Presidency:
After George Bush's reelection in 2004, and his brother Jeb's election in 2008, the Presidency can be said to belong to Republicans for the foreseeable future. The entire apparatus of government has been purged of Democrats and independents and is stacked with Republican cronies and far right appointees. Halliburton style scandals are rampant, but with Republican control so tightly established there has never been any hope of any meaningful investigations. The Cabinet is filled with lap dogs that rotate in long enough to gain credentials and then leave to become lobbyists and corporate CEO's. Nothing meaningful is proposed or enacted as Karl Rove continues his masterful manipulation of the press and the public. The takeover of the executive branch is complete and it operates as a well-oiled propaganda machine that serves to serve itself.
The Courts:
After long and arduous battles in the senate over the last eight years, and after the filibuster rule was rescinded, the Senate Democrats are in complete defeat. The federal benches have been stocked with conservatives at every level and there is no longer any check on the Executive's domination. The courts have reverted to a 19th century stance, advocating "constructivist" policies that serve as thinly veiled code for the reassertion of corporate and Christian rule. The Supreme Court, after three appointments by George Bush, and one by Jeb, and with the appointment of Antonin Scalia as Chief Justice, is now the most conservative body it has been since the turn of the century. 7-2 and 6-3 decisions are the norm, and the reversal of Roe v. Wade was only the beginning.
The Senate:
The Democrats hover around the mid thirties on their side of the isle and are a toothless and demoralized group. Even in complete defeat they manage to remain disorganized and infighting remains their biggest problem. Wild swings of first a reform agenda, then status quo, then a tilt to the center or, even right, have taken their toll and the party is nearly completely discredited by a hostile press and an omnipotent GOP. The Republicans for their part have served as a rubber stamp for the Bush appointees, and even in the face of looming scandals that dwarf Watergate, have remained steadfast against any possibility of investigations or special counsels.
The House:
With a 60 vote majority the Republicans are unstoppable.
The Press:
The press, with the election in 2004, set a new standard. The Republicans were allowed, with impunity, to lie like never before in national politics. With the destruction of Kerry by the Swift Boat thugs, the press allowed their own ethical and moral compass to be finally completely smashed. By being manipulated by the Republicans so thoroughly, and so willingly, the press shed any pretense of objectivity. The downward slide after that election only set the stage for 2008, where Jeb Bush's team took Hillary Clinton apart piece by piece. The Clinton team was so overmatched, and the press so willing to allow any lies to go unchallenged, that Clinton only took seven states and 127 electoral votes. This was truly the beginning of the end for the Democrats. The press in 2012 does not bother much with the pretense of objectivity and nightly shows its disdain for the Democrats. The Fox model has become more the norm than the exception.
The Public:
The public consciousness has continued its slide into despair and anger. With each election, more revelations have come that cast aspersions on the legitimacy of the process. Continued ineptness on the part of the officials responsible for the electoral process, as well as assumed , but unproven, fraud on massive levels, has left middle class and poor Americans feeling disconnected and alienated from politics. The general perception that whether you vote or not, the Republicans will still win, has left the Democrats with the impossible task of motivating the masses to vote when no one believes it will count. Voter drives, and the money to fund them, have dried up, while the Republicans, motivated by ever more anger at the poor, minorities and gays, have maintained high voter turnout. Long ago the press excitedly pandered to their perception of what this meant: that Americans really were ever more right leaning and Christian.
Civil Liberties:
As the courts were finally consolidated with far right judges, and as the threat of terrorist strikes around the world intensified, and as the Iraq war slid into chaos, the country became more and more authoritarian. With the courts backing the administrations up, habeas corpus was rescinded and Americans could be detained indefinitely. Not long after that, Guantanamo style camps were opened on military bases for Americans suspected of terrorist ties. Many Americans were picked up for nothing more than speaking out against the government. Amnesty international qualified most of these as political prisoners, and what's worse, they also documented many abuses and even torture on the level of Abu Ghraib. Most recently there were accusations of Americans deaths in these camps during "interrogations".
The World:
The United States remains isolated in 2012. The carnage in Iraq had continued its escalation and as more Americans died the military reacted with ever more brutal tactics. More and more civilian deaths ensued until Iraq lay largely in ruins and American deaths had reached unsustainable levels. The Republicans did not, however, pay any political price for this. In the unstable and hostile environment Americans rallied around the Presidents in large enough numbers to sustain their continued hegemony. The world reacted with anger, but there was little that could be done, or little the world was willing to do. The Middle East seethed, and the rest of the world looked on as we left Iraq to even bloodier civil war. Just as in Viet Nam, we walked away after we had nearly destroyed the country.
Postscript:
This seems far-fetched to many of you I assume. But look at the situation now. Look at the seeds of how we got to 2004, and then extrapolate that to 2012. I think the above is entirely possible. Whatever you believe, I think you must agree that America is in some sort of a tectonic shift to something. What that new America will be can only be guessed at, but the fact the above is in the realm of the possible is terrifying enough.