We often allow ourselves to be manipulated by the heated rhetoric of bitterly divided elected officials. It’s terrifying to think we actually believe much of the nonsense spewed by these irresponsible people.

Yes, I’ve been watching C-Span again. On the basis of what I’ve seen there, I would characterize our leading political parties as follows:

The Republican Party is in the “Bogeyman” business. They’ve painted themselves as the sole sentinels guarding against the forces of Evil: Communism in the world, crime at home, drugs, big government and immorality.

The Democratic Party consists largely of opportunists and grifters. Since the hosing of the House managers in the impeachment trial, they’ve missed no opportunity to portray themselves as beleaguered underdogs, championing the downtrodden.

They make certain we all know the right wing is populated by misanthropic hicks who never stop conspiring against our overly libidinous president. OK, so they’re right about some things.

The Democrats also tell us that they’re the only ones interested in bipartisan cooperation. Baloney.

BOTH parties are guilty of trying anything to beat the other with no care for the resulting gridlock. Note how many votes go straight down party lines.

If they truly wanted bipartisan cooperation, the parties would be far more courteous in their dealings with one another. Instead, they trade gibes and needle one another like spoiled brats in the back seat of a station wagon on the long trek to Disneyworld.

“Moo-om, Demmy called me a Nazi!”

“Did NOT, you NRA stooge!”

“Shut up, you baby-killin’ bleeding heart!”

When they’re not pulling one another’s pigtails, they play to the cameras, plucking every sappy, manipulative, spooky chord they can, betting on our emotional responses to their rhetoric.

I must confess, however, the rhetoric of the Republicans strikes me as the scarier of the two. While the Democrats usually strike me as transparent and lame, puritanical Republican rhetoric WAY too often brings the word “fascism” to mind.

We should always be concerned when politicians claim they’re acting in God’s name. What if their “God” is different from our God? When they set out to slaughter all of the “unchosen” people’s first-born sons, ours might be among them.

Yesterday’s C-Span featured a house chamber that was empty save for two Republican congressmen, chatting amiably about all the “evil” in the world. I’ll paraphrase their conversation for you:

Congressman A: “How about those Socialists who call themselves Americans?”

Congressman B: “Hate ’em. Boo, hiss.”

Congressman A: “I spent some time on the Internet, and do you know what I found?”

Congressman B: “Socialist child pornography, sponsored by Clinton?”

Congressman A: “A very good guess, my friend, but no. I found the Web site of the Democratic Socialists of America!”

Congressman B: “No!”

Congressman A: “Oh yes, and now I’ll tell you something truly shocking: There are 58 members of the Democratic Party, congressmen in our House, signed up on that Web site.”

Congressman B: “Socialists in OUR government?”

Congressman A: “FIFTY-EIGHT of them, card-carrying members!”

Congressman B: “God, I feel so violated.”

That pretty much captures the flavor of their discussion. They went on to talk about the socialist agenda, insinuating that “They” want to control EVERYTHING.

I’m sorry, but that’s just damn silly, not to mention unrealistic. I couldn’t help but think of Senator Joseph McCarthy, who’s dead, but whose legacy of paranoia lives on.

These people go nuts when you talk about providing medical care for every American citizen, but what is wrong with addressing the flaws of a disproportionate, often cruel system?

As an office temp for an HMO for over a year, working first in marketing and next in quality assurance, I saw both ends of the screw job. People with “the wrong kind of cancer” (the expensive kind) or HIV were routinely dropped from their coverage. Clearly, that’s not right.

Politicians shouldn’t condemn one another simply for exploring all the options in addressing serious problems. They’re supposed to be working together to alleviate suffering and create a just and strong society. The rhetoric just gets in the way.

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James O’Donnell is a graduate student in painting, drawing and printmaking from Mesa, Ariz.