Mexico has a vested interest in the United States not enforcing its own borders and being soft on prosecuting illegal immigrants. Aside from the long standing desire of Mexico to recover areas of the southwestern U.S. that they lost in centuries past, a porous border and soft enforcement provides them with a safety valve for their own internal problems of poverty, and political upheaval due to the drug wars.

Drug cartels along the Texas border have all but declared the border off limits to law enforcement on both sides of the line. They are murdering civilians and law enforcement on their side in unprecedented numbers, and brazenly attacking U.S. citizens and law enforcement as well. It is only a matter of time before that spreads to the Arizona border area.

Just another example of the incompetence of the Obama administration, and their socialist leaning agendas.

Short of a full on revolution, this election is the most historic event in our history. In just two short years we have gone from electing the first black president with all the hopes and dreams that were promised to the greatest political upheaval and reversal in our history. While President Obama still enjoys fairly high personal poll rating, he has the lowest rating at the midterm of any president since they started tracking these things — and this is no recent event. His numbers have been in the tank and getting worse since the beginning of the year.

Think about this. While the Democrats have succeeded in getting roughly 70% of their announced agenda through Congress, they have done so almost completely without any bipartisan support. They have, however, done so with immense opposition from the general public, and by making shady backroom deals, scheduling votes in the middle of the night, and simply lying to the public and the media when it served their agenda.

As a result, Congress’s performance rating is in single digits, and every single one of the Democrat leaders in the House and Senate is in serious trouble in their home districts. It looks as if most of them will lose their reelection bids because of it.

By some estimates, Republicans could take as many as 60-70 seats. Not only those of Democrats who are in trouble and whose districts are in play, but many seats that nobody has expected to be in play. Republicans also have a good shot at retaking the Senate this time. There are at least 8 critical seats that are expected to change hands, but another 6-8 that have suddenly come into play.

Real Clear Politics polls show Republicans with an 8% generic lead over Democrats. That is an indication of expected voter turnout, and what will probably be a tsunami that will sweep huge numbers of Obama supporting Democrats out of office at all levels.

The alternative, of course, is business as usual. More bailout money running down the drain, taxes going through the roof, more jobs lost, more home foreclosures as people out of work run out of the means to pay their mortgages, higher crime, and perhaps worst of all more and more government intrusion into our lives in the form of lost rights and more draconian regulations.

Nearly every independent economist whose opinion means anything is predicting an economic disaster if the Democrats retain power for the next two years. The Bush taxcuts expire January 1, and that will almost assuredly trigger another wave of job loss and home foreclosures as businesses tighten their fiscal belts even more. There is even recent news that the Obama administration is considering confiscation of retirement pension accounts, and 401K savings to help pay down the debt that is slowly strangling the economy. The Social Security Administration announced this morning that there will be no cost of living increase next year, for the second year in a row. People on fixed incomes are already being bled white and this will only make it worse.

If the Democrats somehow manage to pull off a miracle and stave off the Republicans, America as a nation is history. It will only be a matter of time before we see bank runs, and riots in the street ala Greece and Spain. We will see another Depression that will make the 1930′s seem mild, and it won’t just be here. As bad a situation as we are in, the rest of the world is even worse off. If we go down, the rest of the world will follow like dominoes. God help us all at that point.

The mid-term elections are only about 10 weeks away.  While the major topic that will affect it is the economy, the illegal alien problem, or ‘immigration problem’ as some people call it, is a close second.

Arizona passed SB1070 several months ago, serving notice on the Obama administration that they were not going to sit back and wait any longer for the Feds to deal with the situation on the border.  That bill does nothing more than mirror what is already on the books at the federal level.  While the Arizona legislature revised some of the language of the original bill because of objections by some people, it was and still is nothing but a rubber stamp of existing law.  It is, in fact, even more restrictive than federal law as far as what law enforcement personnel can do.

