The mechanisim to end democracy?

So I'm admittedly conspiracy minded when it comes to this administration, but with that said, I read something just now that makes my blood chill.

Seems that there has been a plan since the Regan administration to maintain a distributed "shadow" government that would set itself up in the event of a "decapacitating" attack on Washington, i.e., a nuclear attack.

Follow me to the flip and I'll tell you how I think this plan is being reworked to provide the mechanism to end democracy in the United States . . .

In the past, the responsibility for this entity fell with FEMA, and then it was moved to the Department of Homeland Security. Yeah, I know, but the notion was that somebody had to administer things if the executive and legislative branches of government suddenly ceased to exist.

But this White House, the very same one that presided over the death of habeas corpus, the very same one that started a war based on lies and deception, the very same one that has never seen a power grab it wouldn't take, has just taken that responsibility for themselves. By executive order, the Commander Guy has moved that responsibility to the executive branch.

In other words, if situation were to occur that were to meet the definition of a "catastrophic emergency" that allowed the continuity plan to be invoked, the White House would be in charge.  For the record, the new order, NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/NSPD 51 and HOMELAND SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/HSPD-20, defines "Catastrophic Emergency" as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions"

Given this administration and their ways, I think we've just seen the reveal of the lever that could well be used to end democracy in the United States.

I understand why a department like Homeland Security would distribute the capability to administer the US Government outside of the Beltway to forestall complete chaos in the event of a decapacitating attack on Washington, DC -- that's easy.

What I don't get is why the Executive thinks they should run the program -- after all, are they not more at risk than any other branch of government?  And why set the threshold so low that the triggering event can be anything that causes "disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions"?  This administration has been sinister enough in it's contempt for the Constitution that I'm not inclined to offer any benefit of the doubt . . .

Imagine this scenario . . . another PDB is ignored, a "terrorist" organization detonates a small nuclear weapon in DC, and next thing you know President Cheney reports from an undisclosed location that he's in charge of the government under the continuity plan . . . wham, there it is, instant transformation from democracy to self-sustaining dictatorship.  

But it doesn't even have to be that severe; by the definition of "Catastrophic Emergency" used in the directive, the 9/11 attack could have met that threshold; Katrina could have met that threshold, etc, etc, etc . . .

Yeah, I know that it's outrageous, but who could have predicted how totally outrageous this administration would turn out to actually be?

Thanks for reading,

~j

Update:

I see poster Maaark has already diaried this subject, but seeing the intent of the two diaries is somewhat different I'm going to leave this up for now.

•  Luv Bucket . . .

  Tips, please!

  ~j

  by leo fender on Thu May 10, 2007 at 09:49:27 PM PDT

  •  Leo Fender

    Ok Leo, play something...

    by sinbad on Mon May 21, 2007 at 08:37:05 PM PDT

•  The People That Run the Executive Are Taking Over

  the country, the world, whatever.

  They've indicated they should run everyting in government.

  You get a really bad headache if you try force-fitting these guys into a model of governance. Conquest explains their track record easier and it lets you predict their future moves without all the head banging you do with the democracy model.

  by Gooserock on Thu May 10, 2007 at 09:53:35 PM PDT

  •  Conquest - only in the barbarian mode

    with no thought of keeping things running, just looting and getting out quick. Even Genghis and his Horde had enough foresight to keep surrendering cities and countries operating.

    by wondering if on Thu May 10, 2007 at 11:07:13 PM PDT

  •  I wish more people understood this.

     It's so nice to Hear it from someone other than myself.  People waste a lot of time trying to evaluate this gang of thieves as if they are ordinary government officials.  It drives me crazy.

    by enough already on Fri May 11, 2007 at 12:45:47 AM PDT

•  Well....

  Under the current circumstances, if W was killed in situ (oh, wait, no.  "In situ" for W is the ranch in Crawford....)

  Ok. Here's the deal:  if, under the scenario you describe, W were killed in DC via a terrorist nuclear attack and Cheney were in one of his hide-out bunkers, then Cheney would be President, by virtue of being the sitting vice-president.

