# Is there any real risk of a right wing coup de etat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 22, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408 "2010-03-22T23:15:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/61 "2010-03-23T08:37:31Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Jesus. The only hatred I see flying around here is coming from the left. You guys have no idea how hypocritical you look. You yap about anyone on the right side of the fence as if they’re drooling monsters just ready to kill your women and children, and then complain about all the ‘hate’ on the right. Truly amazing. Wow! I’d be happy if SDMB right-wingers would indicate what news sources they use; sometimes it really does seem that we’re living in parallel universes! The present Republican Party, now under the influence of such as Limbaugh and Beck, has deviated so far from rational conservative thought as to suggest that recent threads are correct when they suggest that the political divide has little to do with ideas, but rather with emotional response. Right-wingers, even of the more intellectual SDMB ilk, want to hear blustering talk about “liberty” and “family values” with any factual analysis irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/62 "2010-03-23T12:38:44Z")
Blah blah - Bush is going to invade Iran, Bush is going to cancel the elections and rule as a dictator, voter fraud in Ohio, right wing coups, evil anti-abortion conspiracies, etc. This is the left-wing equivalent of birthers, except it is all taken seriously by a different set of crackpots. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/63 "2010-03-23T13:07:00Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > My only explanation is that they don’t care a bit about the substance of the reforms, that the opposition to this is all (or at least 95%) symbolism. It doesn’t matter what’s in the bill, what matters is that Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi are for it, and that’s all they care about. That’s pretty much it, yes. It’s partisan positioning. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/64 "2010-03-23T13:15:17Z")
> [@Kearsen](#): > > How many sizes of tin headgear do you currently have on hand DT? It isn’t nearly enough, they (yes, they) are coming to get you. Please leave the personal comments out of this discussion. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/65 "2010-03-23T13:20:36Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > The only hatred I see flying around here is coming from the left. :dubious: Wait, you seriously **haven’t noticed** the glaring rise in [“eliminationism”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=533537) on the RW in the past couple of years? Bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/66 "2010-03-23T13:21:38Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Blah blah - Bush is going to invade Iran, Bush is going to cancel the elections and rule as a dictator, voter fraud in Ohio, right wing coups, evil anti-abortion conspiracies, etc. This is the left-wing equivalent of birthers, except it is all taken seriously by a different set of crackpots. > > Regards, > Shodan The Ohio part of that ain’t crackpottery. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/67 "2010-03-23T13:46:33Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > The Ohio part of that ain’t crackpottery. It’s the same as the other crackpot theories - something the far left believes in, with no evidence, because it fits their presumptions better than the truth. Same thing as this foolishness about right-wing coups. The SDMB just has this folie a dieux about one set of conspiracy theories that they wouldn’t accept about any other set. It’s kind of a shame, but every group as extreme as this board can be will have blind spots. They aren’t based on rational thought, so it can’t be refuted with it - one can only derive amusement from admiring the towering edifices of delusion erected in defense of these notions, and (especially) giggling when those edifices come crashing down. Like I’ve said before, it is not necessary that the deluded realize how silly their notions are to provide entertainment. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/68 "2010-03-23T13:49:19Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > The SDMB just has this folie a dieux about one set of conspiracy theories that they wouldn’t accept about any other set. I believe you mean “folie à deux”. “Folie à dieux” is what **Der Trihs** would call “theism”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/69 "2010-03-23T13:50:01Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Like I’ve said before, it is not necessary that the deluded realize how silly their notions are to provide entertainment. In fact it’s more entertaining if they don’t. Anyway this is on par with the spate of “will people riot if Obama loses?” questions that were posted here in the fall of 2008. I might rank it slightly lower but it’s a similar level of ridiculousness. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/70 "2010-03-23T14:09:36Z")
I genuinely believe that the rhetoric from the GOP leadership on this issue is bombastic and that the level of fear-mongering on both sides is out of control. The essence of conservatism is a belief that traditional methods are best and that radical change is dangerous. The Obama administration has been demonized not only by the right-ring fringe but also by the mainstream of the movement precisely because the administration represents change in the body politic. This frightens some conservatives and fear breeds hatred. This isn’t good for any nation that wishes to move forward into the 21st century. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/71 "2010-03-23T14:37:49Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Right. Just like I pointed out in post#2. Anybody to the right of John Lennon is **EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVUUUUULLLLLLL**. No lefty anywhere has ever done or said anything close to being wrong. Even when eeeeeeeevvvvuuuuullll persons to the right of Lennon claim that a lefty did something wrong, it wasn’t really wrong and doesn’t matter. Because people to the right of Lennon are eeeeeeevvvvvuuuuuulllll. > > Now gimme a drumstick off that baby. Yum-yum. > :rolleyes: [The one on the right is on the left.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDSN1F72QU4) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/72 "2010-03-23T15:07:14Z")