Federal law says it is illegal to enter the United States without going through proper channels, and that all foreigners must carry identification with them at all times while in this country.  It also says that foreigners can be questioned by authorities concerning their country of origin, and if they are in this country illegally they can be deported.  Pretty much the same as any other country, right?

You’d never know it from listening to the hue and cry raised by ultra leftwing liberal politicians, latino organizations, and even the Mexican government.  Ignoring the fact that Federal law says exactly the same thing, they accuse Arizona of racial profiling, discrimination, and a host of other heinous crimes.  They conveniently forget or ignore the fact that illegal entry is a crime.  They forget that those people don’t have any right to be here, therefore they have no right to a job, no right to public assistance or welfare of any kind, etc.

Estimates of the cost of illegal aliens vary from state to state depending on how many each state has.  California is nearly bankrupt because of the burden on their financial system.  A report on those costs here in Illinois several months ago pegged it at $3.6 billion dollars annually to pay for services they use like hospital emergency rooms, welfare costs, and educating their kids in our public schools.  Illinois is in dire financial straits.  We simply cannot afford to pay for those who have no right to be here.

This is not an easy problem to solve.  While I sympathize with those who come here to try for a better life, we no longer have the ability to absorb people in those kinds of numbers unless they can step up and pay their own way.  Those who go through the legal process of immigration must show they can sustain themselves and not be a burden or they can’t get in.  In fairness to them, we cannot allow illegals to come in regardless of how we might feel about it.

As of this date, there are about 30 states pursuing similar remedies to this problem, most modeled after the Arizona law.  A number of those states have already enacted such laws.  The federal government, at least in regard to Arizona, has taken the stance that states cannot pass such laws.  They have filed suite against Arizona and Governor Brewer to stop SB1070 from being enforced.  The supreme hypocrisy of that given the federal law is simply mind-boggling.

Just this week they have threatened Sheriff Joe Arpaio for continuing to round-up illegals and deport them.  He has been doing that for years, with federal approval, until now.  In addition to the feds, the ACLU, city governments, and dozens of pro-latino groups have been attacking Arizona over this bill.  They all ignore the law already on the books, and want to throw the border open to whoever feels like coming across.

Aside from the financial burden placed on us by these intruders, we also have to deal with a monstrous crime wave, and a number of epidemic illnesses that have been reintroduced into the U.S. after being all but eradicated.  People who live along the border have been warned that it isn’t even safe to be out on their own property because of the armed drug runners, gun runners, and coyotes bringing groups of illegals up from Mexico.  A prominent rancher was gunned down in his ranch yard by drug smugglers last year.  Phoenix has become much like Ciudad Juarez with all the kidnappings and murders involving drugs and illegals.

The Obama administration is doing nothing to alleviate this problem.  In fact, they are facilitating it by suing Arizona, and refusing to complete the mandated — and funded — fence that Congress authorized several years ago.  We all know the reason for that.  All those illegals are potential voters for the Democrat Party.

The situation is going to change radically in about 70 days, however.  The Democrats have so angered the public persona with healthcare legislation, bailouts, cap-and-trade, immigration issues, and a number of other things that it looks like this mid-term election will dwarf the takeover of the House in 1994 by the G.O.P. by adding the Senate, and as many as 36 governors to the ranks of the victors.  Despite the derision heaped on it by the left, the Tea Party movement has galvanized the voting public across the land.  Liberal Obama supporters running for reelection have been trounced all over the country during the primaries (as well as a number of Republicans who were a bit too chummy with their Dem counterparts).  Incumbents are running scared, doing their best to distance themselves from Obama and his failed agenda.  They see the writing on the wall, and quite a number have already decided not to run again simply because they know they’d lose.

So, while I am as worried as anybody about the economy, I’m starting to feel pretty good about the elections.  The great Silent Majority has been kicked awake, and they are fired up and out for blood.  Hopefully most of it will be liberal blood.  But even if the Republicans sweep the House and Senate, Obama and his lackies are still in place for two more years.  They won’t have the ability to cram bills down our throats like before, but they can still play billy hell with the economy and immigration.  Keep you fingers crossed that we can figure out how to prevent them from burning it all down for good.

