the direr warnings about the US economy and the general state of the world are correct, maybe we should be glad that Obama's presidential campaign is in failure mode (see Loserville).

Two terms of the Bush/Cheney administration have pretty much destroyed the dollar, wrecked the US industrial base, emasculated the US military, undermined public faith in the legal system, wrecked the educational system, bankrupted working people, fired up many labor unions, bankrupted the government and threatened the retirement and Medicare systems.

Do we really want to now hand this mess over to a Democratic administration and a Democratic Congress?

All that will do is ensure that Democrats will end up having to confront, and in the end get the blame for the whole looming catastrophe, allowing the otherwise thoroughly discredited Republicans and neocons who created this disaster to come back claiming it was the fault of the liberals and their pinko friends.

A better idea might be to let the Republicans win it, and then have to deal with it and take the consequences.

Imagine President John McCain trying to invade Iran. Half the US armor is broken and waiting for repairs in junkyards of Iraq and Kuwait. Meanwhile, the Chinese might at any time just up and say they're unwilling to finance another US war.

Imagine John McCain trying to balance the budget, or better yet, rescue the dollar! He could raise interest rates, but that would tank the already stumbling economy. There's nothing he could cut in the budget that wouldn't cause a national riot. But on the other hand, if he lets the dollar keep sinking, we get massive inflation, because America doesn't make anything anymore; it's all imported.

Veterans are increasing in number, while their health services are being slashed, and the number of homeless vets is soaring. It won't be long before President McCain would be faced with a new bonus-march assault on Washington by angry vets, reminiscent of the one that followed WWI. Would he want to send Gen. Petraeus in, ala Gen. Douglas McArthur, to confront them? Would the federal troops open fire on their wounded and hurting brethren?

I can certainly see some merit to the idea that maybe now that Republicans have almost completely destroyed the America I grew up in, they should have to take the heat for what they have done. And there is going to be a lot of heat.

The only problem I have with this tantalizing notion is that there is also some real heat to worry about--global warming heat, and that's getting to a point of no return. Another four years of Republican no-nothingism on the environment could be fatal not just to America's future, but to humanity's future itself.

But then, it's probably too late for pro-active measures on climate change now anyhow. A thorough collapse of the US economy, with people no longer able to afford cars and gas to drive them, might do more to slow the global heating cycle than any measures that a Democratic Congress and administration might pass.

So that could work out for the best too.

America is a land founded upon greed (for all the grant rhetoric about inalienable rights, the revolution was basically about not wanting to pay taxes, after all, and that obsession appears not to have changed much down the years), developed through greed, and it looks like greed may ultimately destroy the place. Who better to deliver the coup de grace to a national economy than a guy who is so stinking rich he doesn't remember how many houses he owns? Who better to run the American Titanic into an iceberg than the Navy veteran son of two generations of admirals (especially one whose antics caused one of the biggest non-hostile disasters on a US aircraft carrier in history)? Who better to have to face the wrath of a nation than a guy who couldn't even stand up to a pantywaist bully of a president who had sucker-punched him repeatedly?

So I guess we can watch Obama channel Kerry and Gore with equanimity. The Republicans are going to get what they deserve anyhow, and we Americans, who bought the Kool-Aid for so long, will get ours too.
_______



About author
Dave Lindorff is the author of Killing Time: an Investigation into the Death Row Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal. His new book of columns titled "This Can't be Happening!" is published by Common Courage Press. Lindorff's new book is "The Case for Impeachment," co-authored by Barbara Olshansky.

He can be reached at: dlindorff@yahoo.com
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/16638

Can't wait to see you after the elections.

NOBAMA!!!!

America is a land founded upon greed (for all the grant rhetoric about inalienable rights, the revolution was basically about not wanting to pay taxes, after all, and that obsession appears not to have changed much down the years), developed through greed, and it looks like greed may ultimately destroy the place. Who better to deliver the coup de grace to a national economy than a guy who is so stinking rich he doesn't remember how many houses he owns? Who better to run the American Titanic into an iceberg than the Navy veteran son of two generations of admirals (especially one whose antics caused one of the biggest non-hostile disasters on a US aircraft carrier in history)? Who better to have to face the wrath of a nation than a guy who couldn't even stand up to a pantywaist bully of a president who had sucker-punched him repeatedly?
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/16638
I just love this paragraph

NOBAMA!!!!

all these threads are like a ventriloquist show

does anyone ever have an opinion that's not copied and pasted from somewhere else?

Its nice you have an opinion but some of us find good articles and put them out for comment, feel free not to read them if you do not like them but I would appreciat you keep your comments about the articles themselves and not the person who posts them

exactly

I'm just waiting for someone to actually say something

feel free to start your own well thought out thread.

nahhh somebody will just paste a bunch of articles on it

I think I became a cut and paste junky when I had to pull up facts to prove a point. Its so much easier than just saying I told you so. Today for example we had some guy posting abut all that old yellow cake left over in iraq since 91 as if it was something new and screaming how the media ignored it and this jsutified the war in IRAQ being it was yellowcake wmds type stuff. Well rather than argue with this person till Iwas blue in the face I posted the facts that the stuff was from 1991 and under lock and key since then, in Iraq though. A cut and paste is a fast efective way to inform someone and keep it from getting personal.

I wouldn't call them "good" articles my friend... Although SOME are interesting. They can be informative as long as we accept that they are only half the story. Face it Mad, your dems are guilty too. You like to spin everything on the republicans, but i never saw the dems do anything to help us in the last decade. In fact, the democrats, generally stand for consolidation of power. (Why they used to be called federalists.) Consolidation of power = easier for corruption. Not saying you are wrong about everything, just trying to paint a bigger picture for ya.

I have never claimed that dems were great but the fact remains they are far more pro labor and environement and worker safty than republicans are thats my main reason I support them, other than that not much differance

sorry, I didnt really mean to hijack the thread.

I enjoy the political threads. But it just seems that here instead of discussion there is just a competition of articles. And being the internet and no one has the attention span of a hammer. Nobody is going to actually read those longass articles.

By the way for the record, I'm apolitical. I think there is no difference between the parties other than selling out to competing special interests

You would be suprised what conversation/arguments take place over these articles that are gleaned from all over the world dropped in jsut for you to comment on, enjoy I am off

That's fair enough. We all have our reasons for supporting whom ever we want. You just tend to come off as biased from your articles. Always attacking the same people over and over and over, usually for everything under the sun. I don't like how repubs favor big business. I do think Bush is corrupt. I'm pretty sure McCain and Obama are as well. But i don't like how the dems are pushing for expansion of the federal government. I honestly think many of our problems would iron themselves out it we banned most of the federal programs, as well as the IRS and federal income tax, and let the states have more power. Deconsolidation of power. But no dem will give us that. The only a few repubs and independants support that as far as i've seen. (Hence why im leaning more towards independant.)

Well, I'm plenty sick of all of them...we the "workers" are "ALL screwed"...we missed our chance to fight long ago..to many selfish "m*TheR f*C*E*s"... sold us out long ago.

And most of us don't give you any flack about being dem, but if we are repub no matter what the reason, (less taxes and smaller government is my reason) you will call us neocon, warmonger, brainwashed, or one of many other names. You are a member of a political party that tryies to teach acceptance being it race, religion, sexual orientation etc, but you are not very tolerant of other peoples politicle opinions.

Sounds like a Ron Paul supporter to me

I am fairly tollerant of people who project themselves in a reasonable manner but when folks start in with religion or have scewed fox news type "facts" it creeps me out and sure I can lose patients just like anyone else