Captain Bligh, We Have a Problem

 

So it has come to this. Our mutinous military has thrown down the gauntlet in anticipation of a Trump candidacy and possible second term. As reported in a CNN article (where else?) the Joint Chiefs discussed what to do following last year’s election should Donald Trump stage a coup. Take heed America, our military is prepared to overthrow the government to save the country. How many times has that scenario been played out in two-bi, third-rate banana republics? Now we are to be reduced to this?

Let me be clear. I did not vote for Trump in 2016. This was largely because I found it difficult to get a clear picture of his policies or intentions. Most of the punditocracy, both left and right, was of no help. Obsessed with their various narratives, they failed to see the real Donald Trump and most of them do not see him but through those faulty lenses to this day. As the lamentable W put it so succinctly, he was “misunderestimated.”

Trump was variously determined to be an ignorant amateur, a disinterested dilettante, or worse, an egomaniac intent on making himself president for life. Four years on, it is clear that none of these narratives have any merit. Only the most obtuse observer could fail to see that Trump had very specific intentions and was able to carry out most of it with great consequence. From undoing the cozy and deluded China relationship or the Iran nuclear bribery deal and shifting our policy to focus on China as the real coming threat, to the move of our embassy to Jerusalem and the astonishing Abraham Accords, we have greatly benefitted. In my lifetime, the two perpetual crises have been the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I never thought I would live to see the end of the Soviet Union and I have. Now the possibility of an end to the Palestinian dilemma is at hand. Another box checked.

On the surface, the CNN report would seem to be the military considering all possibilities. The reality is that this is just a rehash of all the pseudo-rumors that were floated in 2016. There is nothing in Trump’s record or actions to suggest that a coup would ever have been considered. In any case, it would be nigh impossible without the complicity of the military, especially the high command, and if there was anything that Trump was denied during his term, it was the support of the military.

A diversion here for a moment. When I speak of the military in this context, I am not including those in the field or the lower ranks. The loyalty of the military historically has been unparalleled. There is no question that when they swear to “preserve, protect and defend the constitution” it is regarded as a solemn obligation. It is taken very seriously in the service, a point made to me by a two-star of my acquaintance. Yet there seems to be a contingent of the upper-most echelons that now take themselves more seriously than their sworn duty.

It has been argued that the Trump White House was chaotic, a revolving door for qualified appointees. Too often, these appointees seemed to enter the administration with the belief that they would have to rescue a fumbling administration by imposing their own policies on a clueless president in need of firm guidance. The chaos followed from the fact that many of these appointees failed to recognize that Trump had a specific plan and intent. The foolish delusions about Trump inevitably produced friction and thus frequent exits from those appointments.

I do not regret my vote for Trump in 2020. All the turmoil aside, his presidency produced real, lasting results. Yet at the same time, I am not keen to see another Trump administration. Certainly, how Trump handled his time in office and how he conducted his campaign had much to do with his loss in 2020. No, I am not joining those who would overturn the results. That deck is badly stacked and no one knows what would follow if it is ever demonstrated that, indeed, the election was wrongly decided. These are murky waters and any such claim needs to be backed by clear and undeniable evidence.

As I say, I do not regret my vote for Trump. Even though the events of January 6 cast a dark shadow, many questions have been left unanswered or even unasked. Of most importance is to know why Trump thought the election was stolen. Was he simply deluded, or was he badly advised? Did he have reason, real clear reason, to believe that something was wrong? None of this has been addressed and the issue of the integrity of the election has not been thoroughly examined. Too many on the right are all too eager to see Trump gone. But I will point at one small, circumstantial item, that might contribute to a better understanding of his thinking. During the course of the campaign, the validity of the various polls was an issue. In general, that is a matter for another thread. However, one of the pollsters made the observation that, generally, the campaigns have far more accurate polling than what is generally reported. This is especially true of national campaigns. Thus, in the event that contrary results occur, it is just as reasonable to question the election integrity as it is to question the accuracy of the polls. Is this what caused Trump to go on the warpath to try to undo the election? And if so, which was the more dubious result, the polls, or the election?

It seems a foregone conclusion that Trump will run again. I am not eager to see this knowing the chaos that will follow. Who knows what could happen? If there is anything that the Trump presidency did, it was to expose the divisions in the conservative movement. It was bad enough that the Democratic Party showed itself to be the most spoiled children of the universe. Perhaps no better could be expected of them. This time around conservatives need to be as much of one mind as possible or all will be lost.