That there is some pretty crazy shit, **Oakie** , I’ll grant that. The crazy ass stuff that you project out of your sarcastic imagination, that is. You want to hear some genuine crazy ass shit, straight up, no chaser, based on fact? [http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailybeast/20100323/ts\_dailybeast/7269\_scarynewgoppoll](http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailybeast/20100323/ts_dailybeast/7269_scarynewgoppoll) > [@](#): > > On the heels of health care, a new Harris poll reveals Republican attitudes about Obama: Two-thirds think he’s a socialist, 57 percent a Muslim—and 24 percent say “he may be the Antichrist.”… So I’m not too worried about organized resistance to the gov from the wing-nuts. Joe Bob has a cousin in the National Guard, and if he shoots his cousin, Aunt Rose is going to be mighty pissed off about it, making Thanksgiving even more awkward than usual. I am worried about the alpha-lemmings, the nut cases who are willing to believe that they can be the leaders of an insurrection, that they can inspire the seething masses to rise up by a single act. They worry me. The unsophisticated political maunderings of a dead rock star…not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/73 "2010-03-23T16:14:47Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > violence by fringe leftists that went on before most people now alive were born > [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > However, your “the left is just as violent as the right” position isn’t borne out by facts. Sure, there might have been violent leftist organizations in the 60’s and 70’s but those days are long gone. Man, it’s like you people have never heard of eco-terrorism. ELF alone has caused millions of dollars in damage [over the past few years](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Liberation_Front#Notable_attacks:_1998-2009). Burning down homes, destroying radio antenna, etc. Not to mention all the protests at WTO and the G8 summit. It’s completely ignorant to say that leftie violence is a thing of the past. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/74 "2010-03-23T16:23:24Z")
Does “righty violence” inlcude haring off on a futile and pointless war that costs a hundred thousand innocent lives, or is that categorized under “Oopsy!”? ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/75 "2010-03-23T16:24:21Z")
The general opinion of the sane minority is that about 30% or so of the voting population of the USA is determined to vote for whoever is the most conservative, and will do so virtually unconditionally. This is the so-called conservative base and the majority of GOP candidates focus upon those people’s fears and a desire for a return to ‘the good old days’ in order to win office. As the partisan attacks from both sides have become more shrill, the tactics used to arouse these folks’ baser emotions have become more fear-based and have also lost whatever tenuous connection to consensual reality that they had a couple of decades ago. The fact is that the loud pundits on the right **are** the mainstream of American politics. These people are driven to do whatever it takes to win ratings, and if that means inciting the increasingly unbalanced masses to violence, then so be it. As long as the money keeps coming in to their advertisers, this kind of over-the-top rhetoric will continue. Keep in mind that most, if not all, of these right wing pundits self-identify as evangelical Christians. Religious fanaticism has simmered right below the surface of American politics for generations. It is not too much of a leap of faith (pardon the pun) to project the eventual trajectory of this will lead to pogroms and auto de fé via cable. As I said before, this is clearly not good for any nation. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/76 "2010-03-23T16:40:13Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Not to mention all the protests at WTO and the G8 summit. It’s completely ignorant to say that leftie violence is a thing of the past. This is true. But it’s almost true that on the left, WTO protesters and ELF types are considered the lunatic fringe. Where the Tea Party types stand relative to the right wing fringe is less clear. But they’re getting a lot more acknowledgment from elected officials (nevermind the pundits) than the anti-globalization and ELF people do. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/77 "2010-03-23T17:00:27Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > I believe you mean “folie à deux”. “Folie à dieux” is what **Der Trihs** would call “theism”. 😛 Or, the French title of _The Gods Must Be Crazy_. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/78 "2010-03-23T17:14:00Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Man, it’s like you people have never heard of eco-terrorism. ELF alone has caused millions of dollars in damage [over the past few years](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Liberation_Front#Notable_attacks:_1998-2009). Burning down homes, destroying radio antenna, etc. > > Not to mention all the protests at WTO and the G8 summit. It’s completely ignorant to say that leftie violence is a thing of the past. I wonder if you’d be so kind as to point me to an example of a Democrat politician who has approved of ELF or violent protests at the WTO or G8 Alternatively, perhaps you could link to an example of a media network that has provided material support for ELF or for protest rallys that call for overthrow of the government of the US. Thanks so much. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/79 "2010-03-23T17:58:53Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Blah blah - Bush is going to invade Iran, Bush is going to cancel the elections and rule as a dictator, voter fraud in Ohio, right wing coups, evil anti-abortion conspiracies, etc. This is the left-wing equivalent of birthers, except it is all taken seriously by a different set of crackpots. OK, but as has been pointed out again and again, a lot of the crackpots on the right are elected officials or have their own TV or radio show. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408/80 "2010-03-23T18:04:13Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I wonder if you’d be so kind as to point me to an example of a Democrat politician who has approved of ELF or violent protests at the WTO or G8 > > Alternatively, perhaps you could link to an example of a media network that has provided material support for ELF or for protest rallys that call for overthrow of the government of the US. Thanks so much. Could you be so kind as to point to where anyone in this thead laid the blame for leftie violence soley (or even primarily) at the feet of leftie politicians and media support rather than upon rabid lefties in general? Thank you ever so much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-real-risk-of-a-right-wing-coup-de-etat/533408.md?page=5)