OP-ED A Military Coup in the U.S.? A Surprising Number of Americans Might Support One

[Housecarl]

Hummm......Anyone else get a chill, in a bad way, from reading this? Regardless of the source of the article and survey it gives me one.....

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2015/...Surprising-Number-Americans-Might-Support-One

A Military Coup in the U.S.? A Surprising Number of Americans Might Support One

By Millie Dent
September 10, 2015

Imagine you’re watching the evening news, kicking back after a long day in the cubicle. Suddenly a breaking news alert flashes across the screen: “Military Coup Overthrows the Government.” What would be your reaction?

While most Americans say they can’t imagine supporting a takeover of the government by the armed forces, or least aren’t sure about it, a substantial number of people say they can imagine supporting the military in such a scenario.

In a new survey by YouGov, 29 percent of respondents said they can imagine a situation in which they would support the military taking control of the federal government – that translates into over 70 million American adults. Forty-one percent of respondents said could not imagine supporting the military taking over the country.

Related: With $8.5 Trillion Unaccounted for, Why should Congress Increase the Defense Budget?

Republicans (43 percent) were more likely to say they can envision a scenario in which they could support a military coup than Democrats (20 percent). Perhaps that difference is related to having a Democratic president who some critics on the right see as overstepping his power.

Regardless of political ideology, one reason people might support a military coup is because they respect officers in the military far more than they do people in Congress. According to the same YouGov survey, almost three-quarters (70 percent) of respondents believe that military officers want what is best for the country, while only 29 percent think the same of members of Congress.

Lawmakers better shape up or they might be shipped out -- literally.

http://d2n114696xot9z.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/Military Coup.png

 

[Chance]

WOOHOO!

Can they do it now?

Chance

 

[billet]

Where do I cast my vote!!!!!

 

[dhelman47]

It is about time please please do not delay.

 

[Hognutz]

As longgas it is to restore The Constitutional Republic......ok.

A military junta? Not so much.

 

[Melodi]

Trust me, they (and most of you) probably won't like it much six months into the process; military juntas have a tendency to start out with altruistic motives and then quickly end up like most politicians in desire to cling to power. Unlike the average congress critter (or even President, yes even the current one) they have lots of big guns, money and not a lot of checks and balances on how they use them.

Once in a very-very-very great while, you get a leader like the man who in 1956 came to power in Venezuela this way because as a General he wanted to restore democracy and he did; that first election had guns pointing at anyone causing trouble in the toll booths; but he did not run for office himself and he stepped down in favor of the elected winner. This lead to Venezuela being a democratic republic (one of the only ones in South America) for decades until Chavez took over in another military junta after first being elected the usual way.

Military juntas almost always suspend all constitutions, all civil rights of any kind and they really mean this; reporters are jailed or killed (outright, not just behind the scenes) anyone disagreeing with the party line is often subject to abrupt execution on the stop or hauled off to torture chambers or prison camps (real ones, not a "is the government planning something" but real time and now one).

Religious faith may be "ordered" to be one thing or another; this is fine if it happens to be yours, if it isn't not such a good idea and even approved faiths are usually told what and how to preach and what not too (again under pain of disappearing).

I could go on, but any close look at a history book that takes a serious look at like under any military dictatorship from two-bit banana republics to the National Socialist Party; will bring up the highlights of what living under these regimes is like.

It isn't something I would joke about; no matter how mess up modern Western republics are, military states are usually worse; you can even look up the "plans" drawn up by the Nixon administration that toyed with such a take over - a lot of people discovered afterwards that they were on official "Enemies lists" who would be targeted to "go away" in the first days of such an operation; and while some were obviously a lot of folks were pretty shocked to discover they were targets too.

East Germany is another great example of how these systems work, as of course is Mao's China or Stalin's Russia...not where I would want to live, thank you very much.

 

[DazedandConfused]

As longgas it is to restore The Constitutional Republic......ok.

A military junta? Not so much.

^^^This^^^

 

[Mr. Peabody]

There is a significant reason this situation is being addressed or discussed. 20 years ago this certainly was not in anyones brain cells because the gov was not considered as being tyrannical, it was still considered controlled and managed by the republic form which it was founded. To even think about this was seditious.

Today this is a logical question. It was a logical question of the framer's as well. Jefferson himself envisioned every 20 years or so that a revolution of sorts would be necessary for the people to realign the gov, to bring it back in line, because he knew man will eventually abuse the powers of one or more of the branches. The only variable in the revolution was just how bloody it would be.

The fine line here is sedition. At what point does the actions to change the course of government become seditious? Basically, those that control the power to enforce, control the meaning of sedition.

