Will political reform occur in the United States only after a catastrophe?

By Lawrence Sellin

John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States.

He was tried for treason, the murder of five pro-slavery Southerners, and inciting a slave insurrection, found guilty on all counts, and was hanged on December 2, 1859.

On the day he died Brown wrote: "I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood. I had, as I now think, vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed it might be done."

Less than two years later the U.S. Civil War began, the American casualties from which exceeded those of World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined.

The United States is now facing its greatest Constitutional crisis since the Civil War. As Abraham Lincoln asked, will a nation conceived in liberty and a government of the people, by the people and for the people perish?

The 2012 election is the most important in U.S. history, but not for the reasons either the Republican or Democrat Parties would have you believe because there is little difference between them.

They seek to win elections, not to uphold the Constitution, not to show respect for the rule of law and not to serve the American people, but to obtain power and to use that power to accrue career and financials benefits for themselves and their major supporters.

Mitt Romney does not offer a significant change from the political status quo. So far, the most accurate slogan for his campaign seems to be: "I'm not the other guy."

The real issue of the 2012 is whether or not the American people will endorse permanent political corruption in Washington, D.C. by voting for the status quo presently represented by the Republican and Democrat Parties.

The United States is heading for a financial meltdown. Projected government spending rates over the next twenty-five years will drive federal debt to unsustainable levels from 50% of Gross Domestic Product in 2010 to 101% and 195% of GDP for 2021 and 2036, respectively. By 2036 every American citizen will own $135,547 in U.S. Government debt compared to $36,267 today.

Article I of the U.S. Constitution requires Congress to pass a federal budget. Despite the imminent threat to the financial stability of the United States and the clear priority the Constitution gives to maintaining discipline in federal spending, the last time The Democrat-controlled Senate enacted a budget was April 29, 2009.

Republicans continue to be derelict in their duty and violate their oaths of office to support and defend the Constitution by refusing to vet Barack Obama's Presidential eligibility and personal history. They are also recommending Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Republican Governor of Louisiana Bobby Jindal for Vice President, both of whom do not meet the Constitutional requirements for that office.

Republican congressional leaders, particularly Senator John McCain and House Speaker John Boehner, endanger national security by refusing to probe Muslim Brotherhood infiltration of the Obama Administration and condemning those who legitimately request such an investigation.

On July 17, 2012, Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio provided convincing evidence that Barack Obama's birth certificate, as presented by the White House on April 27, 2011, is a forgery.

In the presence of evidence that there is a criminal in the White House, what actions do Republicans and Democrats take? None.

In general, our elected officials are not concerned about the financial stability of the country, its national security or upholding the rule of law.

In 2012, American voters are being offered nothing more than a continuation of a status quo incompatible with the survival of the country.

Barack Obama is being protected by a corrupt political establishment. Exposing Obama before the election will thwart the installation of permanent and pervasive corruption in the U.S. Government and pave the way for political reform.

Without that, change will eventually come, but more likely in the form of national collapse and fragmentation.

Lawrence Sellin, Ph.D. is a retired colonel with 29 years of service in the US Army Reserve and a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq. Colonel Sellin is the author of "Afghanistan and the Culture of Military Leadership". He receives email at [email protected]