One thing that has always been part of our family was a dedication to this country and someone has always stepped forward to serve in some manner to make it greater and better. My late father, and my brother and myself are no exceptions to that tradition.

Now, however, for the first time in nearly 400 years, I see everything my family has worked for and believed in being destroyed by Barack Obama and his coterie of socialist radicals, terrorists, and miscreants in the White House and Congress.

Nearly 100 years of progressive thought, and socialist leanings starting in the days of Woodrow Wilson have been cast in stone by Obama, causing the fracture and disintegration of all the things that could help us work our way out of the housing and financial crises, and get us back on the road to prosperity and the continuation of everything America was founded on and has stood for these last 225 plus years. We are on the edge of a precipice with the edge crumbling beneath our feet. If Obama continues on his current path we will go over the edge into the abyss, and there will be no return.

China, Russia, and some other countries have been buying our debt for years, but they are not going to continue that for much longer. Sooner or later they will will close the cash drawer and our dollar will collapse like a rotten tree in a high wind. The dollar will no longer be the currency of record, and our economy will screech to halt.

When that happens, folks, anarchy will become the rule of law. You’d all better be prepared.

I work for the school district in my town. Like most school districts around the country these days, money is tighter than the proverbial tick, and there have been a lot of cutbacks and a hiring freeze put in place. This is all in the midst of a complete restructuring of the grade infrastructure of our schools, so it is understandable that we are all like a bunch of long-tailed cats in a room full of rocking chairs when it comes to our jobs.

When the new school year started a few weeks ago, we all found out one of our former colleagues had been indicted for embezzlement for padding her time card to the tune of thousands of dollars last year. This was discovered during a district wide audit. So, in addition to all the other worries, we now have to be careful that we are not sloppy in tracking our time on the job. We also know that there are a number of other people who are suspected of dauddling before punching out to pad their official time on the clock.

As a result of all this, management has announced that they will be installing surveillance cameras to monitor employees and make sure they clock out in the appropriate amount of time. Enter the union.

Apparently, installing those cameras runs afoul of something in the current union contract. So, an alternative was proposed. Instead of installing cameras, the time structure would be changed so that each job had a specified time frame to be accomplished, with provisions for special circumstances and unavoidable overtime situations. However, this requires reopening of the currect contract.

There are two things that really jack my jaws here. First, the union members can’t seem to understand that the few idiots in our midst who can’t seem to get through the day without cheating on their timecards (or stealing from the district, if you say it out plain) are using the union to cover their behavior, and jeopardizing the jobs of everybody in the process. The other is that the union reps will be forced by union by-laws to represent anyone who is accused of such embezzlement. Management is understandably skittish about simply getting the proof on these miscreants and firing them for cause. The manager even came out and told the local union president that she couldn’t do anything because of the union. The district can’t afford a law suit filed by some idiot who gets fired, even if it ultimately wins the suit.

I am not a union man, and I’ve never made any bones about not liking unions. In this case, I told my follow workers and the union reps that if the office has proof then the union, once it confirms that proof, should stand aside and keep its mouth shut. Of course, all the union supporters are calling me everything but low down and foul smelling since then.

I guess my point is this: How long do we have to put up with incompetence and greed and outright theft before something is done about unions protecting these individuals? How long do we have to put up with the extra costs that are passed on to consumers by unionized companies who have to bear the burden of carrying such people on the payroll and benefit rolls? How long will we stand by and let government, at whatever level, institute ever more draconian methods to counter the unions?

I can remember seeing print ads in LIFE Magazine for brand new Ford Mustangs with an SRP of $1,695, off the showroom floor. What is the cheapest U.S. made auto today? $12,000; $15,000? What’s worse, what you get for that money is a tiny little crackerbox on wheels. All because of bloated union contracts that perpetuate wages that are far too high, and benefits (including retirement pensions) that eventually bankrupt the company. Would the problems with GM and Chrysler have been nearly as bad if the unions hadn’t been so greedy and unwilling to make concessions over the last 40 years? I think not.