  We may not like that thought but it's Constitutional succession not

  instant transformation from democracy to self-sustaining dictatorship.

  There it is.

  by aggieric on Thu May 10, 2007 at 09:58:07 PM PDT

  •  I hear you . . .

    But isn't it true that if Cheney were to succeed W in a normal circumstance he'd still "only" be the head of the Executive Branch of government?  

    In this scenario, he'd be both the President and the head of the "continuity" government, which doesn't include congress or the judiciary?

    Or an even scarier scenario, if that's possible; can yo image Karl Rove, Josh Bolten or Steven Hadley stepping up to run this thing?

    Scary indeed . . .

    ~j

    by leo fender on Thu May 10, 2007 at 10:03:32 PM PDT

    •  I'll let Ron Paul do the talking

      (The entire document, of which the below is a small excerpt, can be found here  He's attacking "The "Continuity of Government Commission" (COGC), spearheaded by the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute":

      Existing Constitutional Provisions are Adequate

      It is important to understand that the Constitution already provides the framework for Congress to function after a catastrophic event. Article I section 2 grants the governors of the various states authority to hold special elections to fill vacancies in the House of Representatives. Article I section 4 gives Congress the authority to designate the time, manner, and place of such special elections if states should fail to act expeditiously following a national emergency. As Hamilton explains in Federalist 59, the "time, place, and manner" clause was specifically designed to address the kind of extraordinary circumstances imagined by COGC. Hamilton characterized authority over federal elections as shared between the states and Congress, with neither being able to control the process entirely.

      COGC posits that states could not hold special elections quickly enough after a terrorist act to guarantee the functioning of Congress. But even COGC reports that the average length of House vacancies, following the death of a member until the swearing in of a successor after a special election, is only 126 days. Certainly this period could be shortened given the urgency created by a terrorist attack. We should not amend the Constitution simply to avoid having a reduced congressional body for a month or two.

      In fact, Congress often goes months without passing significant legislation, and takes long breaks in August and December. If anything, legislation passed in the aftermath of a terrorist event is likely to be based on emotion, not reason. The terrible Patriot Act, passed only one month after September 11th by a credulous Congress, is evidence of this.

      <snip>

      States have a wide variety of electronic and telephonic technology at their disposal to speed up the process of special elections. Consider that popular television shows hold votes that poll millions of Americans in a single night! Yet COGC ignores alternatives to standard voting and incorrectly assumes that states will be in disarray and unable to hold elections for months.

      by aggieric on Thu May 10, 2007 at 10:10:40 PM PDT

      •  I wish

        Dems would listen to Ron Paul about these people.  He's the only one who has consistently called them out for what they are.  It's maddening, and every day we get one step closer to hell in this country.

        by enough already on Fri May 11, 2007 at 12:53:39 AM PDT

    •  Late to chime in, but

      I keep having flashbacks to the TV show Babylon 5 at the end of the first season where the VP (who bears a passing resemblance to Cheney in fact!) has the Prez assassinated and then takes over and declares martial law "to handle the current crisis only".

      by kenmarable on Wed May 23, 2007 at 10:26:29 AM PDT

•  Didn't start with Reagan

  The National Security Act of 1947 established the new succession of power in case the seat of government in DC was incapacitated.

  It created the National Security Agency which was to provide the instant leadership, and FEMA was created to deal with domestic instability. It created the current CIA also.

  We have technically been in a "state of war" since 1947. It came about when policy makers realized that it no longer took weeks or months for an enemy to attack. It only would take 20 minutes for a Soviet missile to hit DC.

  While it could be argued that the NSA of 1947 was needed then, it must be repealed now. It is a much greater threat to our democracy than any foreign "enemy"

  by offgrid on Thu May 10, 2007 at 10:07:15 PM PDT

  •  You are absolutely correct

    On every point.

    I would, and do, phrase it slightly differently: The national security state is now the greatest that to our national security.

    As Bill Moyers says, this is a secret government within our government that operates outside of the constitutional bounds of authority and accountability.

    Nothing could be more of a threat.

    by TocqueDeville on Thu May 10, 2007 at 11:11:50 PM PDT

    •  Wasn't that what Ike was really talking about?