In Robert Grave’s I, Claudius, the accidental emperor decides at the end of his life to let all the evils bubble to the surface and so downs the poison mushrooms. Perhaps we are at such a juncture, what with a mutinous military, an ethically unbound opposition, and a hopelessly divided Republican party/conservative movement. Mushrooms anyone?

Published in Politics
This post was promoted to the Main Feed by a Ricochet Editor at the recommendation of Ricochet members. Like this post? Want to comment? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

There are 33 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    I’m fairly close to your position. A question I consider is whether or not we have already broken so many parts of our constitutional federal republic that it is not possible to put it back together in what we might term a repair or restore mode. I view it as barely a remnant of what it was designed and intended to be. I think the ongoing pitched battle over election integrity will decide this.

    • #1
  2. Doug Watt Member
    Doug Watt
    @DougWatt

    The outcome of the 2022 midterm elections will be interesting. In my opinion the Republican Party should focus on inflation which is basically a tax on the middle class. The border issue is also in play, as well as rising crime rates.

    As far as the next presidential election I’m leaning towards voting for Governor Ron DeSantis. I do not regret voting for Donald Trump. I do think that President Trump’s biggest mistake was not demanding a resignation letter from every political appointee in the DOJ. That should have been done on the very first day of his presidency. The second mistake was appointing Jeff Sessions, a decent man, but perhaps someone who was not capable of handling the entrenched bureaucrats in the DOJ.

    Making the midterms all about Donald Trump would be a strategic error. Rising gas, and food prices empty the wallet, and the middle class voters in the United States outnumber those who can afford a Lamborghini, or indulge in their space exploration hobby.

    • #2
  3. Hang On Member
    Hang On
    @HangOn

    I don’t think the Republicans or conservatives are that divided. There are those from the past who are unhappy and can be given a platform to vent, but they don’t count for much.

    Trump is and isn’t the future. He personally is not the future but his path is. He made enormous mistakes by trusting people who turned out to be snakes. The pundits have been shown to be out of touch with reality and beholden to a monied class. 

    • #3
  4. cdor Member
    cdor
    @cdor

    I loved Trump’s attitude and his policies. Unfortunately, too many who favored his policies were overcome by his personality. I would prefer a candidate who though fully MAGA Trumpian in their viewpoint and policies, was not held back by Trump’s personality. Ron DeSantis.

    • #4
  5. Hang On Member
    Hang On
    @HangOn

    cdor (View Comment):

    I loved Trump’s attitude and his policies. Unfortunately, too many who favored his policies were overcome by his personality. I would prefer a candidate who though fully MAGA Trumpian in their viewpoint and policies, was not held back by Trump’s personality. Ron DeSantis.

    I think many, many of those who claim the problem was Trump personally were using that as an excuse. They aren’t in favor of border control. They aren’t in favor of a trade war with China. They are soft on China because it’s money in their pocket. They aren’t in favor of ending the endless, stupid wars that we lose because again it’s money in their pocket. They don’t see a problem with a politicized intelligence apparatus. Ron DeSantis would run into the same problems from the usual suspects.

    • #5
  6. Jules PA Inactive
    Jules PA
    @JulesPA

    GeezerBob: Of most importance is to know why Trump thought the election was stolen.

    Of more importance is why do so many people deny what observably went sideways in the election? 

    With Fingers in ears, “la la la I cant hear you. Nothing to see here.” 

    • #6
  7. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    Hang On (View Comment):

    I don’t think the Republicans or conservatives are that divided. There are those from the past who are unhappy and can be given a platform to vent, but they don’t count for much.

     

    Hang On (View Comment):

    I think many, many of those who claim the problem was Trump personally were using that as an excuse. They aren’t in favor of border control. They aren’t in favor of a trade war with China. They are soft on China because it’s money in their pocket. They aren’t in favor of ending the endless, stupid wars that we lose because again it’s money in their pocket. They don’t see a problem with a politicized intelligence apparatus. Ron DeSantis would run into the same problems from the usual suspects.

    Is this a single view?

    • #7
  8. EHerring Coolidge
    EHerring
    @EHerring

    Too often, these appointees seemed to enter the administration with the belief that they would have to rescue a fumbling administration by imposing their own policies on a clueless president in need of firm guidance. The chaos followed from the fact that many of these appointees failed to recognize that Trump had a specific plan and intent. The foolish delusions about Trump inevitably produced friction and thus frequent exits from those appointments.