Government is just as much at fault, however. The bleeding heart left wing types who believe in cradle to grave control and big government have fostered a culture of corruption and pay-to-play that has damn near destroyed our economy.

There are times when I feel like Davy Crockett at the Alamo. I know in all likelihood that I won’t live long enough to see the day things are set right, but I hope that my contributions to the fight will help bring that day about.

We all long past the point where we should have stood up and said enough is enough, and demanded that things be set right. Now, it is likely that we will eventually have to fight to do it. Crockett and Bowie and the rest fought the good fight, and died, knowing that their sacrifice bought time for Sam Houston to enable him to defeat Santa Ana and win freedom for Texas.

This sort of thing is happening all over the country, but I am heartened when I see the droves of Americans who are turning up at town hall meetings demanding that their elected officials toe the line and represent the people instead of lobbyists and special interests. Politicians who do not heed those warnings do so at their own peril.

This isn’t just about health care, however. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. This is also about a 9 trillion dollar deficit, cash for clunkers, an exponential growth in government bureaucracy, and just plain fear.

Back during the campaign, Obama sold everybody on his ideas for “hope and change.” The euphoria in the press and among Democrat voters was so think you could cut it with a knife. That particular rose lost its bloom rather quickly. We were dealing with the aftermath of the first bailout, and all the liberals were excoriating Bush for his failures and how his efforts were too little, too late.

What nobody noticed at the time was that American citizens all over the country were quietly buying up every gun and every box of ammunition they could get their hands on. Ammunition makers and gunmakers ramped up production as quickly as they could manage trying to meet the sudden demand, to no avail. By the time Obama was sworn into office in January, an entire year’s production of guns and ammo had been sold. The situation has not improved to this day. In my area not a single box of 9mm, .45 ACP, .357 or .44 Mag, or even .22 LR can be had at any cost. Handguns in those calibers are rarer than the Hope Diamond, and the only long guns available are the high priced premium hunting models. If you can find one, an AR-15 will cost you in excess of $2000.

To hear the left wing types tell it, this is being driven by right wing gun-carrying crazies and militia types. The truth is that people are just plain scared. Scared of losing our Constitutional rights; scared by a budget deficit over ten years of $7 trillion that just exploded to $9 trillion according to the Congressional Budget Office; scared of the $1.6 trillion cost of a health care bill that threatens to end up rationing doctors and drugs, and the loss of choice. They’re scared by the fact that the government has suddenly taken over control of GM and Chrysler, and is dictating how private business can operate. They’re scared that the housing industry and the home mortgage industry are nearly ruined and no relief in the forseeable future.

All those people turning out at town meetings to rake their senators and representatives over the coals are real citizens. Down home folks from all walks of life, and from all political points of view who are sick of being talked down to, of being lied to, and of being called names by members of Congress and their sycophantic cronies in the media.

There is an undercurrent of anger running through the land that is rejuvenating conservatives and independents like nothing since the election of Ronald Reagan, and the stronger it gets the more desperate and vicious the attacks from those on the left become.

Even though the Democrats won’t admit it, Obama’s health care plan is DOA. If Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid force a health care bill through on a Democrat only vote, we’ll see a bad recession turn into a depression, and that even scares the hell out of many of the Democrats who come from more conservative districts than those on the coasts and in the big urban centers.

Recent polling data shows that a majority of people are against health care, and Obama’s job performance rating is the lowest since Jimmy Carter. The crown jewel of his presidency was to be passing a health care bill. That is now unlikely. His first term is already in a shambles in just six months. With the pressure from an angry public continuing to build, pressure from a bad economy threatening to get even worse, and the prospect of major losses in the 2010 midterm elections. If the Democrats force a bill through, Obama will be obliged to sign it or lose support from his own party. If he signs it, that will light a fire under the conservatives like nothing else. No matter what he does now will only pour gasoline on a smoldering fire.