      Wasn't this what Ike was really talking about back when he warned us in 1960?

      This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

      I'm 47 and vividly remember watching the Watergate hearings.  I remember the Iran-Contra hearings, too . . . and I never imagined that some day an administration would push the ball over the line in the way this administration has.

      Ike is looking awful prescient these days -- but it seems to me like the war may have already been lost.

      ~j

      by leo fender on Thu May 10, 2007 at 11:33:43 PM PDT

      •  Not lost yet

        The election last Nov. was possibly the start of turning this around.

        When (if) we elect Al Gore in 08, and if he brings genuine warrior-statesmen like Wes Clark into positions of power, we have a chance to deal with this directly.

        In a sense, the Bush II presidency was a good thing, although it's so hard to say that. But the Bush administration has pushed this so far over the line that it will (hopefully) force us to face the fact, that as TocqueDeville said above, "the national security state is now the greatest threat to our national security".

        It had to come to this eventually. We are very lucky that the administration that pushed it over the line turned out to be so incompetent that they have alienated a large part of the military, and now the majority of the citizens of this country. If they had been competent, we would really be in trouble.

        We are about to enter a time where there is a great opportunity to effect major change.

        The exposing of the national security state, along with the galvanizing problems of massive debt, peak oil, and global climate change, will bring an opportunity we have not seen since FDR and the Great Depression. FDR was able to launch the New Deal, create Social Security, and make other major improvements in the way our government works because the situation was so bad. He was able to roll over the opposition because of it.

        Bush is the Hoover of our time, except this will even be a bigger change.

        We are living in great times. Get ready.

        by offgrid on Fri May 11, 2007 at 01:04:35 AM PDT

        •  All true

          but not if a nuke goes off in Washington.

          These are crazy old men. 9/11 happened on their watch and they wrung that out for every last drop of political capital.

          They already ignore the constitution. So a nuke in Washington would offer a convenient excuse to make their contempt for democracy formal, with martial law.

          Martial law would see sites like dKos closed down immediately. A substantial percentage of the population would support martial law after a nuclear decapitation. A smaller minority wouldn't. An even smaller minority would be prepared to do something about it. But by that point the US would be a Soviet-style police state, and it would take a monumental effort to restore any semblance of democracy.

          So the fact of a nuke attack would provide a convenient excuse to eliminate democracy altogether.

          And there are people in Washington who really wouldn't mind that one bit.

          by ThatBritGuy on Fri May 11, 2007 at 02:55:23 AM PDT

          •  This is certainly a risk

            Hopefully it's too late for them to pull a stunt like that. There are many in the military, and within the intel services, that are onto the threat to our country from within.

            I never though that I would be supporting members within the CIA and military. These are strange times indeed.

            by offgrid on Fri May 11, 2007 at 01:03:20 PM PDT

        •  Offgrid,

          I have been making those points to my friends during times of great head banging, but the point here is that we may not get to January of 09 with the Country intact.  It may just be my paranoia speaking but it seems that it wouln't need to be a nuclear explosion, but something like a bird flu outbreak or another terrorist attack.  If it were a dirty bomb attack the idea could be conflated in the public's mind of a "nuclear" attack and there we go.

          If it were bird flu this would be tough to respond to because people would want to stay home and wouldn't participate in any mass protest.  Hopefully Congress will keep chipping away at the credibility of this criminal enterprise and they won't have the capapcity to even consider something like this.  

          by philipogog on Fri May 11, 2007 at 04:13:04 AM PDT

          •  I think that it's too late for this

            The Neo-Cons have lost too much credibility within the inner workings of the military and intel community.

            I hope.

            by offgrid on Fri May 11, 2007 at 01:05:21 PM PDT

•  actually,

  I first heard it when citizen92 had already diaried it... so to that end, check out my post there about Lurita Doan's recent appointment of Richard Reed (Mr. continuity of government planning guy) to the OERR inside the GSA... also, Wikipedia has more on this topic generally, including a link to this 2006 WaPo article.

  by pb on Thu May 10, 2007 at 10:23:22 PM PDT

  •  Thanks!

