A Military Coup in the US of A? What?
Tom Maguire calls it:
the silliest thing I read today, or maybe this year. The military effecting a civilized, bloodless coup because they don’t like the current leadership?
Ed Morrissey echoes his thoughts and adds, “It’s a lunatic fantasy straight out of Greek theater.” John Perry, a supposedly conservative columnist at Newsmax is talking about a military intervention here to “defend the constitution” in response to the President’s dithering on Afghanistan. You don’t defend the constitution by making civilian authority subservient to the military. That undermines one of its animating ideas, one which George Washington himself particularly appreciated.
In the spirit of the Father of our Country, Morrissey offers a better alternative to Obama’s dithering:
The alternative, non-violent solution is the one we’ve been using for 220 years: elections. We have another coming in 2010. If the American people get fed up with the direction of this government, then we will change it in the midterms. We do not need our military to rescue us from ourselves, thank you very much.
One might excuse this kind of nihilism if it came from a college freshman who had no sense of his own nation’s history, but this comes from a man who served two White House administrations. There is simply no excuse for this hankering for a banana republic in America from someone who should know much, much better.The alternative, non-violent solution is the one we’ve been using for 220 years: elections. We have another coming in 2010.
Extremists on the right aren’t the only ones to harbor fantasies of military intervention. Morrissey notes that Gore Vidal, a gifted writer, but conspiracy-minded leftist also imagines a military dictatorship. Well, okay, then.
Obama has been blundering badly on any number of issues, but he was elected for four-year term. Military intervention is not the solution to our nation’s problems. Not the proper response to a flailing Administration. And that someone claiming to be a conservative would suggest as much indicates a man unfamiliar with the ideas of the ideology he ostensibly espouses.
UPDATE: Despite left-wing attempts to call Perry a mainstream conservative (see the comments below), he is anything but:
The fact of the matter is that John L. Perry is not a conservative. In fact his bio page says that he’s worked for Jimmy Carter, a Democrat governor of Florida and other Democrat Party institutions.
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Damn,
We’ve not come to that. Heck Dan, you forgot impeachment. I mean while it would be useless (look at the ‘he did it, but i’m not voting for impeachment’ crowd) it is the other step.
Oh, and just to be sure, pre-emptive Tano strike here.
It works best if you shout it like an anime character doing his martial arts move. “PRE_EMPTIVE TANO STRIKE!” *wham!*
Comment by The_Livewire — September 30, 2009 @ 1:01 pm - September 30, 2009
The idea is ludicrous. If you want to see how much so read John Ringo’s ‘The Last Centurion’ to see how much it would have to go for it to start to fray even a little bit.
Comment by Silverwolf — September 30, 2009 @ 1:21 pm - September 30, 2009
When a jihadi suicide pilot detonates an Iranian-supplied nuke over DC, this will all become moot.
Comment by V the K — September 30, 2009 @ 1:27 pm - September 30, 2009
Aren’t you just a chickenshit s.o.b. Oh sure, a “respected” conservative Republican calls for a military coup, and you attempt to equivocate it by saying “well, so did Gore Vidal.” Chickenshit. That’s what you are, chickenshit.
Comment by Houston — September 30, 2009 @ 1:49 pm - September 30, 2009
#3 I’m prepared for that. Rewatching Dark Angel for just such an emergency.
Comment by The_Livewire — September 30, 2009 @ 2:23 pm - September 30, 2009
Food for thought: a large percentage of my leftish friends were convinced – convinced like metaphyisical certitude – that Bush would declare a state of emergency and continue ruling as a despot. Has anyone seen any polling on this? Or is it just the low-rent quality of the Bolsheviks I pal around with?
Best wishes,
-MFS
Comment by MFS — September 30, 2009 @ 2:43 pm - September 30, 2009
The Gay Patriot is pissed he isn’t allowed to join in the right’s military coup reindeer games.
After the military ousts Obama, the Gay Patriot’s ass is next in the firing line.
Comment by Rolf Peeters — September 30, 2009 @ 2:46 pm - September 30, 2009
We are going to see more and more of this tripe. The further we get in to Obama’s term and the more and more he fouls up, the more the left will start jumping at shadows. they have been so desperate to have power they are actually afraid to lose it…
The far left has always feared the military, since the 60’s their venomous hatred has been worn on their sleeves and around their necks. Maybe it’s because the military and it’s supporters are seen as the only ones who stand between them and this total utopia they dream of (yes that sounds conspiratorial in an of it’s self).
All I can say is if the military did not go in to full revolt under Clinton and his rape of the budget and dismantlement of the greatest fighting force in the world, I doubt the military will turn on obama over health care and because the war in Afghanistan…
Besides… if it’s the military why would they go bloodless? I mean you have all the cool stuff that makes things go boom… use them..
Just my opinion.
Comment by Stone K — September 30, 2009 @ 2:55 pm - September 30, 2009
The US is about the most “military coup”-proof nation amongst the industrial powers. The military officer corps is drawn from primarily the middle and lower-middle classes through the offer of free education, the troops are mostly middle-class volunteers and many long-service professionals…and half the units are National Guard formations with strong regional-cohesion and local command-and-control. And our home-based Regulars are primarily barracks far from population centers…and the domestic population is armed to the teeth compared to almost any nation, including Switzerland.