    Bingo. Our betters, the self-anointed elite, thought they knew better and resented the lesser being not bowing down to their wisdom. They are the dangerous ones, not Trump. Unless one rises up who I can trust to not morph into another of the self-amounted elite for us to bow down to, Trump is my man.

    • #8
  9. cdor Member
    cdor
    @cdor

    Hang On (View Comment):

    cdor (View Comment):

    I loved Trump’s attitude and his policies. Unfortunately, too many who favored his policies were overcome by his personality. I would prefer a candidate who though fully MAGA Trumpian in their viewpoint and policies, was not held back by Trump’s personality. Ron DeSantis.

    I think many, many of those who claim the problem was Trump personally were using that as an excuse. They aren’t in favor of border control. They aren’t in favor of a trade war with China. They are soft on China because it’s money in their pocket. They aren’t in favor of ending the endless, stupid wars that we lose because again it’s money in their pocket. They don’t see a problem with a politicized intelligence apparatus. Ron DeSantis would run into the same problems from the usual suspects.

    There certainly are those who believe as you describe @hangon, but I do not believe there are that many millions of people who lean Republican and are not in favor of border control. There aren’t even that many who don’t lean Republican and are not in favor of border control. The same holds true for Trump’s China policies. And I believe his actions in the Middle East would have drawn even higher acclaim had they received the media attention they deserved. His economic policies were tremendously successful and were helpful to the poorest Americans the most.

    • #9
  10. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Hang On (View Comment):
    I think many, many of those who claim the problem was Trump personally were using that as an excuse. They aren’t in favor of border control. They aren’t in favor of a trade war with China. They are soft on China because it’s money in their pocket. They aren’t in favor of ending the endless, stupid wars that we lose because again it’s money in their pocket. They don’t see a problem with a politicized intelligence apparatus. Ron DeSantis would run into the same problems from the usual suspects.

    Agreed. Also, they want their old corruption back.  

    • #10
  11. Hang On Member
    Hang On
    @HangOn

    Bob Thompson (View Comment):

    Hang On (View Comment):

    I don’t think the Republicans or conservatives are that divided. There are those from the past who are unhappy and can be given a platform to vent, but they don’t count for much.

     

    Hang On (View Comment):

    I think many, many of those who claim the problem was Trump personally were using that as an excuse. They aren’t in favor of border control. They aren’t in favor of a trade war with China. They are soft on China because it’s money in their pocket. They aren’t in favor of ending the endless, stupid wars that we lose because again it’s money in their pocket. They don’t see a problem with a politicized intelligence apparatus. Ron DeSantis would run into the same problems from the usual suspects.

    Is this a single view?

    I don’t think they are any longer Republicans and they certainly aren’t in charge. They are a distraction put up by the MSM.

    • #11
  12. Hang On Member
    Hang On
    @HangOn

    cdor (View Comment):

    Hang On (View Comment):

    cdor (View Comment):

    I loved Trump’s attitude and his policies. Unfortunately, too many who favored his policies were overcome by his personality. I would prefer a candidate who though fully MAGA Trumpian in their viewpoint and policies, was not held back by Trump’s personality. Ron DeSantis.

    I think many, many of those who claim the problem was Trump personally were using that as an excuse. They aren’t in favor of border control. They aren’t in favor of a trade war with China. They are soft on China because it’s money in their pocket. They aren’t in favor of ending the endless, stupid wars that we lose because again it’s money in their pocket. They don’t see a problem with a politicized intelligence apparatus. Ron DeSantis would run into the same problems from the usual suspects.

    There certainly are those who believe as you describe @ hangon, but I do not believe there are that many millions of people who lean Republican and are not in favor of border control. There aren’t even that many who don’t lean Republican and are not in favor of border control. The same holds true for Trump’s China policies. And I believe his actions in the Middle East would have drawn even higher acclaim had they received the media attention they deserved. His economic policies were tremendously successful and were helpful to the poorest Americans the most.

    I agree they aren’t many in number but they are highly vocal and visible and get air play and inches of print.

    And Trump appointed a lot of them and they sabotaged him. It was by far Trump ‘s biggest failure.

