[Rifleman]

You mean resistance fighters like the Vietnamese?

A war of resistance or a civil war in America would be a horror, buy why do you think that the whole military would be loyal to the oppressors? The Chinese call it the "mandate of Heaven", westerners call it legitimacy. Our government's legitimacy derives from the founding documents. If those are discarded by the national state, the support of the American people and much of the military would disolve like frost in the sunshine.

In any case, if you are right and there is no chance for a popular resistance to overthrow the Federal Government (if G_d forbid it ever came to that) then you have conceded the death of freedom. History demonstrates that governments ALWAYS go bad eventually. If ours does, will you just set there and obey? And if so, why would you think that THAT would make you safe?

Right now, Americans have a pretty good government. We have lots of options short of shooting politicians and government functionaries. But the knowledge that we can is part of their motivation to behave themselves.

[GraniteStateConservative]

We have a vibrant two-party system who are mostly whores. They'll pretty much accept whatever ideology will put them in power. If the Dems created the nightmare scenario you envision, the numbers of people needed to fight against the government would be about the same to peacefully boot them all out office and have the GOP or some other party replace them.

Barbara Boxer doesn't change any of her votes based on the knowledge that some people have guns.