The common Left-wing scenario of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs leading a successful coup is belied by the reality he’d probably be among the first to shoot the plotters if they seized the Oval Office. And the General and Flag Ranks are full of well educated professionals most with advanced degrees in Law, Poli. Sci., History and otyer very-practical studies. Today, you almost can’t become a Major General or Vice Admiral with out a Ph.D…or two.
Comment by Ted B. — September 30, 2009 @ 3:01 pm - September 30, 2009
I could only see the military stepping in if there were a total collapse of the government or a serious threat to the Constitution from a coup attempt by other forces. And by “serious threat” I mean direct subversion, not the alleged consequences of policy differences that can be colored by partisanship. As much as I disagree with President Obama, to even suggest such in this case is try buffoonery.
Of course if memory serves, many on the Left were making the same claim about Dubya. Some “coup plotter” he turned out to be…
Comment by John — September 30, 2009 @ 3:14 pm - September 30, 2009
While I admit it’s extreme, as a serious student of history, particularly military history, I have entertained this idea as well.
Hussein bin Obama is not merely a liberal. He’s a far-left idealogue, with very real anti-American views. In my humble opinion, Obama is unfit to be the US President.
He is anti-free market economics – the cornerstone of our country. He is a near pacifist. He has repeatedly insulted this nation, it’s history and it’s people, over and over.
He needs to go in my opinion. One way or another, he needs to go.
Comment by rssg — September 30, 2009 @ 3:16 pm - September 30, 2009
Hmm, Houston, you do have projection issues. While you call the Perry a “respected” conservative, most serious conservatives are denouncing his piece. I’m hardly equivocating, but you do have a nice manner of communication: name-calling.
But, thank you (and to Rolf as well) for helping confirm one of my points about our left-wing critics, ever eager to ignore our points and instead attack us personally.
Comment by B. Daniel Blatt — September 30, 2009 @ 3:44 pm - September 30, 2009
Like the liberals used to say not so long ago, can we have a recall vote now?
Comment by ThatGayConservative — September 30, 2009 @ 3:57 pm - September 30, 2009
“can we have a recall vote now?”
Yes and you would lose.
As insane as this might make you, Obama is still popular
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/09/polls-despite-seemingly-rough-few-months-obama-can-smile.php?ref=fpb
Comment by gillie — September 30, 2009 @ 4:47 pm - September 30, 2009
Good post, BDB. Nice to see a conservative blog starting to call the extremist right on its insanity.
Comment by torrentprime — September 30, 2009 @ 5:32 pm - September 30, 2009
Gillie: Recall of the president is unconstitutional but you may be right. Guess what? It appears that the American appetite for divided government is returning. Obama’s poll numbers won’t save the Dems in Congress. So I suppose we get to enjoy the best and worst that divided government brings until 2012 or 2016.
Comment by John — September 30, 2009 @ 6:37 pm - September 30, 2009
Dan: Just wait, some liberal will point out that “duh! this is why he is a neo-con!”, i.e. someone who used to be liberal and then supposedly went conservative. This kind of nonsense makes for a great fictional novel but in the real world it’s just lunacy and sure as hell has NOTHING to do with conservatism!
Comment by John — September 30, 2009 @ 6:39 pm - September 30, 2009
[...] A Military Coup in the US of A? What? [...]
Pingback by Wednesday, September 30, 2009 — ExposeTheMedia.com — September 30, 2009 @ 7:25 pm - September 30, 2009
Not a conservative???
puh-leeze
his name of the column? “Right Angles”
Newsmax’s mission statement:
“largest independent monthly with a conservative perspective.”
Give it a rest and admidt. The right is unhinged and likely has “jumped the shark”
Comment by gillie — September 30, 2009 @ 9:36 pm - September 30, 2009
It doesn’t matter if he’s a lib or con: The only way it would matter is if one person–and an obscure person at that–could define a whole movement.
(Also, he wrote for a conservative site.)
His article was stupid regardless of whether he was a con or lib.
Comment by Mitchell Blatt — September 30, 2009 @ 10:30 pm - September 30, 2009
Well surely you have no problem finding actual evidence of your claim, right?
Comment by ThatGayConservative — September 30, 2009 @ 10:33 pm - September 30, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/opinion/30friedman.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
Comment by bob (aka boob) — September 30, 2009 @ 10:34 pm - September 30, 2009
Awww, Bob, how sweet of you.
You post *another* link to someone who laments we don’t have a central government, then is afraid of free speech.
Then again, for a Facist like you, I’m not surprised.
Comment by The_Livewire — October 1, 2009 @ 7:07 am - October 1, 2009
Well surely you have no problem finding actual evidence of your claim, right?
Comment by ThatGayConservative — October 1, 2009 @ 7:27 am - October 1, 2009
#22: What a shock. bob cites to Thomas Friedman, slobbering admirer of the advantages of authoritarian rule in China:
“One-party autocracy certainly has its drawbacks. But when it is led by a reasonably enlightened group of people, as China is today, it can also have great advantages. That one party can just impose the politically difficult but critically important policies needed to move a society forward in the 21st century.”
Translation: Totalitarianism is a fabulous idea, it just hasn’t worked before because the wrong people were in charge.
Hmmm. Where have I heard that before?
Comment by Sean A — October 1, 2009 @ 11:40 am - October 1, 2009