 

[OldArcher]

Depends upon whether HNIC attempts to render the Constitution null and void, and as dictator/tyrant, rule by decree... If this were the case, yes, I'd support those seeking to return the nation to the Constitution. It might then be a race between patriots, as to who can apprehend and hang all the traitors, including all those who went against the Constitution...

Got rope?

Maranatha

OA

 

[Housecarl]

There is a significant reason this situation is being addressed or discussed. 20 years ago this certainly was not in anyones brain cells because the gov was not considered as being tyrannical, it was still considered controlled and managed by the republic form which it was founded. To even think about this was seditious.

Today this is a logical question. It was a logical question of the framer's as well. Jefferson himself envisioned every 20 years or so that a revolution of sorts would be necessary for the people to realign the gov, to bring it back in line, because he knew man will eventually abuse the powers of one or more of the branches. The only variable in the revolution was just how bloody it would be.

The fine line here is sedition. At what point does the actions to change the course of government become seditious? Basically, those that control the power to enforce, control the meaning of sedition.

Back them, and earlier, I recall "the old" Cold War CoG plans and orders being discussed, which aside from the contingency bringing them into action, were effectively a military take over with a civilian government venire.

 

[Dozdoats]

you can even look up the "plans" drawn up by the Nixon administration that toyed with such a take over - a lot of people discovered afterwards that they were on official "Enemies lists" who would be targeted to "go away" in the first days of such an operation; and while some were obviously a lot of folks were pretty shocked to discover they were targets too

The only difference between then and now is that now, the lists are in digital format.

 

[Bullwinkle]

Why get excited about chasing out one set of tyrants with another set of tyrants?
Before the ink was dry on that magic parchment you love called the Constitution, George Washington
raised a larger army than he had a few years earlier in the war of independence to put down a tax rebellion. The Whiskey Rebellion.
Did you read about Shea's Rebellion? The War of northern aggression was about collecting confiscatory taxes from the Southern States.
The first 'police' were NYNY street gangs paid to protect the corrupt politicians from the protesting citizens in the early 1800s.
Today the so called police kill at least 3 people/day enforcing every arbitrary rule of the politicians.

Through out history, EVERY new government coming in has been worse than the old government kicked out.

After the military kill the politicians, they will kill and control you!
You do not know what you are cheering for.

 

[robinray649]

As longgas it is to restore The Constitutional Republic......ok.

A military junta? Not so much.

If they do this then yes, I would support it. Again I will say we as a country and people are in despite trouble. The government as such today does not support a Constitutional Republic but rather a dictatorship. It like the mudslim in the white house now and his feeling about the Constitution. He wants to do away with it as it is an old dead document. It is a document of don'ts and he is right. No body in the current government seems to think they have to obey the laws of the land except when it benefits them. A major reset is going to have to happen it seems in order to bring our government back in line with the Constitution. If things don't change then I see very sad and very harsh days ahead for our country.

 

[Dozdoats]

ANYTHING of that nature (a coup) that happens in this nation is apt to produce a long, simmering, nasty, vicious, low level, long term, ongoing conflict. Unless I am wrong in my analysis of such things of course. The best we are apt to get out of it as near as I can tell is a balkanization of the FUSA into several regions, and in some of those regions the conflict is likely to be limited to the border areas once the 'internal' problems are settled. Other regions will be "no go" areas, at least for certain people, likely for a lifetime or two if not more.

Do not expect the FUSA military to remain in a unified cohesive bloc should that happen. It will splinter ... and various factions will certainly 'take their toys and go home.'

And there will likely be issues with foreign involvements as well. If we cannot/will not protect our border integrity now - we CERTAINLY will not be doing it then, unless it is done on a regional basis by whatever force structure emerges from the chaos.

 

[Medical Maven]

If the current leftist coup continues on its path, and they finish off the last vestiges of the constitutional rule of law, come for our firearms, and they continue to keep wide open borders so as to flood the homeland and exterminate our culture and DNA, THEN we have nothing to lose by having a countercoup.

We might as well trade the current tyrant for another that might better preserve our culture and DNA. And who knows? A miracle might happen, and the new tyrant might try to reinstitute the Constitution with amendments to prevent what is happening now. In other words, reinstating federalism, firming-up the Checks and Balances, and sharply limiting what the Supreme Court can do.

Coup/Countercoup. And let's not forget REVENGE.

 

[Mr. Peabody]

The best we are apt to get out of it as near as I can tell is a balkanization of the FUSA into several regions, and in some of those regions the conflict is likely to be limited to the border areas once the 'internal' problems are settled.