Angry citizens have been descending on town hall meetings like biblical plagues of locusts intent on making sure the government understands their ire. A good number of those meeting have turned contentious to the point of nose to nose confrontations between citizens and representatives. In most cases, politicians have been put on notice that people not only don’t want the government messing with their health care, but they are fed up with the spending spree the Democrats have gone on and the debt being laid on future generations.

A disturbing trend in all this hoopla, however, is the growing attempts by Representatives and Senators, the White House, Obama, and the Democratic Party to ridicule, demonize, and denigrate those voicing the protests as somehow being un-American, or some kind of right-wing ideologues. There have been thinly veiled accusations by Nancy Pelosi and others that these people are “brown shirts” and Nazis. They are saying that the GOP is “organizing” these protests despite rock solid evidence to the contrary. This morning, a new report is getting coverage about an increase in extreme right-wing militia group activity in the Midwest, Northwest, and South. I have already heard some commentators speculating on whether or not this is feeding the protests at the town hall meetings.

What is really going on here, however, is far more insidious in my opinion. Every American has the right to voice his opinion, whatever that opinion might be, under the Constitution. The government is obligated to protect that right of expression by the First Amendment.

There are a variety of methods being used to squelch protest by citizens. First, the main stream media is doing its best to paint such protesters as extremists, radicals, and rabble rousers. Members of Congress are making comments about protesters being un-American, right-wing nut cases, etc. Nancy Pelosi referred to them as Nazis. Members of the SEIU (Service Employees International Union) have been bullying (and in some cases physically attacking) protesters outside meeting venues, and at other sites have kept anyone not sympathetic to the Obama plan from gaining entrance to meeting halls.

Each of these incidents, seen in isolation, doesn’t rise to the level of concern on most people’s radar. But taken as an overall pattern of behavior it is painfully obvious that there is a concerted effort by those on the left to stifle free speech by angry, fearful citizens. If they can manage to keep the lid from blowing off the pressure cooker, they think they will be able to ensure the passage of a national health care bill. I think that as the rest of the recess plays out, we will see more and more attempts to divert protesters by the use of intimidation (both overt and covert), ridicule, humiliation, and disdain. I also think it isn’t going to work. People’s awareness is aroused, and more and more people are paying attention to the way the government and the Democrat Party, and the media, are treating them over this issue. It is obvious from watching news clips of these meetings that constituents are frequently better informed on what is in the proposed bills than the member of Congress holding the meeting. Members are being forced into a corner unable to defend their stand. The more intimidation put on the citizenry, the more angry they become.

If the Democrats don’t “get it” and continue to try to pass this debacle, they risk their political existence as never before. People have long memories, and the midterm elections aren’t that far away. President Obama risks his presidency over this issue as well. If it gets passed, with the likelihood of a $1.6 Trillion price tag, he could face enraged taxpayers demanding that he be impeached. Violent protests are not outside the realm of possibility either. The longer they stonewall, obfuscate, and dismiss the concerns of the citizens of this country, the more the pressure builds. Sooner or later, the pressure cooker is going to explode. It is only a question of time and if liberals and Democrats continue this, it is at their peril.

The story that just won’t die is the whereabouts of the Obama birth certificate. Every couple of days, something new appears. Last week, it was the fact that his mother moved, enrolled in, and started attending classes at the University of Washington only 15 days after supposedly giving birth in Hawaii. While it might be physically possible to accomplish that feat, it is highly unlikely. Remember, this is 1961, so travel times were a lot slower than they are today. It is also unlikely that any responsible new mother is going to subject a newborn baby to the kinds of stresses involved in transoceanic airline travel, hunting down and obtaining lodging, and all the rest of the stuff one does when making a major move. Possible, but not likely.

