(1) A terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

(2) A declaration of martial law.

(3) A cancellation of the 2008 elections.

In order for the Rethugs to successfully pull off a coup, two things absolutely have to happen:

1) They must seize absolute power somehow. The GOP controls all three branches of government, yet they constantly whine that they don’t have enough power to enact all the Reich-wing wet dream policies. They can do this in one of three ways: a) the good old-fashioned military coup, b) a V for Vendetta scenario where a terrorist attack (either gov’t-produced like in the movie, or genuine A-Q strike), or c) steal the election. Secnario A is iffy at best, since our military still consists of soldiers who take their oaths to defend the Constitution seriously (Lynndie England and her ilk excluded). Although it could potentially bring the military in on the side of the Bushies, Scenario B seems more likely to backfire at this point than succeed, now that Hurricane Katrina has exposed the Bush regime’s utter incompetence, corruption and cronyism (though if you ask me, 1000-plus dead seems an awfully heavy price to pay to achieve that exposure). So we’re left with Scenario C: Steal the election. The tools are already there (shred enough Dem registrations in key districts, intimidate voters in heavily Dem districts, and if all else fails, the Diebold option is always available), but in order to work, Scenario C relies on the other unspoken assumption.

2) Getting the world community to believe that the election is legit. Unless the Rethuglicans allow impartial election monitors (ha ha ha…that’ll happen – AND PIGS MIGHT FLY OUT OF MY BUTT!!!!!), the world community will be reluctant, at best, to go along. More than likely, out of a desire to avoid blowing up the world, they’ll treat it as a fiat accompli, since there’s not much they can do until we’re blatantly threatening the world. However, at the first sign of fascist movement in our country, they’ll start to organize a coalition to stop our mad quest for world conquest. Whether that means a new Cold War with the U.S. cast in the role of the Soviets, or just outright WWIII, complete with nookyular nuclear exchanges, is up in the air.

So what form will that tell-tale sign that triggers a response from the world community take? Hard to say. But watch for the prompt court-packing that will almost assuredly follow a stolen ’06 election, so as to minimize the chance that Reich-wing wet dream policies will be struck down by the courts. That will be the first warning that the world should take notice. After that….well, my rather limited prognostication skills aren’t capable of that.

Agreed. Yes, I’m guilty of at least a small degree of eternal optimism — after all, doesn’t being a lefty mean that I believe people are inherently good rather than evil?

I do believe that W’s five-year pass has been more the result of ignorance, complacency and exhaustion among the people than actual support. Of the three, I think exhaustion is the most formidable obstacle we must overcome. The ignorance has been decreasing of late, owing to revelations that took their sweet time to hit the national stage (Woodward, anyone?), and the outrage in response to those revelations, or even just the quiet not of the head among those who secretly suspected it all along, does erode complacency.

A coup? I don’t see it, if only because I don’t think the true believers in the RoveCheney camp have the numbers. Stealing the election ala Diebold? That’s a much more realistic scenario, especially if enough distractions muck up the radar screens so that we forget to police the damn elections . . .

The second point addresses Marq’s nightmare scenario. The hole in your theory is just who, exactly, would carry out these ‘disappearances’ of Americans? You need too much complicity, too many bad people willing to do things they don’t believe in. I have complete certainty that, in this case at least, the good guys far outnumber the bad guys…

mikey

And regarding the military —mikey, I love you and agree with you 99% of the time, but doesn’t the oath cut both ways? If the military believes, or is led to believe that the power grab is legitimate, then their oath will ensure that they follow along like good soldiers.

What happens if martial law is declared? The military follows along, correct?

If some terrorist act occurs close to the election – staged or otherwise (I wouldn’t put it past them, but really, they don’t need to stage it because Al Quaeda will oblige them) – Bush and Cheney declare martial law and suspend the election, I think the military would support it. AFter all, it’s the Commander in Chief.

More like “FOX shows footage of the Democrats in Congress willingly entering paddywagons for fear of being seen as ‘week on terrorism’”.

