Is the Midwest in America Anymore?

With all the natural and manmadee disasters occuring in Japan, we cannot forget the assualt on AMerican Democracy occuring by newly elected "Tea Party" Republicans. It really sticks in my craw that these Authoritarian-Narcissists have the audacity to associate their astro-turf movement with the American Revolution.  Despite their continually blabbing about the American Revolution, it is obvious that Authoritarians neither know or understand much about it. Case in point: Michele Bachmann's twice stated belief that the Battles of Lexington and Concord were fought in New Hampshire. The details are not important, the co-opting of patriotic symbols by the ANs to deceive the ignorant and fearful is.

What's happening in Michigan underscores the real nature of the Authoritarian-Narcissist Axis.The new GOP governor is following the lead of King George III and pushing a law allowing him to suspend local government and remove elected officials! One of the things that set off the Revolutionary War was George and his ministers suspending the classic form of direct democracy, the New England town meeting.  He is also cutting aid and raising taxes on the most vulnerable in society while at the same time giving 1.8 billion is subsidies and tax breaks to the big businesses that paid for his election.

You see, the only right these people believe in is the absolute unfettered right to wealth and property, that is the initial right in their eyes. They believe that all other rights flow from that one and it follows that in their eyes that the extent of your rights is dependent on your wealth. This is the attitude to liberty held by Medieval European nobles.  When they say they are for limited government but then govern as authoritarians they are not being hypocritical, just disingenuous.  They believe in government alright, just not a democratic one.

The Democratic Party has been largely useless in realizing this and fighting it. The liberal activists have been up in arms and angry at the Dems, but only on the internet.  Seriously, do you think the snarketariat over at Wonkette, the hand-wringers at Huff-Po and Democratic Underground, and the easily spooked at Firedoglake really are any threat to the ANs?

Fortunately, the actual working and middle-class have taken things into their own hands, even farmers are joining the protests in Wisconsin.  The firefighters are starting to take their pension funds out of banks that fund the ANs' campaigns. The unions are far from perfect and still have problems with corruption and overpaid bureaucracy, but at least the rank and file is doing what they need to do. And some of those I bashed above are helping to some degree, but what they mainly give is the same moral and political support that the homefront provides to soldiers in the field.