Now, this morning I see a report that says that Obama was actually born in Vancouver, B.C. AFTER his mother had moved from Hawaii to Washington state via Canada. It also states that she registered the birth in Hawaii in order to prevent the father from claiming custody under his Kenyan passport (remember Canada was part of the British Commonwealth at the time, as was Kenya, so Commonwealth law would have pertained). Seems that she found out Obama Sr. had another wife, which tends to support her sudden departure from Hawaii.

We know that she did in fact move, and did attend classes in Washington. Transcripts prove that beyond a doubt. We also know that her neighbor babysat the infant Obama while she attended classes. There are also some questions about whether or not she and Obama Sr. actually lived at the address in the Honolulu newspaper birth announcements. The elderly couple that actually owned the property lived there at the time and until their deaths a few years ago. The only place the Obamas could have lived is in a small cottage in the rear of the address. Such cottages typically have a different address, however, and no such mention is made of such in any of the known records.

To be sure, at this point we don’t have all the answers, but little by little, piece by piece, the puzzle is being solved. The funny thing is, if there was any truth to the assertions made by the White House, the main stream media, and Democrats in general that Obama is legit and was born in the U.S., why is it that all of the little bits and pieces that keep turning up made that story less and less plausible? And it still doesn’t answer the biggest question of all: If he really was born here, and really is a U.S. citizen, why doesn’t he simply end the controversy by releasing the long form birth certificate? Why continue to spend hugh sums of money paying lawyers to keep ALL his records under wraps and out of public view? What is he hiding? It makes no sense to continue doing all that is he is indeed telling the truth.

This story is no longer just another whacked out right wing conspiracy (and it never actually was), because try as they might to squelch it, it has gone mainstream. People everywhere are beginning to ask questions at town hall meetings, in letters and emails to members of Congress. Even elected officials are stepping up and asking questions. Nor is it any longer just a partisan issue, as people on both sides of the fence are raising demands for answers.

If things keep on like this, this issue could potentially overshadow everything else we have to deal with. It could very easily turn into a major Constitutional crisis. After all, what do we do if it turns out he is NOT eligible to serve as president? From a legal standpoint, if he wasn’t able to serve, then every single law that he signed, executive order that he signed, or any other thing he caused to be done by virtue of holding the office of President, becomes null and void. But how do you put the genie back into the bottle? We have already spent hundreds of billions of dollars on his sayso. People have lost their jobs, businesses have gone bankrupt, banks have failed, etc., as a direct result of policies he either directly authorized or caused to be implemented. In addition, who steps up and takes his place? Joe Biden? If his candidacy was illegitimate, then Biden no longer is Vice President, since they ran on the same ticket and Obama picked Biden as his running mate. Technically, if they were ineligible, then John McCain, as the only legit candidate wins by default. We all know what kind of firestorm that would generate, however, from the left. Pelosi? Same problems with her as with McCain. It would tear the government apart.

Perhaps now everyone can see why that simple little clause in the Constitution is there, and why we need to follow the Constitution every time, not just when it suits us.

The Summer Recess for Congress started on Saturday. Traditionally, this period is used by members of the House and Senate to reestablish contact with constituents and get feedback on what has been happening over the first half of the year. This time, however, the recess has taken on an entirely different flavor.

Democrats are turning out in droves to take their Representatives and Senators to task over Obama’s health care plan. They are not happy campers. A lot of these politicians are canceling town hall meetings so they don’t have to confront angry citizens.

It has gotten to the point of the White House putting out talking points telling Democrat politicians to blame it all this “mob behavior” on Republicans, talk radio zealots, and other anti-Obama types. Believe me, as a Republican, I can only WISH that we were smart enough to engineer something like this!

The bottom line here, however, is that most of this opposition is coming from Democrats themselves, from the grass roots base of the Democrat Party! With three and a half weeks left before Congress reconvenes for the fall session, it is only going to get worse. No matter which way Obama jumps now, he will anger one side or the other, and that will effectively destroy whatever chance he has of enacting any more major bills. 2010 is looking better every day!

