I'm allowed to do more than that. In fact, I'll agree with Mr. Jefferson on this one:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident. . . That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
As for elections, when corporate campaign donors hold veto power over who can run for office, so that certain positions unacceptable to big business are not allowed onto the ballot, or become lies when they do show up (as in 2008), one may not draw too many conclusions about the results of them regarding public opinion. Remember that the Republicans won in 2010 with the votes of a little over 20% of Americans, no more. This follows from the 41% voter turnout in that election.
I'll let you in on something I know about what happened that year. Hardly anyone who voted for Obama in 2008 voted Republican in 2010. The nation did not change its mind. The majority of the people still wanted what Obama promised to do when he campaigned that year. The difference was that many of them had discovered he had no intention of keeping most of his promises. So while hardly anyone switched sides and voted Republican in 2010 who voted Democratic in 2008, many who voted for Obama in 2008 did not vote at all in 2010. And that accounts entirely for the Republican victory. It was no mandate, no sign of the people's support. It was a victory by default, no more.
That may to some extent happen in 2012, or it may not. If it does, I would suggest you not take too much comfort in it. The same people who voted (and canvassed and phone called and knocked on doors) for Obama in 2008, or many of them, are now protesting in the streets and organizing for purposes outside of the standard electoral process. Now, enough of them may vote for damage-control purposes to give the Democrats a victory that will surprise you -- that's certainly a mathematical possibility.
But whether it does or not, the fact remains that a great many people have become disillusioned with the electoral process in its current corrupt form, and have turned their attention to extra-electoral methods. Those methods have already changed the dialog (or this thread wouldn't even exist). They may succeed in opening up the electoral process and putting things on the ballot that wouldn't be there otherwise, and pushing through the real progressive reforms that a majority of the people want. Or they may not.
But the end of that road, if they don't, is revolution. We're ripe for it. And in the end, Jefferson was right.