This is quite possibly the only cure for the disease. Look at the KY clerk threads, the answer to the mil coup question arose out of the total divisiveness caused by a tyrannical government in ALL three branches. Balkanization by states saying enough is enough has been done before. It is only a question of how much pressure those that control the mil wish to impose on the particular group of states.

And there will likely be issues with foreign involvements as well. If we cannot/will not protect our border integrity now - we CERTAINLY will not be doing it then, unless it is done on a regional basis by whatever force structure emerges from the chaos.

This is the major danger. This is 100% true to the core of why any nation would be best suited to stay intact. But hey, staying intact now in our situation (we already lost) isn't so rosey.

 

[imaginative]

 

[willowlady]

Anybody here read Gibbons "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire?" When the military is in charge, you have a serious case of wag-the-dog, and they don't give up control easily. That said, if this question had been asked 40 years ago, I wouldn't have had a problem with it, since I believe our military at that time took seriously their oath. Now, not so much. Understand, that a military take-over will become SOP one day, but it won't be a helpful thing for the country.

 

[Zinnia]

Trust me, they (and most of you) probably won't like it much six months into the process; military juntas have a tendency to start out with altruistic motives and then quickly end up like most politicians in desire to cling to power. Unlike the average congress critter (or even President, yes even the current one) they have lots of big guns, money and not a lot of checks and balances on how they use them.

Once in a very-very-very great while, you get a leader like the man who in 1956 came to power in Venezuela this way because as a General he wanted to restore democracy and he did; that first election had guns pointing at anyone causing trouble in the toll booths; but he did not run for office himself and he stepped down in favor of the elected winner. This lead to Venezuela being a democratic republic (one of the only ones in South America) for decades until Chavez took over in another military junta after first being elected the usual way.

Military juntas almost always suspend all constitutions, all civil rights of any kind and they really mean this; reporters are jailed or killed (outright, not just behind the scenes) anyone disagreeing with the party line is often subject to abrupt execution on the stop or hauled off to torture chambers or prison camps (real ones, not a "is the government planning something" but real time and now one).

Religious faith may be "ordered" to be one thing or another; this is fine if it happens to be yours, if it isn't not such a good idea and even approved faiths are usually told what and how to preach and what not too (again under pain of disappearing).

I could go on, but any close look at a history book that takes a serious look at like under any military dictatorship from two-bit banana republics to the National Socialist Party; will bring up the highlights of what living under these regimes is like.

It isn't something I would joke about; no matter how mess up modern Western republics are, military states are usually worse; you can even look up the "plans" drawn up by the Nixon administration that toyed with such a take over - a lot of people discovered afterwards that they were on official "Enemies lists" who would be targeted to "go away" in the first days of such an operation; and while some were obviously a lot of folks were pretty shocked to discover they were targets too.

East Germany is another great example of how these systems work, as of course is Mao's China or Stalin's Russia...not where I would want to live, thank you very much.

Melodi is right.All we need to do is study history, in order to see how these things work out.

 

[Doat]

Military Coup? No, the worst thing ever. How did THEY gain control? Smoke and mirrors, there people in the right places. Nothing is gained by the destruction of war. As humans we haven't learned that yet.

 

[Medical Maven]

Better Dead than Red. And there are far worse things than civil war. There are extermination camps. That is where we are going inexorably. If you want to live as cowering slaves and wish that upon your children and grandchildren, then you have ceased to be an American.

 

[Jeff B.]

Trust me, they (and most of you) probably won't like it much six months into the process; military juntas have a tendency to start out with altruistic motives and then quickly end up like most politicians in desire to cling to power...

I believe this is true.

Joining the military doesn't magically create a belief or respect for the Constitution.

Keep in mind that there have been almost eight years of ongoing cleansing within the DOD. Many of the Flag Officers who were clearly antagonistic to Obama and his agenda or who had the persona to coalesce opposition are gone, retired and out of the way. At worst, they pop up on a news channel and disparage the Administration. In addition to that, mind that the Junior Officers of today are probably a great deal more inclined to be Progressively oriented than ten years ago.

A military coup would not be a solution for our problems. Even the inevitable separation of the United States into autonomous regions won't solve all of our problem, it'll simply remove some of the worst. IMO, we'll see the break up when there is some "black swan" event that overcomes the Fed.Gov's capabilities and State Governments have to step up to maintain order and function. At that point, the ability of the Fed.Gov to dictate to the States will be at its low ebb and some State will decide that it's going to change the rules. And, that will spread, leaving us with at least two political entities, possibly more.