    Apologies for rehashing an old topic.  I'm an expat American living in South Africa, and things happen a little more slowly on this end of the world.

    Thanks for the links, most interesting . . .

    ~j

    by leo fender on Thu May 10, 2007 at 11:26:57 PM PDT

•  That they took this power away from the DHS

  moved it to the White House basically, blows me away.  The place most likely a target for an attack : the White House, yet they put command central there. More weird WTC type thinking.

  by sailmaker on Thu May 10, 2007 at 11:47:52 PM PDT

  •  They are not too worried about an attack

    on the White House. If they were, they would have moved command to SAC headquarters at Offutt AFB, Bellevue, NE., or under the mountain in Colorado.

    "Terrorists" are not a big threat to them, certainly not nearly as great as the USSR was, or that Russia and China are now, which is to say not a big military threat at all.

    by offgrid on Fri May 11, 2007 at 01:28:12 AM PDT

•  Yeah, its called the Democratic Party.

  Seems that there has been a plan since the Regan administration to maintain a distributed "shadow" government that would set itself up in the event of a "decapacitating" attack on Washington, i.e., a nuclear attack.

  I'm totally pissed at the new trade deal Pelosi and Rangel cooked up with the crook in chief.  My Party never ceases to disappointment.  I haven't been a proud Democrat since Carter's disaster of a Presidency.  My political heart and soul really need rejuvenation, and 8 years of Dean would have done it.

  by dkmich on Fri May 11, 2007 at 02:49:48 AM PDT

  •  8 years of Dean

    And his shrieking? 8 years of that? Sorry, I'm an Indie(formerly dem)and the man cannot control himself, much less his bladder...

    by sinbad on Mon May 21, 2007 at 08:35:12 PM PDT

•  EMP Attack

  Pop a real nuke at 40,000 ft in a charter jet a couple mile offshore. Almost zero damage except for wiping out the electrical grid for a big part of the country.

  Millions of refugees, Katrina times 100, everything electrical fried, grid down 2 years, 50,000 dead in the chaos.

  The question is, what part of the country? DC isn't too convenient. NY? LA? Atlanta? For some reason I lean towards Atlanta.

  by bernardpliers on Fri May 11, 2007 at 05:23:11 AM PDT

  •  YOU MUST BE...

    The kook I talked to in a bar a couple of years ago about "battlefield nukes". You know, about how 4 0r 5 suitcase "battlefield" nukes would basically do in the countries communications... You really were (and are) a fucking nut case...

    by sinbad on Mon May 21, 2007 at 08:42:19 PM PDT

•  OK THEN, SIDESTEP THE WUSSY U.S. GOV'T

  Just like the Sopranos, ya gotta "empower" yourself... Do your own thing, FU*K EM!

  by sinbad on Mon May 21, 2007 at 08:31:55 PM PDT

•  Perfect set-up

  You made a good point about "set[ing] the threshold so low that the triggering event can be anything that causes 'disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions.'" but you missed this part:

  any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions

  The location thing really gives them "carte blanche."
  Let's examine this in bits, shall we? For instance:

  >>any incident- ok, bombing, war, etc.

  >>regardless of location- Iran, or pick your spot

  >>that results in extraordinary levels- What are "extraordinary levels?" How do you measure that?

  >>mass casualties, damage, or disruption- I'll pick disruption this time...

  >>severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions-
  How much is "severe?"..."affecting the US...economy". Maybe an oil crisis might affect the economy, ya think? Or, pick your looming crisis...

  Now, put that together and I get...

  A bombing in Iran that "results in extraordinary levels" of "disruption" "severely affecting the US...economy."

  Plug in your own variables and see how many options you can get. Fun for the whole family!!  =:O

  by ArkySue on Tue May 22, 2007 at 12:33:46 AM PDT

•  Progressive Magazine hacked?

  I heard about this subject on Truthout, and just noticed that their link to The Progressive magazine goes to a really messed up Drupal screen.

  Has The Progressive been hacked?

  by chadlupkes on Tue May 22, 2007 at 04:00:44 PM PDT