THE FINAL STEPS OF THE GOP COUP?

The Republicans have been working to make America ungovernable since Barack Obama's inauguration, and now we have a scenario for how -- with the help of some Democratic enablers -- they might get closer to finishing the job of seizing control of the government, even without the consent of the voters.

This is from The Hill:

... Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the GOP's chief deputy whip and director of recruiting new candidates, suggested Republicans could win the speakership or, at the very least, enjoy de facto control of the House, even if they don't win the 39 seats needed to gain an outright majority.

"We need 39 seats. Take it, for instance, say we win 34," McCarthy said in an interview on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program, which is scheduled to air this weekend but was posted online Friday.

He suggested that if that happens some Democrats might not support Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to be speaker, and might instead opt to vote with Republicans to pursue their priorities.

... "Why do you think that if we don't win 39, we still couldn't be able to get speaker?"

His musings suggest the GOP is looking at options to make now-House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) the speaker of the House by pursuing a coalition with Democrats....

And then there's this from Joe Klein:

Nelson Switching Parties?

Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson has been slipping away from the Democratic Party on crucial votes over the past year--and now has decided to vote against Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court.... I suspect that, if the Republicans make substantial gains in the midterm elections, Nelson could be up for grabs next fall--it certainly would be easier for him to get reelected in Nebraska as a Republican and, if the Democrats' Senate advantage is cut to one or two seats, he could be offered the moon by the Republicans to switch. He could also be offered Cornhusker Kickbacks in perpetuity by the Democrats to stay.

Another possibility: if Charlie Crist wins running as an Independent in Florida, then a three-member Independent caucus--Nelson, Crist and Joe Lieberman--could have the clout to determine which party organizes the Senate....

Needless to say, the president and the remaining real Democrats should howl like banishees and then fight like junkyard dogs, using every lowdown dirty trick and maneuver available to them, if anything like this takes place.

And needless to say, we know that won't happen. We know that Obama and the remaining Dems will approach their new overlords in a posture of submission.

The second-best course of action? If the president won't fight like hell, he should just resign -- and take Biden with him. Hey, John Boehner, you wanted to seize power? Fine -- here's all the power. Too bad we still have unemployment at nearly 10% and a global economic Lost Decade taking place; too bad we're fighting one war we can't completely wind down and another one that's a quagmire; too bad you guys don't have an agenda besides cutting more taxes and having a New Black Panther Party show trial for two years. I don't care! I'm going to the Vineyard for some R&R! Have a nice administration!

I don't know what would be President Boehner's first official act -- nuke Tehran? nuke the Upper West Side? -- but I think a sudden, unexpected GOP presidency is the only thing that might save us from a GOP sweep in 2012. Without an Obama/Biden resignation, Republicans will continue to be the government's backseat drivers, unable to muster the votes to override presidential vetoes (or the votes in the Senate to turn an impeachment into a conviction) and thus able to say that America still hasn't tried doing things their way, so we really ought to hand over the entire government to them next time around. I want them held accountable now for what they do and what they advocate. The only way we may ever kick this disease is to let it run its course, and maybe we just ought to get that process over with.