Rich Lowry

Prepare for the rise of the landed nobility. Democracy as we’ve known it was nice while it lasted, but House Republicans have signaled the beginning of its end with a vote to repeal the estate tax.

Or so you would believe, based on the hysterics on the left over the proposed end of a minor, inefficient tax that is evidently the fragile keystone of our system of government and way of life.

“Repealing the estate tax will surely sow the seeds of a permanent aristocracy in this country,” according to Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington. His colleague, Rep. Ron Kind of Wisconsin, denounced the rise of...