By Christopher G. Adamo

The events of the past week should thoroughly scare anyone with an understanding of historical causes and effects. Fortunately for the underwriters of the “new order,” most Americans remain blissfully ignorant of the plotting and maneuvering going on inside the Beltway. As long as the network anchors keep force-feeding the people a steady diet of euphoric anecdotes regarding everything Obama, along with the predictable public opinion polls showing that the ruse has gained near universal acceptance, America can continue inexorably on its descent into socialism.

Yet some alarming news items have been very telling as to the intentions of the Democrat ruling class now entrenched at the epicenter of political power. Admittedly, the Republican “opposition” has already capitulated to a far greater degree than ever should have happened, given the unconscionable partisanship of the Democrats over the past eight years. During a grave time of war, Democrats sought every opportunity to tout the strengths of America’s enemies, while their most prominent mouthpieces such as Senate Leader Harry Reid (D.-NV), Senator Richard Durbin (D.-IL), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-CA), and Representative John Murtha (D.-PA) focused almost exclusively on America’s weaknesses and failures, whether real or contrived.

Now however, those same purveyors of liberal venom and all of their “mainstream” media accomplices insist that the nation wants nothing but collegiality and acquiescence to the far-left agenda of the Obama Administration. All too often, propaganda ploys of this nature have worked. At many such critical junctures in recent years, the Republican minority has abdicated its principles and cooperated with the left in the name of “bipartisanship,” the “new tone,” or “ending the rancor.”

Even now, with Obama and the Democrat Congressional leadership on the brink of squandering nearly a trillion dollars of real America’s resources on their obscenely bloated “economic stimulus” bill, some Republicans are vocally castigating the conservatives for refusing to support the effort. Obama has made significant inroads among certain wishy-washy members of the “conservative” punditry, while seeking to isolate and marginalize the voices of real conservatism, most notably Rush Limbaugh.

Many expected the thoroughly shell-shocked Republican remnant on Capitol Hill to roll over for Obama and the Democrats, thus paving the way for even bigger GOP losses in the 2010 mid-term elections. Now however, some signs of a Republican awakening give cause for hope on the right. And, set against an ominous backdrop of liberal expansionism, the time was right for Republicans, despite their inability to numerically dominate the political landscape, to use this occasion to reaffirm their principles and starkly contrast themselves against Democrats.

Moreover, in an effort to advance a crucial element of his Machiavellian political strategy, Obama may have tipped his hand a little too soon, thus betraying his sinister intentions and removing his mask of universal love and popularity that was so meticulously constructed during the past two years. If real Republicans, and indeed any Americans who cherish their country’s heritage are taking notice, they can “connect the dots” and realize that the fate of our constitutional republic may hang in the balance, and America’s resurgence or collapse may ride on their timidity or ability to stand fast.

It is dangerous to trivialize the significance of Obama’s exhortation for Republicans to “stop listening to Rush Limbaugh.” In another time, when reason and respectability would have undergirded a president’s intention to uphold the Constitution (along with the assurance that the courts and the people would not allow otherwise), a statement of that nature might have been dismissed as casual banter. But Obama has already displayed a willingness to say or do anything, constitutional or otherwise, in order to further his agenda. So the intimidation and silencing of his most vocal critic would certainly not exceed any previous actions.

Not to be excluded from consideration is the liberal obsession with the abominably misnamed “Fairness Doctrine,” an Orwellian concept that if implemented would essentially thrash the First Amendment and shut down the nation’s airwaves to anything but state-approved political debate. Concerned citizens from across the political spectrum should recognize the threat this measure would pose to all members of a free and open country. And Obama’s deliberate effort to center the discussion around Limbaugh, far from being merely a jab at a political rival, represents the first move toward silencing the masses.

This episode serves as a chilling harbinger of what it will take to remain in good standing within Obama’s new order. Empty tributes to “bipartisanship” aside, Obama, Reid, and Pelosi will accept nothing short of compliance to their agenda.

Republicans who believe in upholding Republican principles are currently backed into a corner. And some are coming back swinging. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R.-OH) is openly voicing his disapproval of the “stimulus” sham. As a result, on Wednesday the measure passed in the House, but without a single Republican vote in support of it.

Similarly, over in the Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R.-KS) has likewise excoriated the spending bill, asserting that it will most definitely not help the economy. If McConnell can hold Senate Republicans together as well as Boehner did in the House, responsibility for the binge spending will rest entirely with the Democrats. Both Republican leaders are correctly contending that this unjustifiable level of governmental waste is motivated far more by political interests, and not by any intention to truly spur America’s recovery from its current economic plight.

This may be the defining moment for the Republican Party. The bogus “stimulus” bill can, and most likely will, pass in the Senate, as it did in the House, with or without Republican votes. But Democrats need Republican cover in order to lay a fig leaf of “bipartisanship” over their criminal pillaging of the confiscated wealth of America.

This newest “stimulus” will not work any better than the last one. And in its wake the country will be that much poorer for the misbegotten endeavor. A unified Republican opposition to the spending spree would help to sharply define each party as a promoter of run-away spending or a champion of fiscal responsibility. And going into the next election cycle, that is a risk the Democrats cannot afford to take.

Of course the media has reported the House vote as a triumph for Obama. But without GOP collaboration, it will incur an enormous toll on the Democrats once the parades pass by and reality sets in. Congressional and Senate Republicans need to recognize the magnitude of their success and stridently oppose the Democrats on other issues, including domestic drilling for oil and the need to keep healthcare outside of the entanglements of government bureaucracies. By maintaining their resolve, they will be far better positioned to pursue the mid-term elections in 2010.