If so, they had it coming. After all, they've been kinder to Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, who voted with the Democrats on TARP.

ETC: Option Two: She, Rush Limbuagh, and Mark Levin start a new news network.

MORE ETC: Whatever she does, it will be centered on this:

I am now looking ahead and how we can advance this country together with our values of less government intervention, greater energy independence, stronger national security, and much-needed fiscal restraint.

The impact of Obama's "Land of Make-Believe" policies continue...

Private-sector jobs in the U.S. fell 473,000 in June.

Which is exactly what I cartooned last fall.

I look forward to MC'ing the July 4th Des Moines Tea Party this Saturday.

The idea of shifting to a by-the-mile tax has been discussed for years, but it now appears to be getting more serious attention. A federal commission, after a two-year study, concluded earlier this year that the road tax was the "best path forward" to keep revenues flowing to highway and transportation projects, and could be an important new tool to help manage traffic and relieve congestion.

You [would] get a monthly tax bill based on each mile you drove - tracked by a Global Positioning System device in your car and uploaded to a billing center.

Taxes tend to cause less stir when they are bundled with other costs. For example, your income is taxed before you receive it, and not afterward. Gas taxes are collected when you pay for your gas, not afterward. Sales tax is collected as part of the sale, not afterward.

If Americans really understood how much they pay in taxes - all totalled - and had to pay separately, why there might even be a rebellion. But because the taxes are collected from so many diversified sources and are generally bundled with income or expense, we don't htink much of it.

It's all hidden. Out of sight, out of mind.

Which is why by-the-mile taxation will be a tough sell. Or should be. But Obama's telling us what lightbulbs we can have now, so maybe people will mindlessly put up with this new paradigm.

To put it bluntly, the fiscal policy of the United States is unsustainable. Debt is growing faster than gross domestic product. Under the CBO's most realistic scenario, the publicly held debt of the U.S. government will reach 82 percent of GDP by 2019 -- roughly double what it was in 2008. By 2026, spiraling interest payments would push the debt above its all-time peak (set just after World War II) of 113 percent of GDP. It would reach 200 percent of GDP in 2038.

This huge mass of debt, which would stifle economic growth and reduce the American standard of living, can be avoided only through spending cuts, tax increases or some combination of the two. And the longer government waits to get its financial house in order, the more it will cost to do so, the CBO says.

The CBO's new long-term forecast is considerably more pessimistic than the one it issued 18 months ago, mostly because of the recession, which has driven the budget deficit above 12 percent of GDP. But the report makes clear that the recent economic downturn did not cause the government's predicament and that the situation will not necessarily improve once the economy does. The principal cause of long-term fiscal distress is the aging of the U.S. population, coupled with rising health-care costs -- which, together, will drive spending on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to new heights. Unchecked, federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid combined will grow from almost 5 percent of GDP today to almost 10 percent by 2035 -- and to more than 17 percent of GDP by 2080.

Bono Mack Kills Jobs

Castle Kills Jobs

Kirk Kills Jobs

Lance Kills Jobs

LoBiondo Kills Jobs

McHugh Kills Jobs

Reichert Kills Jobs

Smith Kills Jobs

Which dovetails with this report from the Financial Times:

"People used to talk about America's long-term fiscal crisis. That crisis is now."

And let's not forget Iowa's own contribution to this economy-killer legislation:

Boswell Kills Jobs

Braley Kills Jobs

Loebsack Kills Jobs

On the day that happens, I'm pretty sure that most conservatives will wake up. I say most because while there are many who are somewhat aware of what's happening these days, most don't want to get involved. Politics is an ugly topic most of the time. Mostly, folks just want to avoid it except in private conversations where it won't prove contentious. Unless of course, it starts hitting their income. And most assuredly, this bill will hit their wallets.

When conservatives wake up, it won't be a Republican uprising. Democrats too, because most Americans are conservative. And more yet are fiscally conservative. Once Waxman-Markey hits the streets and hikes our energy prices, Americans will wake up.

At that point, here in the Land of Make-Believe, Americans will be pissed. Bush will be a distant memory compared to the increasing problems in the economy. You see, in the Land of Make-Believe, all these liberals hold to the idea that taxing people is just revenue to be gained in pursuit of economic justice and fairness. Take from the rich and give to the poor. The way life ought to be, according to them.

It's at that point, when the socialist rubber meets the road, that Americans wake up and realize just what the hell they did in electing this Congress and this president. It's at that moment that "The Big Undo" will start. Yep... nothing like a reactive response. For all the unwillingness to get involved earlier and be pro-active, they'll have to start electing people who promise to unravel the Barackracy erected to manage Cap and Trade's mandates. Because if they don't, America will deteriorate, and Americans will do what it takes to protect their wallets.

It won't just be the liberals who killed business. Nope. It will be the fence-sitters who refused to get involved earlier. Silence is enabling. For all the discomfort and lack of social graces that politics brings, it is necessary. Otherwise, crap happens like Waxman-Markey because conservatives, too busy being busy and worrying about their social status and network, refused to take action early.

Nicey nice is fine and dandy - except when you're parked in front of a train. See it coming yet?

I hear from folks on the Right and at times, they seem overwhelmed by what Obama and Pelosi are foisting on us. It's fast and furious, no doubt. The pace of it, coupled with the media's support of this socialist train, takes the wind out of the sails of some.

It's worth the fight. Keep at it. We're just getting started...