To my liberal friends.

There are people out there who hate this country. There are people out there who are, literally, discussing the possibility of a military coup against a duly elected president as though it were a desirable outcome:

There is a remote, although gaining, possibility America’s military will intervene as a last resort to resolve the “Obama problem.” Don’t dismiss it as unrealistic.

America isn’t the Third World. If a military coup does occur here it will be civilized. That it has never happened doesn’t mean it wont.

Let's open that statement up. We are a mostly civilized republic with a set of democratic methods in place to choose our government. We do this every other year. We have changes in our legislative branch more frequently than any other civilized nation (British gov'ts are required to call elections every 5 years, The French are also on a 5 year cycle). And yet, there is talk that "patriotic general and flag officers [will] sit down with the president, or with those who control him, and work out the national equivalent of a “family intervention,” with some form of limited, shared responsibility." Let that sink in.

Has it? John L. Perry is advocating treason. There's no way around it. Despite his pro forma claim that "Describing what may be afoot is not to advocate it," he is putting it on the table as a legitimate option. Newsmax speaks for a portion of the conservative base, one that's become more and more active of late. And why does he want a coup?

Top military officers can see the Constitution they are sworn to defend being trampled as American institutions and enterprises are nationalized.

Officers who failed to stage a coup after the Patriot Act, a far more destructive and unconstitutional measure than anything Obama has done or, really, is likely to do, was passed.

They can see that the economy — ravaged by deficits, taxes, unemployment, and impending inflation — is financially reliant on foreign lender governments.

Deficits run up by Geo. W. Bush, due mostly to his expansion of the class war against working Americans.

They can see this president waging undeclared war on the intelligence community, without whose rigorous and independent functions the armed services are rendered blind in an ever-more hostile world overseas and at home.

Because we recently reaffirmed what we thought we could take for granted, and said that torture is something that Americans don't fucking do.

They can see the horror of major warfare erupting simultaneously in two, and possibly three, far-flung theaters before America can react in time.

Due, in no small part, to the gutting of the diplomatic corps and the waging of a war of choice which seemed to provoke no proto-treason from these alleged patriots.

They can see the nation’s safety and their own military establishments and honor placed in jeopardy as never before.

That last bit, by the way, makes this notional coup a sectional rebellion, which the founders were sure would end in tyranny. So, while I hope, and am fairly certain that Mr. Perry is just shooting his mouth off (as he has every right to do), I just want to point out that this is now on the table. Someone writing in a publication aimed at the conservative base has put out the idea that a military coup is a legitimate option.

Let's count all the successful democracies that have had military coups. Spain had one that ended in a bloody civil war followed by decades of fascism. England had its last one in 1688. Greece had one in 1967, and is still recovering. What in the fuck does me mean by "If a military coup does occur here it will be civilized?" What fantasy world is he living in?

Now, imagine for a second that the Nation published a piece like this in, say, February 2003. Can you imagine the condemnation and possibly criminal charges that would have covered them? Now, listen for the crickets about this piece.

I may be disappointed in my side sometimes, but I take comfort in knowing the "advocating treason" is not on our list of "things to do when we lose and election."

edit: Newsmax apparently scrubbed the column. Full text here.