Obama wants a single payer system, much like what is currently in place in Canada and England. (It is noteworthy that Sweden, long poster child for cradle-to-grave socialism, is moving away from that as fast as it can. They learned the lesson the hard way.) Despite protestations by Obama to the contrary, once it goes into place, eventually we will lose the ability to pick our own doctor, our own health insurance, or where we get our meds. Private companies cannot compete against what amounts to a federal government monopoly.

In the process, this program will cost us about $1.6 Trillion over the first decade (conservatively speaking, according to the CBO). There will still be 20 million people that are not covered, although most of the 20 million illegals now in the country will end up gaining coverage they are not entitled to, by law. Health care procedures such as surgery will be denied those who the government deems too old or sick to waste resources on. Under the inevitable rationing that will occur, if you need a new hip, or a kidney or heart transplant, you’ll be put on an eligibility list where some federal bureaucrat will decide if you are “worthy” enough to receive the care you need. In the meantime, you’ll be sent home to wait for approval.

My mother is a good example of what will happen under this new “health care” regime. She is 79 years old, and has a bad back and debilitating sciatica in one leg as a result. Under the new program, instead of doing the testing and other procedures to find out what the problem is and to fix it, she will be sent home and told to take a pain pill, because after all, she is too old to waste resources on. The only problem is that she can’t take pain pills except for Tylenol or aspirin without getting violently ill. This so-called “health care” plan has her scared to death.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve watched the Democrats go through all kinds of convoluted attempts to justify this takeover of about 16% of the economy. The Senator from Michigan had the absolute gall to carp about having to read over 1000 pages in the draft of the bill. Well, golly Mr. Wizard, how about because THAT’S YOUR FRAKKIN’ JOB! To be sure, it is unlikely that any of the Democrats have read the thing who are supporting it. They just follow orders, like good little sycophants. Were it not for the 52 Blue Dog Democrats who have voiced opposition, the bill would have passed two weeks ago in the House. The Senate still has not voted on their version and won’t until after the recess, assuming Reid doesn’t force a special session during this break.

But now, all these Democrats are finding out that the polls weren’t wrong when they said 85% of the people did NOT want the government messing with their health care. They are feeling the heat up close and personal to the extent that many are canceling local town hall meetings because they are drawing hundreds of angry constituents demanding that they keep their hands off.

Obama is now in a serious bind. This was the center piece of his new administration’s changes. He invested huge amounts of political capital in getting this passed and signed by now. His poll numbers on performance are heading for the toilet (no other president in history has dropped so low so fast) going from over 65 to below 50 in just six months. The anger among voters is rising and helping the GOP recover from the election disaster far faster than would otherwise be the case. They don’t dare try to pass this next year once campaigning for the 2010 midterms starts, and things are already shaping up for a massive takeback by the GOP just like in 1994. Obama has already lost some support among Democrats because of the war and his inability to get the troops out as promised. The stimulus package is not working as planned (only about 12% of the money has been spent so far), unemployment is already 2% beyond the 8.5% maximum he promised last fall, and the mortgage and housing markets are still in a shambles. If he fails on health care, he may as well throw in the towel. The birth certificate problem is also continuing to dog him, and in fact is gaining ground as more and more people in Congress sign onto a bill to require every candidate for president to present a valid long form birth certificate before they can run. The controversy is now in the Congressional Record despite frenzied attempts to crush any attempt to obtain copies of his records to prove he is eligible, thanks to Harry Reid bringing it up in a floor speech earlier this week.

All in all, as bad as things are, there might just be some glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. The first rule of being an elected official is to get reelected, and by the end of the month a lot of Democrats are going to be looking for cover. Many of the top people are already at risk in the next election in their districts, so those lower down on the food chain won’t be so inclined to follow the party line if they are in danger of losing as well. That is not good news for Obama, Reid, Pelosi, or the health care bill. Keep your fingers crossed.