It is the nature of people to sometimes get caught up emotionally in the course of events and forget to apply/discard rational observation. An oft repeated phrase one typically sees is "socialism always fails". Indeed it does, so why wouldn't this rule apply to the USA?
Here's the bottom line: a socialized political economy cannot possibly generate enough real wealth to afford the types of expenditures/commitments this country has made.
Who pledges to support & uphold the Constitution? Do you think various scenarios of economic collapse haven't been modeled by RAND and other DoD think tanks?
What happens when economic output drops, tax revenues fall, outside creditors (China) refuse to fund new/roll over existing debt (to the tune of $3-4T during 2010), and the Fed can no longer just print new US $dollars without risking hyper-inflation?
That's right - the US can no longer afford to protect/defend itself as a country. When the modeled outcomes start to become reality, that's when the military begins to make its move.
So help healthcare pass; try and get a government job. We're already to the point where 50%+ of the people are on some form of government support - and they GET TO VOTE. It shouldn't take much more to tip the whole thing over.
I've refrained from recently posting here because it seems like everyone is in la-la land, either hoping for a changed outcome in the 2010/2012 elections, debating to vote Republican v 3rd party, attending rallies & tea parties, discussing Palin, etc.
It looks like JR and others are finally waking up - it's all over. The 2008 election sealed the deal, not because of Obama the person (he's powerless), but because the nature of the country has changed to the point where the people would elect an Obama.
Change/revolution is coming - it's just not the romanticized version many people are thinking. The system is completely unsustainable - which means it will fail completely.
It applies. The problem is, America does not always arise. Sometimes it's just another tyranny that arises from the ashes. Sometimes it's the Dark Ages. But only once was it America.
Do you feel lucky?
First of all, Obama is not powerless, and has managed to get virtually everything he wants simply by ignoring or riding roughshod over our process. He only needs the shell of these things, ranging from "health care" to "climate change," and he can then set up the bureaucracy and do whatever he wants. The details will come later.
Secondly, I think one thing we are not taking into account is that the election process was heavily compromised. I agree that it's appalling that so many people would have been so stupid as to vote for Obama, but he was packaged and sold to the idiots as something other than what he was. But most of all, the election process was so corrupted at every level, ranging from ACORN dead voter registration to the usual uncounted military ballots, missing precincts, sudden last minute votes flooding into computerized systems, etc. that I don't think we can be entirely certain that it was really the American voters who did this.
That's my big fear when people talk about how we're going to change things in 2010. They have had another year and also a lot of insider information now to perfect their destruction of the electoral system. So for that reason, I'm not sure there's much help to be expected from it.
That said, the problem is that if the system collapses (and I agree that it might), they will have the power to impose a draconian authoritarian regime immediately, combined with waves of permitted random violence carried out by Obama's faithful, and we will begin to experience the joys of living in Zimbabwe.