    • #12
  13. EHerring Coolidge
    EHerring
    @EHerring

    Hang On (View Comment):

    cdor (View Comment):

    Hang On (View Comment):

    cdor (View Comment):

    I loved Trump’s attitude and his policies. Unfortunately, too many who favored his policies were overcome by his personality. I would prefer a candidate who though fully MAGA Trumpian in their viewpoint and policies, was not held back by Trump’s personality. Ron DeSantis.

    I think many, many of those who claim the problem was Trump personally were using that as an excuse. They aren’t in favor of border control. They aren’t in favor of a trade war with China. They are soft on China because it’s money in their pocket. They aren’t in favor of ending the endless, stupid wars that we lose because again it’s money in their pocket. They don’t see a problem with a politicized intelligence apparatus. Ron DeSantis would run into the same problems from the usual suspects.

    There certainly are those who believe as you describe @ hangon, but I do not believe there are that many millions of people who lean Republican and are not in favor of border control. There aren’t even that many who don’t lean Republican and are not in favor of border control. The same holds true for Trump’s China policies. And I believe his actions in the Middle East would have drawn even higher acclaim had they received the media attention they deserved. His economic policies were tremendously successful and were helpful to the poorest Americans the most.

    I agree they aren’t many in number but they are highly vocal and visible and get air play and inches of print.

    And Trump appointed a lot of them and they sabotaged him. It was by far Trump ‘s biggest failure.

    Trump had a small pool to choose from thanks to TDS and the attacks on anyone who went to work for him. After all the calls to refuse to hire anyone who worked for him and to investigate all who did, the future pool for the next Republican President will be smaller and more full of those willing to work against him.

    • #13
  14. DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) Coolidge
    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!)
    @DonG

    The Military was silent on Obama’s abuse of power and deep state coup.  The only guy that dared to speak out (Mike Flynn) was persecuted by the DOJ and still the military was silent on the abuses of power.  I don’t want the military to be political or partisan, but I don’t want them to be silent on Constitutional abuses either.  Our military is lead by bureaucrats in uniforms.   We have too many McClellans and not enough Grants.

    • #14
  15. Basil Fawlty Member
    Basil Fawlty
    @BasilFawlty

    GeezerBob: Let me be clear. I did not vote for Trump in 2016.

    For whom did you vote?

    • #15
  16. Unsk Member
    Unsk
    @Unsk

    EHerring:”Too often, these appointees seemed to enter the administration with the belief that they would have to rescue a fumbling administration by imposing their own policies on a clueless president in need of firm guidance.”

    All true but a couple of other issues loomed much larger:

    • Mitch McConnell would not let in many cases Trump’s preferred choice to be appointed, so Trump was stuck often with someone who owed their allegiance to McConnell, not Trump and who would eventually betray Trump . Case in point: Bill Barr, Gina Haspel,  Christopher Wray, Joseph Maguire, James Mattis, Mike Esper, Le Master, Kelly  etc. 

    • The Administrative State agencies thwarted much  Trump’s agenda  because of the Chevron Deference Supreme Court ruling that often gave these agencies veto power over Trump’s decisions. Case in point : Dr. Fauci blocked Trump’s order to send out 60 million doses  of HCQ  to fight COVID which would have saved hundreds of thousands of American lives. 

    • #16
  17. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Unsk (View Comment):

    EHerring:”Too often, these appointees seemed to enter the administration with the belief that they would have to rescue a fumbling administration by imposing their own policies on a clueless president in need of firm guidance.”

    All true but a couple of other issues loomed much larger:

    • Mitch McConnell would not let in many cases Trump’s preferred choice to be appointed, so Trump was stuck often with someone who owed their allegiance to McConnell, not Trump and who would eventually betray Trump . Case in point: Bill Barr, Gina Haspel, Christopher Wray, Joseph Maguire, James Mattis, Mike Esper, Le Master, Kelly etc.

    • The Administrative State agencies thwarted much Trump’s agenda because of the Chevron Deference Supreme Court ruling that often gave these agencies veto power over Trump’s decisions. Case in point : Dr. Fauci blocked Trump’s order to send out 60 million doses of HCQ to fight COVID which would have saved hundreds of thousands of American lives.

    If Fauci hadn’t blocked it entirely, I expect he would have made sure that no zinc went out too, so that it could be called Trump’s mistake.

