Duck! and Gather

These people explain to us that politics in America follows 40-year cycles, that oscillate between political Left and Right. 1968 was the turning point of the previous cycle. 2008 was the most recent turning point.

The cycle that lasted from 1968 to 2008 was dominated by the Right. The previous one (1928-1968) was Left-dominted. The one we are just now starting is also Left in nature.

What happened to the vanquished Left in the early years of the last cycle — i.e from 1968-1973? Well, some of these “sore losers” Lefties didn’t take losing very well. One paradigm example was the ultra-Left SLA. Between 1968-1973, the SLA took to robbing banks and blowing up stuff.

This was the group to which Sarah Palin was referring when she said Obama was “pallin’ around with terrorists”.

Fast forward 40 years. Yesterday, my mother-in-law attended one of those reactionary “Tea Party” protests — this one was in the Bay Area. Those nationwide protests made me think the following: If there are thousands of 65-year-olds across the nation who feel indignant enough about that Obama fellow to go out and stomp around with placards, there must be a much smaller radical, reactionary fringe that is really pissed off.

So what sort of group will turn out to be the reactionary analogue to the SLA?

I tell you. My spider sense is tingling. I just have this bad, foreboding feeling about Obama’s safety. I just don’t think this country could survive his assassination if it happens in the next year or two.

I am heartened by stories saying that well-placed people are highly aware of this threat.

These are interesting times.