Here is my fear:
1. Obama has set a hard date of August 2 to resolve the debt ceiling "crisis". That is 13 days from now.
2. Obama has rejected the offer of a clean debt ceiling rise and is determined to get a massive bill enacted.
3. Nothing has been agreed to, no legislation has been proposed, and each day or two we learn of a new proposal that is bandied about for a day or so while the clock ticks.
4. I predict that, less than a week before the "crisis" date, the Senate enacts an Obama-endorsed bill that significantly cuts the social safety net and does not raise tax rates.
5. Obama and the Senators then intone solemnly that the House must act urgently to enact the legislation or the United States will default and the universe will end.
6. Under immense pressure (pretended or otherwise), Agent Orange "reluctantly" agrees to schedule the bill for a House vote.
7. Any Congressperson who objects and states an intention to vote no is immediately, viciously, and relentlessly vilified as putting the nation at risk for his or her own petty interests. The vilification comes from our own leaders, the mainstream press, foreign leaders, Wall Street, and every other plutocrat and plutocrat-enabler.
8. The House capitulates and passed the horrid legislation.
And the Shock Doctrine has been visited upon the American People by America's elected leaders.
I hope I'm wrong.