    • #17
  18. I Walton Member
    I Walton
    @IWalton

    To assert that the election was not stolen is delusional.  We can’t know?  We could have quite easily but were not allowed to know.  Still, there is nothing to do about it now except keep trying to prove it in order to make reform a political reality.  That won’t happen either.  I don’t know whose calling the shots, maybe chaos serves China’s as well as the far lefts interests, but the direction is clear enough. Is it possible to have a fair election?  If the candidate is Trump the left will feel it has justification for their fraud and shenanigans.  If not, they’ll have to be a little more subtle and they’d have to have a real candidate. That will be interesting. 

    • #18
  19. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    I wanted to argue with Codevilla about this, but by the end, I had to agree with him (and Doug). 

    https://amgreatness.com/2021/07/06/what-is-trump-to-us/

    Trump’s greatest failure and broken promise was not draining the swamp. It wasn’t just the DOJ, though. He should have fired all the appointees of the IC as well. No president can serve American interests while his opponents hold such power in the deep state. It will be true for Ron DeSantis should he become president, too. It’s not a problem for Democrat presidents because they don’t have America’s interests on the agenda anyway.

    Now, I know it has the aroma of banana republic to clean out the administration of your political opponents, but Obama already adopted the method when he retired the generals. We’ve had the stink of banana republic on us since then.

    • #19
  20. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    Now, I know it has the aroma of banana republic to clean out the administration of your political opponents, but Obama already adopted the method when he retired the generals. We’ve had the stink of banana republic on us since then.

    These people are much more than “political opponents”. They must be cleaned out and kept out.

    • #20
  21. Eugene Kriegsmann Member
    Eugene Kriegsmann
    @EugeneKriegsmann

    An excellent analysis which is easy to say since it is exactly what I feel. Like you, I didn’t vote for Trump in 2016. I did in 2020. I was unsurprised by his reaction to his loss, however. Trump has been a poor loser since his childhood. There was no way he would have admitted to losing no matter the margin of loss.

    The reaction of the political officers in the military is disturbing, but not disappointing since I have seen far too many REMFs attain general or admiral rank, and too few real fighters. That the current trend in the upper ranks has gone WOKE isn’t a big surprise either. What is most disappointing is that everything Trump achieved, no matter its merit, and a lot of what he did was quite meritorious, is being labeled as bad, and the buffoon currently in the Oval Office is undoing some very important accomplishments on that basis. Those accomplishments moved the whole world in a very positive direction, and we are now looking at a far less optimistic future, only a bit over 6 months into Biden’s term. It is more than depressing. 

    As to Trump’s running again. I do hope he doesn’t do it. As much as he accomplished, he has left a certain stink behind. His behavior in those last weeks following the election, even though they weren’t any different than Hillary’s under similar circumstances, have left a permanent stain on his presidency. That stain has been further exacerbated by the efforts of the left to make the idiotic behavior of the protesters on January 6th into an insurrection. How absurd can they get? Though most know that it wasn’t anything of the sort, it has pretty much doomed any attempt by Trump to regain the office. No one likes a poor loser, particularly when, as Trump has done, that loser plays the role of a spoiled brat. Trump and Hillary share that in common. Both need to be gone from the scene, and adults need to resume control. I am hoping Ron Desantis picks up the nomination and continues the good work he has accomplished on a larger scale.

    • #21
  22. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    I think Trump can establish a lasting legacy if he will devote his efforts to electing a POTUS who sees what President Trump revealed during his term and recognizes the underlying causes and what must be done to restore our Constitutional republic. Maybe our last chance. The Left, assisted by Establishment Republicans, will do all possible to defeat a Trump candidacy.

    • #22
  23. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    I wanted to argue with Codevilla about this, but by the end, I had to agree with him (and Doug).

    https://amgreatness.com/2021/07/06/what-is-trump-to-us/

    Trump’s greatest failure and broken promise was not draining the swamp. It wasn’t just the DOJ, though. He should have fired all the appointees of the IC as well. No president can serve American interests while his opponents hold such power in the deep state. It will be true for Ron DeSantis should he become president, too. It’s not a problem for Democrat presidents because they don’t have America’s interests on the agenda anyway.

    Now, I know it has the aroma of banana republic to clean out the administration of your political opponents, but Obama already adopted the method when he retired the generals. We’ve had the stink of banana republic on us since then.