There’s a thick stripe of idealism in neoconservativism. Probably comes from the roots a lot of them have in Trotskyist communism – Bill Kristol’s parents were both Trotskyites back in the day, for instance.

The stuff they peddle now is a creepy blend of Milton Friedman’s politics/economics and Leo Strauss’ contempt for the hoi polloi and peculiar ideas on reading and meaning (which could lead into an interesting tangent about why evolution-deniers from right wing think tanks like the Discovery Institute often sound like radical feminists, but that’s a story for another time).

Strauss is probably best known for his embrace of the “noble lie” – that political leaders are under no obligation to be truthful to those whom the govern, who couldn’t handle the truth anyway. Little people need little truths to keep them in line – like God, patriotism, and father figure leaders.

Now, please don’t misread me into saying that Leo Strauss was a Nazi, because that’s not what I’m trying to do here….Straussianism and National Socialism are two distinct trains of thought, with different origins. That being said….there is a good bit of overlap in this particular area of their ideas between what Leo Strauss thought and what the Nazi political machine did. Nazis embraced or created simple cultural myths for their people to follow – thus, the endless sloganeering: “Gott Mit Uns”, “Blut und Boden”, “Kuche, Kirche, und Kinder”. I’m not saying Strauss would have approved of their ends. but I don’t see how he could argue much with their means.

This, incidentally, is why people keep getting the creepy Nazi/fascist vibe from the current administration – it has nothing to do with Bush being like Hitler, and everything to do with Bush being surrounded by dangerous, anti-humanist idealists who hold the simple minded rabble of this country in a paternalistic contempt.

Sorry for being longwided here….utlimately, I think what the neocons want is a nice, proud father figure to run this country on their terms. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Bush…in fact, I don’t think he’d even work at this point; his popularity is too damaged. If they can’t get Bush to work out, they’ll keep trying until they find the right guy. I doubt Bush will care much; he’s not really an idealist like some of these guys are. If not Bush, then someone else. The end result will be the same.

Consider the current administration their test run. Then think how much worse it will be once they’ve tweaked their operations to be more efficient.

1. The administration never brought him to justice and will now never get the chance.
2. There will now be no more videos with a tall, creepy tan dude reminding the American people that we’re in terrible danger and need the administration to protect us.

Does the Congressional Quarterly have a classifieds section?

Casting Call
One actor – video work for syndication. Non-union, uncredited.
Gender: Male
Age: 65+
Ethnicity: Brown
Hair: Gray
Build: 6’5″, lanky
Discretion a must. Firearms experience and fluency in Arabic a bonus. Send resume, head shot, classified security clearance to krove@whitehouse.gov.

Moreover, I don’t think Bush would want to stay in office. It isn’t fun anymore. Back when he first got elected and everybody loved him, he had the kewlest job ever. Even after 9/11, his approval ratings were high, everybody was totally nice to him, and all he really had to do was play a few rounds of Risk before retiring to his ranch to cut some brush. Now, though, people aren’t being nice to him, his administration is starting to be called on its crap, and his job is no longer awesome. I suspect he’s got January 2009 marked on his calendary with a big happy face sticker, because that’s when he can stop having to pretend to care about the country and start drawing government pension.

The scary thing to me is that when Bush is out of office, the real baby eaters – Rove, Cheney, Rumsfeld – will remain, and they’re the ones who have been pulling the strings of the administration all along. And the fact is, Gary Ruppert, that they don’t need Bush after 2008. All they need is some kind of world event serious enough to get the American people scared, but not serious enough that the American people realize how the administration has fallen down on the job of truly protecting them. Once they’ve got a brand-new puppet in the White House (and I’m not sure it would be John McCain; he drinks the Kool-Aid, but I think in the end, he’d be too capable of independent thought for them to control him consistently), they’ve already got legislation in place to give him, and through him, them, the power of a king. Same old administration, brand new puppety figurehead.

So don’t worry. I mean, yeah, we’re screwed, but it’s not going to happen like you’re thinking.

Why not? Sure let’s her off the hook…