Earlier today I was chatting with a co-worker about "stuff." She's not known for being politically mouthy and considers herself a moderate - not affiliated with any particular political party.

Somehow our discussion stumbled on the US House of Representative's recent passage of Cap and Trade. My colleague suddenly became very animated and clearly angered. She knew enough about the issue to understand the harm it would do to our economy with relatively no positive impact on the environment.

Then she asked a really interesting question: "Why don't people seem to care?"

That stuck with me throughout the day and I'm beginning to think (or perhaps just hope) that The People really do care. Most are just like her. They really are paying attention and they really are starting to wake up to realize that the Hope & Change many of them voted for is threatening the very survival of capitalism and their own quality of life.

We're starting to see a shift already in national polling and Obama's numbers are beginning to tank in the industrial Midwest - states vital to his and his party's political survival.

Should the US Senate pass and Obama sign Cap and Trade, the results will not only devastate our economy (expect your electric bill to jump 200% and to pay $7 to $10 per gallon at the gas pump plus the price of everything else will skyrocket), that legislation alone will likely doom the Dems future prospects in 2010 & (especially) 2012.

One sign that tells me people are not only paying attention but are also letting their elected representatives know their opinions is the recent vote on Cap and Trade in the House. West Michigan Congressman Vern Ehlers was, according to press reports, one of the fence-sitters who was leaning towards voting for this economy-killing legislation. But a concerted effort by bloggers to get his constituents to voice their opposition may have ensured Ehler's "NO" vote. The politicians do listen to the voters.

I have no idea where Little Debbie Stabenow or Crusty Carl Levin, Michigan's US Senators, stand on Cap and Trade. One would think senators representing a state already mired in economic depression wouldn't want to make matters even worse. But these days, Democrats like Stabenow and Levin are so blinded by their own Leftist ideology and fear of the fringe running their Party, who's to say? And with a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, it should come as little surprise if this abomination becomes the law of the land.

How many different ways can we say this country is going to hell in a hand basket? It's clear to so many of us. But we are not helpless. Our country's future is not out of our hands. We have a voice and we will be heard. And we do not have to wait until the 2010 elections to make a difference.

You need to stand up for your future and the future of your kids and grandkids now. If you do care, then you need to fax your congressman and senators. You need to write those letters to the editor. You need to get in on the ground floor supporting the political candidates of your choice. You need to talk to your neighbors, friends, and family members.

If your biggest worry today is if the Netflix will arrive in time for the weekend, then you'll have no one to blame but yourself as your country slips from a capitalist republic into a repressive socialist state. Stand up and be counted - beginning today.

DCuz