    Now that I think about it, the IC falls under the DOJ umbrella? So, yeah. clean house at the DOJ. But, the next (R) president will have to clean out the top brass of the military, too. And probably every other agency of the feds if he doesn’t shutter them completely.

    Basically, we’re screwed.

    • #23
  24. Steve C. Member
    Steve C.
    @user_531302

    Unsk (View Comment):
    The Administrative State agencies thwarted much  Trump’s agenda  because of the Chevron Deference Supreme Court ruling that often gave these agencies veto power over Trump’s decisions. Case in point : Dr. Fauci blocked Trump’s order to send out 60 million doses  of HCQ  to fight COVID which would have saved hundreds of thousands of American lives. 

    This is wrong. First, a President is not constrained by Chevron Deference. He has the ultimate power to make and enforce policy. Chevron Deference is a precedent which presumes an agency’s decisions are reasonable unless directly contradicted by a law.*

    Second, Presidents do have to comply with the Administrative Procedures Act. As we saw during Trump’s term, it can be used as a guerilla tactic to stymie policy changes.

    Is there some citation somewhere about Fauci overriding a Trump order to distribute HCQ? I follow this stuff pretty regularly and have not heard about it. And I’m not a fan of Fauci.

    * I’m sure a lawyer could provide a more accurate 500 word explanation.

    • #24
  25. Steve C. Member
    Steve C.
    @user_531302

    GeezerBob: Is this what caused Trump to go on the warpath to try to undo the election? And if so, which was the more dubious result, the polls, or the election?

    Trump was high on his own supply. Which is odd because he ran hard, like he was behind.

    • #25
  26. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    I wanted to argue with Codevilla about this, but by the end, I had to agree with him (and Doug).

    https://amgreatness.com/2021/07/06/what-is-trump-to-us/

    Trump’s greatest failure and broken promise was not draining the swamp. It wasn’t just the DOJ, though. He should have fired all the appointees of the IC as well. No president can serve American interests while his opponents hold such power in the deep state. It will be true for Ron DeSantis should he become president, too. It’s not a problem for Democrat presidents because they don’t have America’s interests on the agenda anyway.

    Now, I know it has the aroma of banana republic to clean out the administration of your political opponents, but Obama already adopted the method when he retired the generals. We’ve had the stink of banana republic on us since then.

    Yes, I wonder at Trump’s knowledge and how deep it was, but one of the first speeches he gave was to the CIA at CIA headquarters.  He made a cryptic remark about too many columns in the lobby where he was speaking, said to be a reference to a fifth column.

    I don’t know why everybody fell for the line that Trump was Hitler, but it was all propaganda.  In fact the CIA hated Flynn first, and the Russia Collusion scandal was started for Flynn before Trump ever declared his candidacy.  In 2014 Flynn had wanted to reorganize a dysfunctional CIA, and in 2015 he had Trump’s ear, and in 2016 was going to audit the CIA as Trump’s National Security Advisor.

    Back in 2014 the Russia Collusion story had already begun by framing Flynn over a CIA organized Cambridge Intelligence Seminar at which Flynn was the invited speaker, and to which associates of the CIA had invited a female Cambridge doctoral student of Russian birth; and then generated a subsequent Guardian smear campaign, saying that Flynn had fallen into a Russian honey-pot trap.

    It was Flynn whom the CIA had to remove.  But Trump was of like mind.  And without Flynn, Trump was at the mercy of the CIA, and of the political machine in general.

    • #26
  27. Steve C. Member
    Steve C.
    @user_531302

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    I wanted to argue with Codevilla about this, but by the end, I had to agree with him (and Doug).

    https://amgreatness.com/2021/07/06/what-is-trump-to-us/

    Trump’s greatest failure and broken promise was not draining the swamp. It wasn’t just the DOJ, though. He should have fired all the appointees of the IC as well. No president can serve American interests while his opponents hold such power in the deep state. It will be true for Ron DeSantis should he become president, too. It’s not a problem for Democrat presidents because they don’t have America’s interests on the agenda anyway.

    Now, I know it has the aroma of banana republic to clean out the administration of your political opponents, but Obama already adopted the method when he retired the generals. We’ve had the stink of banana republic on us since then.

    Yes, I wonder at Trump’s knowledge and how deep it was, but one of the first speeches he gave was to the CIA at CIA headquarters. He made a cryptic remark about too many columns in the lobby where he was speaking, said to be a reference to a fifth column.

