What If....

So - in a discussion with my wife this morning, I had a thought that seemed kind of scary, but I could envision a series of steps that would allow this to happen.

The end result - martial law and the suspension of Constitutional government.

Imagine if you will:
the House and Senate shift some towards the Republican side, but neither carries a clear majority.

Both parties, in a page out of current politics, hamstrings the others so that our tortured, slow process grinds to a stop. Either out of obstinacy, or just plain spite, but the two refuse to engage in compromise and our government becomes paralyzed.

In a desperate attempt to keep the government working, the President takes martial law, dissolves Congress in order to keep the train moving, as it were.

Is this fantasy (besides the obvious part of 'imagine if you will') or is this something that could possibly happen?

let's not forget shouts from the radical edges of both sides promising disruption and intransigence if either side gets dominance in House or Senate.

reply to post by MagoSA


fantasy

bush didnt when he lost congress

obama wont if he loses congress

sorry man martial law will not be coming

now if the total economy collapsed it might but then agian

since the majority of troops needed to enforce a nation wide martial law call

the national gard will not cut it since most of them are overseas.

reply to post by MagoSA
There is no constitutional government as it is.

Everything that goes on in this country is based on a thoroughly flawed monetary system,which is not correct according to the constitution.

If the basis of the system is unconstitutional,the entire system is.

Gee,this is even supposed to be a republic,and still should be...?..

Why do they keep calling it a democracy?.

Democracies never work,never have.

Oh yeah,we've been in a state of emergency since during the civil war,so,in a way,it's been martial law since then.

Originally posted by chiponbothshoulders
Why do they keep calling it a democracy?.

Because we use representative democracy where elected officials represent us. In all reality though we are a constitutional republic, or a constitution-based federal republic depending on who you ask. Either way the US is a republic, not a democracy.

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As far as martial law goes, people have been claiming it's coming for decades now. It didn't happen under Bush, Clinton, or Bush Sr., and it's not going to happen now. Especially not in the way most people mean when they talk about it. Were a nation-wide catastrophe to take place and martial law actually got implemented, the troops wouldn't be running around shooting people willy-nilly and rounding us all up into FEMA camps like some think they would. They'd be protecting their families just like the rest of us and keeping the whackos who'd take advantage of the chaos from ransacking the country.