And I thought Bush Derangement Syndrome was out of hand.

Zitat

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Americans viewing the recent failed coup attempt in Turkey as some exotic foreign news story -- the latest, violent yet hardly unusual political development to occur in a region constantly beset by turmoil -- should pause to consider that the prospect of similar instability would not be unfathomable in this country if Donald Trump were to win the presidency.

Trump is the most brazenly authoritarian figure to secure the nomination of a major American political party. He expresses his support for all manner of strongmen, and his campaign manager, Paul Manafort, has actually worked for one: former Ukrainian president and Vladimir Putin ally Viktor Yanukovich. At the Republican National Convention here Monday, Manafort put some of the tricks he learned overseas as a dictator whisperer to good use, employing underhanded tactics to avoid a roll call vote on the convention’s rules package and quietly removing language from the party platform expressing support for Ukraine’s democratic aspirations.

Throughout the campaign, Trump has repeatedly bragged about ordering soldiers to commit war crimes, and has dismissed the possibility that he would face any resistance. “They won’t refuse,” he told Fox News’ Bret Baierearlier this year. “They’re not gonna refuse me. Believe me.” When Baier insisted that such orders are “illegal,” Trump replied, “I’m a leader. I’ve always been a leader. I’ve never had any problem leading people. If I say do it, they’re going to do it.”

Oh really? Blimpish swagger might fly within the patriarchal confines of a family business, a criminal operation (the distinction is sometimes blurred) or a dictatorship. It does not, however, work in a liberal democracy, legally grounded by a written constitution, each branch restrained by separation of powers.

Try to imagine, then, a situation in which Trump commanded our military to do something stupid, illegal or irrational. Something so dangerous that it put the lives of Americans and the security of the country at stake. (Trump’s former rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Marco Rubio, said the United States could not trust “the nuclear codes” to an “erratic individual.”) Faced with opposition from his military brass, Trump would perhaps reconsider and back down. But what if he didn’t?

In that case, our military men and women, who swear to uphold the Constitution and a civilian chain of command, would be forced to choose between obeying the law and serving the wishes of someone who has explicitly expressed his utter lack of respect for it.

They might well choose the former.

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http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-...snap-story.html

I don't know whether to be amused or frightened by this guy. Note this is meant to be a serious piece in a major publication. One thing for sure, Trump drives his critics to heights of hysterical rhetoric.

I just saw this on another forum and was going to post it here. Amazing, isn't it.

He's not wrong, though. Statists ARE NOT used to not getting their way, and the election of Trump will present to them a dilemma.

Liberals: When they don't get their way, they call the media. If that doesn't work, they call an election. If they lose the election, they go to the courts. (They rarely lose, there)

Their heads may be exploding after November.

He's putting it out there in the public arena.

It's funny, I was just remarking this morning to my sister that the freaks will be attempting a coup if Trump wins...now this article.

We would all do well to tend to our gardens.

A coup? By who? They gonna declare the whole U.S a 'gun free zone'? 'Cause last time I looked, WE had all the guns...