    I don’t know why everybody fell for the line that Trump was Hitler, but it was all propaganda. In fact the CIA hated Flynn first, and the Russia Collusion scandal was started for Flynn before Trump ever declared his candidacy. In 2014 Flynn had wanted to reorganize a dysfunctional CIA, and in 2015 he had Trump’s ear, and in 2016 was going to audit the CIA as Trump’s National Security Advisor.

    Back in 2014 the Russia Collusion story had already begun by framing Flynn over a CIA organized Cambridge Intelligence Seminar at which Flynn was the invited speaker, and to which associates of the CIA had invited a female Cambridge doctoral student of Russian birth; and then generated a subsequent Guardian smear campaign, saying that Flynn had fallen into a Russian honey-pot trap.

    It was Flynn whom the CIA had to remove. But Trump was of like mind. And without Flynn, Trump was at the mercy of the CIA, and of the political machine in general.

    Remember when Schumer commented about how the intel community had “six ways to Sunday” to undercut Trump? I consider him a weasel, still his political judgement is very astute. It does raise the question. If the intel community has such power and influence, why the hell aren’t our elected representatives doing something to control them? Are our politicians puppets? Opportunists? Hopelessly naive?

     

     

    • #27
  28. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    Steve C. (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    I wanted to argue with Codevilla about this, but by the end, I had to agree with him (and Doug).

    https://amgreatness.com/2021/07/06/what-is-trump-to-us/

    Trump’s greatest failure and broken promise was not draining the swamp. It wasn’t just the DOJ, though. He should have fired all the appointees of the IC as well. No president can serve American interests while his opponents hold such power in the deep state. It will be true for Ron DeSantis should he become president, too. It’s not a problem for Democrat presidents because they don’t have America’s interests on the agenda anyway.

    Now, I know it has the aroma of banana republic to clean out the administration of your political opponents, but Obama already adopted the method when he retired the generals. We’ve had the stink of banana republic on us since then.

    Yes, I wonder at Trump’s knowledge and how deep it was, but one of the first speeches he gave was to the CIA at CIA headquarters. He made a cryptic remark about too many columns in the lobby where he was speaking, said to be a reference to a fifth column.

    I don’t know why everybody fell for the line that Trump was Hitler, but it was all propaganda. In fact the CIA hated Flynn first, and the Russia Collusion scandal was started for Flynn before Trump ever declared his candidacy. In 2014 Flynn had wanted to reorganize a dysfunctional CIA, and in 2015 he had Trump’s ear, and in 2016 was going to audit the CIA as Trump’s National Security Advisor.

    Back in 2014 the Russia Collusion story had already begun by framing Flynn over a CIA organized Cambridge Intelligence Seminar at which Flynn was the invited speaker, and to which associates of the CIA had invited a female Cambridge doctoral student of Russian birth; and then generated a subsequent Guardian smear campaign, saying that Flynn had fallen into a Russian honey-pot trap.

    It was Flynn whom the CIA had to remove. But Trump was of like mind. And without Flynn, Trump was at the mercy of the CIA, and of the political machine in general.

    Remember when Schumer commented about how the intel community had “six ways to Sunday” to undercut Trump? I consider him a weasel, still his political judgement is very astute. It does raise the question. If the intel community has such power and influence, why the hell aren’t our elected representatives doing something to control them? Are our politicians puppets? Opportunists? Hopelessly naive?

    @user__531302 Don’t you figure that the intelligence community has something negative in the background of enough people in Congress to exercise control? And for those people where they can’t, they die in some way.

    • #28
  29. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Steve C. (View Comment):
    Are our politicians puppets? Opportunists? Hopelessly naive?

    If they aren’t when elected, the become so.  Look at Eric Swalwell.  A Chinese spy ran (and I think oversaw funding for) his campaign for US Representative.

    • #29
  30. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Steve C. (View Comment):
    Remember when Schumer commented about how the intel community had “six ways to Sunday” to undercut Trump? I consider him a weasel, still his political judgement is very astute. It does raise the question. If the intel community has such power and influence, why the hell aren’t our elected representatives doing something to control them? Are our politicians puppets? Opportunists? Hopelessly naive?

    The key is “constituent services.”  If you don’t understand that, you don’t understand how our government works.  (It’s not just our government, either.  Parliamentary democracies have the same problem.) 

    • #30
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.