to decide when a company has to cough up tens of billions of dollars, without legislation, without oversight… this is why we have a rule of law, to sort these things out. Not a president who brings this people before him and threatens them!

When Bill O’Reilly is the voice of reason, the lunatics truly are in charge.