Jeff B.

 

[Vtshooter]

Better Dead than Red. And there are far worse things than civil war. There are extermination camps. That is where we are going inexorably. If you want to live as cowering slaves and wish that upon your children and grandchildren, then you have ceased to be an American.

The way society, in general, has turned, our grandchildren will be slaves, only not cowering. Unknowing. Because everything happening will seem completely normal. The re-education of America.

 

[Coulter]

Better Dead than Red. And there are far worse things than civil war. There are extermination camps. That is where we are going inexorably. If you want to live as cowering slaves and wish that upon your children and grandchildren, then you have ceased to be an American.

Great poll question

What percent chance to you believe that a sizeable number of Americans are going to be sent to concentration camps within the very near future.

At this moment I would say 99% within the next 5 years.

 

[ParanoidNot]

I agree with Melodi. We need look no further than history to see the future of a military takeover. By the way, hasn't O been pruning the military leadership of anyone that he disagrees with. What could possibly go wrong there?

We just need to get a new House leader that isn't a raging alcoholic, and a Senate leader that isn't a closet socialist.

The poll does reflect a very strong shift in the mental thinking of a majority of Americans who view the current government as betraying them.

Gun sales are up. Also, apparently, is the willingness to engage in violence to reverse the situation. Military takeovers can be bloodless, but . . . .

 

[Mr. Peabody]

We the People are only feared by the despots when We the People become determined to reign in the current government and re-form it back into a Constitutional Republic again. The Constitution is currently dead, may it RIP. The only parts of it that remotely remain alive are those parts that can be manipulated by the current government establishment, like anti-seditious activities, religious zealots that won't accept "others" and those who are perceived to be armed and dangerous because they put far too much emphasis on believing the 2nd Amendment is for the citizenry to protect themselves from government abuse.

The USA is divided, geographically, morally, and politically (socialist-capitalist-communist-God fearing-God hating-Constitution loving- "what the hell is that old parchment mean to me anyway")

Where in history has any modern nation ever recovered and gone back to a stable and just form of government? It can't happen. That's why the word "revolution" is in the dictionary. Now it is just a matter of what kind of revolution. Mil coup or civilian uprising. Either way, the mil decides the outcome in situations like this.

 

[Jubilation T. Cornpone]

Be Careful What You Wish For

That knife cuts both ways.

 

[Medical Maven]

The way society, in general, has turned, our grandchildren will be slaves, only not cowering. Unknowing. Because everything happening will seem completely normal. The re-education of America.

What you say is somewhat true. But many will be cowering if what they say in public can land them in jail, saying things that are against the party line. I don't think the human spirit can adjust to that unless you are a party drone. And they will have to grovel and ingratiate themselves to the party in order to be employed in the legitimate economy, (what is left of it). And then there are women who are attractive that will be plucked out of the crowd, just like they were in Iraq during Sadaam Hussein's regime. There will eventually be zero checks on the abuse meted out by the party elites.

Totalitarianism can never be lightly borne unless you are part of the inner circle, and even there you always have to watch your back, ideological purges, etc.

You have to realize that once the Constitutional Checks and Balances are totally gutted, and that we have a Constitution in name only, that the sky is the limit as far as the abuses that will be perpetrated at will.

In other words, things will not stop where you think they will. The slide will quicken until we have arrived at total uncompromising TYRANNY.

 

[L.A.B.]

Do we have the luxury of 15 more months of change? What do the guys who game World SITREP see in our future?

If the CONgress and SINate were constitutionalist and not party favors, and did their jobs for the last 27 years; we would not be reading articles like this today. Right now the constitution is so FUBAR...

The right of the people to remain entirely indifferent about their collective future is eroding faster than the attempts to outright enslave them. Where will that poll read in six months...?

 

[gawarriorqueen]

There are those who contend that this actually happened (with variation) in November 1963. Just sayin'.

 

[Medical Maven]

That knife cuts both ways.

Just so I can keep a knife in my hand and not descend to the status of a cringing slave.

 

[Medical Maven]

Where do you think Obummer would have stopped, if all of the brakes were removed, instead of just some? If he had total control over all media, the internet, etc.?

People would be disappearing. Lots of them. Doors would be kicked down for firearms, all of them. I know that man. He is a TYRANT. And he would be a mass killer, if he could get away with it.

 

[Mr. Peabody]

And then there are women who are attractive that will be plucked out of the crowd, just like they were in Iraq during Sadaam Hussein's regime. There will eventually be zero checks on the abuse meted out by the party elites.

