Civil War, Anyone?

I haven't written about the whole bailout/financial crisis situation around here because economics is not my field of expertise. However, I do believe that the proposed $700 billion bailout is an incredible rip-off of American taxpayers and was glad to see it go down in flames on Monday. That the failure of the bill was a pie in the face to Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank was icing on the cake.

The best take I've read on the whole matter comes from Mike K., who has described the bailout as proof of fascism coming to Washington. He writes:

This bailout bill is very worrying. In the 1920s, Weimar Germany made two fatal decisions. One was to rearm with the assistance of the new Soviet Union. Germany was barred from having an Army General Staff, the innovation that had made the Prussian Army almost invincible. They were also severely limited in the size and composition of the German Army. The Soviets allowed German Army facilities and armament plants on their territory.

The second decision was to deal with the onerous provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, with respect to war reparations, by starting an inflation that quickly became hyperinflation. The result was a collapse of middle class confidence. The present housing crisis and the collapse of the financial services industry, due to political manipulation of rules on lending, has had a similar effect on the US middle class. They don’t realize it yet but this new legislation is the first step to fascism. Government, principally the Democratic party and its presidential nominee, is now empowered to choose winners and losers in the financial sector. These people already vote overwhelmingly for Democrats and contribute to Democrats. They have sent money to both sides but the people who created this crisis with CRA got the vast majority.

Mike K. also cites Obama's attempted use of Missouri law enforcement to silence political opponents as further evidence of a slide toward fascism.

During the past few days, for the first time since September 11, 2001, I have started to actually fear for the future of this country. Heaven help us if the American people panic and not only elect Obama president, but give him veto-proof Democratic majorities. Given Washington's attempts to take over the financial sector during the past week, plus the tactics of Obama's supporters - like those calling Sarah Palin a whore on Friday in east Philadelphia and the aforementioned threatening of political opponents in Missouri - I wonder if an Obama presidency might eventually lead us to a Zimbabwe-type situation with worthless currency, chronic shortages of essential items, and violent harassment of any political opposition.

And for those who may think I'm exaggerating about the murderous rage shown by many of Obama's "in your face" apparatchiks, consider these items cited at Michelle Malkin's blog, the first from a sidewalk in the Greenwood neighborhood in Seattle, and the second from the online store CafePress:



Do such people actually want to start a civil war? I wonder, because calls to "abort" a vice presidential candidate are hardly conducive to rational political discourse. Perhaps Tom Kratman, Theodore Judson, and Orson Scott Card are right, and the American Republic is indeed entering its final days.

Update:

Here are some kids singing for Dear Leader Obama:



Confederate Yankee has the background story.

"'Tis time to fear when tyrants seem to kiss." - William Shakespeare, Pericles, 1. 2