Every year at this time, when I was a kid, I started looking forward to the wonders of my favorite holiday, Halloween. What with the fun of dressing up, school parties, and a large annual haul of treats, it was a child's dream come true. Even now, though I'm a bit past trick or treating, I still feel nostalgic for that special time of year.

This year, though, I'm feeling more than nostalgic. A sense of youthful anticipation has returned. I can barely wait for the end of October to arrive so I can rush out, a few days later, and claim my treat.

This year, millions of Americans are feeling the same sense of anticipation. They can barely wait for the next six weeks to pass so they can get out and trick or treat. The trick they have in mind is removing every liberal incumbent from office and denying admission to those who are running for the first time. The treat they will not be denied is a conservative victory in November.

Just how strong is this feeling of anticipation? There is a lot riding on the answer to this question. If conservatives are motivated enough to actually get out and vote in overwhelming numbers, nothing can save the Democrats this year.

The national polls provide some sense of the level of interest in this election among conservatives. ..... So do the recent victories of Tea Party candidates in Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, and in half a dozen primaries in Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, South Carolina, Florida, and New York.

Perhaps the most compelling evidence lies in the sheer numbers of conservative voters who are showing up at the polls. In my own local primary election for county mayor, the ratio of Republican voters to Democrats was thirty to one. In a county of 300,000 residents, the Democrat candidate for mayor took home fewer than 700 votes. Most of us felt he did not deserve that many.

The outrage that voters now feel is not limited to the red states. One of the most hopeful signs is that voters throughout America have come to their senses and realized that 2010 is the last chance for democracy. If Democrats retain undivided control of government for the next two years, the socialist project will be completed. Federal regulators, including many like Elizabeth Warren who have never been confirmed by Congress, will exercise unprecedented power; liberal judges will rewrite the laws of the land. In a few years America could be little more than a Chavez-style dictatorship in which the state controls everything. If you think your retirement savings are safe from this bunch of radicals, think again. It will not be long before they propose "saving" Social Security by seizing your retirement savings.

Hopefully, that sort of thing will be enough to drive conservatives to the polls. If it isn't, they deserve what they will get.

Dr. Jeffrey Folks taught for thirty years in universities in Europe, America, and Japan. He has published many books and articles on American culture and politics.