And in HNIC case, young boys...

 

[Palmetto]

Where do you think Obummer would have stopped, if all of the brakes were removed, instead of just some? If he had total control over all media, the internet, etc.?

People would be disappearing. Lots of them. Doors would be kicked down for firearms, all of them. I know that man. He is a TYRANT. And he would be a mass killer, if he could get away with it.

The Constitution is dead. The Courts give widow dressing every so often on cases that really don't matter but it is dead.

The post above is spot on. It may not be Obama, but some POTUS down the road will turn into that tyrant.

I don't think TPTB want a civil war until most of the Viet Nam vets and people my age are too old. I think they are utilizing the slow boil approach.

A Coup? Maybe with Reagans army but not the army of today.

The game is just about over folks.

The only viable solution I see is the Secession of Free States and a Soviet style breakup.

I agree with LAB, we may not make it through the next 15 months.

JMO


ETA. It is my opinion that TPTB attempted to see how far they could push the stone with Obama at the helm. I also believe that they were emboldened at how little resistance he received.

 

[dstraito]

Would it really be a coup if the directive was specified in our Declaration Of Independence?

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

 

[Dozdoats]

until we have arrived at total uncompromising TYRANNY.

What many people seem not to understand is, that is the plan regardless of the impediments cast in its way.

It is my opinion that TPTB attempted to see how far they could push the stone with Obama at the helm. I also believe that they were emboldened at how little resistance he received.

I believe Palmetto is exactly correct ... and that the lack of significant resistance so far, in the minds of the current administration and their masters, constitutes tacit approval for further abuses.

There either is or is not an intolerable level of abuse up with which Americans will put. We are now deeply involved in the process of determining what is the case in that regard. No matter what, the outcome will not be pretty. We are too far gone for 'pretty.'

 

[Mr. Peabody]

The evidence that this discussion is taking place shows we are in a world of despair. No one other than the far left Marxist would entertain this absurd thought just 10 years ago.

But as Gerald Celente says, "When the people have nothing more to lose, they lose it"!!! This is todays reality. It's just a matter now of how the pieces will fall.

"They" attacked our foundational beliefs and marginalized the remnants of Constitutional believers from the masses into a corner. Of those, they further divided using God.

They voided the Constitution. They took all wealth and enslaved most of the country. Those that cling to the Constitution are self defeating in this new world where only the defeated would chain themselves to a dead document. Unless of course there is a "revolution" to return to normal...

This is the SOP of any despot/tyrant. These intrusive actions will not and CAN NOT stop. This is their opportunity they have planned for. They are in control and will NEVER relinquish it.

The choices are few. There is no nice reset. There is no gradual reversal to normalcy of a Constitutional Republic. There only remains the time when the masses, unlike those that truly understand today, realize they are slaves.

 

[Plain Jane]

Military coup would be a huge mistake. Secession does not have to look like it did in 1860. Work at state and local levels to remove Federal programs, dollars etc. There will be those that say, "But we paid those taxes!". Anybody who has worked in the public sector knows, a state or municipality could refuse those federal funds, go their own way, be far more efficient and get better results than complying with Federal regs. Life would be less complex, more pleasant, and more prosperous. The example set for others would be profound.

 

[pinkelsteinsmom]

There are all kinds of revolutions, we have just gone through one starting in 08 and he has purged the military of most of the good guys and replaced them with moslems and secret moslems.

A military coup IMHO now would be Obola's group taking hold of the throne for HIM!

It's coming no matter what, the left has absolutely destroyed america and 15 more months of pouring OTW moslems into america will mean a civil war where millions will die.

Trumps popularity is scaring the crap out of them for they know if he takes the WH, many will swing. They will pull something spectacular off in order to stop him and remain in control.

God help us.

 

[Be Well]

There is a significant reason this situation is being addressed or discussed. 20 years ago this certainly was not in anyones brain cells because the gov was not considered as being tyrannical, it was still considered controlled and managed by the republic form which it was founded. To even think about this was seditious.

Today this is a logical question. It was a logical question of the framer's as well. Jefferson himself envisioned every 20 years or so that a revolution of sorts would be necessary for the people to realign the gov, to bring it back in line, because he knew man will eventually abuse the powers of one or more of the branches. The only variable in the revolution was just how bloody it would be.

The fine line here is sedition. At what point does the actions to change the course of government become seditious? Basically, those that control the power to enforce, control the meaning of sedition.

A military takeover on the side of the current elites would of course be nightmare number one. But since that is not what is being posed, it would be a military takeover against the elites. That is a very different picture.

So.......