Summary: The big event of the Trump years might be the Deep State emerging into the sunlight in order to fight Donald Trump. Whatever the outcome, it will change America irrevocably.
There were great expectations for the Trump era. Conservatives believed he would Drain The Swamp, ratchet back our foreign wars, reform ObamaCare, get our allies to pay us for defending them, bring peace to the Middle East, reform taxes, and revitalize manufacturing. Leftists predicted that they would be jailed when Trump instituted his fascist state (after he canceled elections). After almost three years, the policy changes have been relatively small compared to those of Reagan, Obama, and Bush Jr.
But something has changed. We can only guess at its significance, but it might be big. It is the answer to “who are the forces pushing to eject Trump from the White House?” The Democrats and the Left, certainly. They seek to impeach Trump for purely political reasons. The Democrats have given 86 reasons to impeach Trump, starting on inaugural day. Some are serious and some imaginary, but none are as significant as Obama’s violations of the Constitution. Since they are not concerned with high crimes, the obvious reason to impeach Trump in his last year of office is to influence the 2020 election.
But the coalition attacking Trump is much broader than simple politics. Samuel Moyn, professor of law and history at Yale, in The Guardian states what should be (but isn’t) obvious to all.
“But behind the stance of permanent alarm and outrage adopted by the political establishment is a strong sense that what really irks them is that US democracy, such as it is, has toppled them from power. And after pining for so long for Robert Mueller’s investigation to be their redemption, they have now pinned their hopes on a ‘memcon ex machina’ {aka UkraineGate}.”
But this clearly misses a key element in this picture. From the beginning of RussiaGate, key players have been from the core Deep State: Federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies. With UkraineGate, military officers joined the game. Senator Schumer (D-NY) warned Trump on 3 January 2017 (before the inauguration): “Let me tell you: You take on the intelligence community – they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you,”
Revelation of the Deep State.
See this as a process. A year ago the great and wise mocked the idea of a “Deep State”, telling us it was a right-wing conspiracy theory (“conspiracy theory” is the STOP button on the liberal’s mind). We had learned a little about it from the Church Committee, but that knowledge went down the memory hole. In September 2018, the NYT published “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration”, an op-ed by a “senior official in the Trump administration.” It was a coy but open admission of the Deep State’s power.
“I work for the president but like-minded colleagues and I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. …President Trump is facing a test to his presidency unlike any faced by a modern American leader. …many of the senior officials in his own (President Trump’s) administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda. …I would know. I am one of them.”
What upsets these people?
“Take foreign policy: In public and in private, President Trump shows a preference for autocrats and dictators, such as President Vladimir Putin of Russia and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, and displays little genuine appreciation for the ties that bind us to allied, like-minded nations.”
He ignores the powerful sanctions Trump placed on Russia. He refers to Trump’s attempt to negotiate detentes in our relationships with these nations. That has always been heresy to powerful elites who benefit from perpetual hostile relations with so many nations (e.g., they always opposed the arms control treaties that have kept us safe). In 1984 Orwell explained
After a year, the existence of the Deep State is by now so obvious that even the New York Times admits it (although the concept remains apostacy to doctrinaire liberals). The first declaration in the NYT by the Deep State was an op-ed. The second is a news story by five reporters: “Trump’s War on the ‘Deep State’ Turns Against Him” – “The impeachment inquiry is in some ways the culmination of a battle between the president and the government institutions he distrusted and disparaged.”
It is an amazing document. First, it described unelected bureaucrats working in concert to thwart the elected President’s exercise of his Constitutional powers. Second, they believe the President’s efforts to fight back against them (“the search for disloyalists”) are illegitimate – because bureaucrats should have primacy over elected officials. The NYT reporters agree with both of these beliefs. They describe the Deep State at work while mocking the idea.
This NYT article marks the Deep State’s emergence into public view. Now its members feel free to admit the obvious, and take bows before journalists’ applause.
Former CIA director John McLaughlin on Trump’s impeachment: “Thank God for the deep state” pic.twitter.com/t4pQhFOBuj
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 31, 2019
David Stockman more accurately explains how Trump has earned the Deep State’s enmity by taking actions (nothing so coherent as policies) that are contrary to the wishes of the Deep State {gated copy, open copy}.
Trump fights back
An adequate response to the Deep State is beyond Trump’s clown-like abilities. Nonetheless, he has slowly realized that they are his most powerful foe. Sebastian Gorka’s new book, The War for America’s Soul: Donald Trump, the Left’s Assault on America, and How We Take Back Our Country
GORKA: “How are we doing, Mr. President, in defeating the Deep State?”
TRUMP: “If it all works out, I will consider it one of the greatest things I’ve done. You look at what’s happened to the absolute scum at the top of the FBI. You look at what’s happening over at the Justice Department, now we have a great attorney general. Whereas before that, with Jeff Sessions, it was a disaster. Just a total disaster. …But now we have a great attorney general. And I think with the destruction of the Deep State, certainly I’ve done big damage. They’ve come after me in so many different ways; it’s been such a disgrace. But I think it’ll be one of my great achievements.”
This might be the only significant accomplishment of the Trump years. He will not destroy the Deep State, breaking its hold on America. Too many Americans have given it their fealty. They believe its lies. They approve of its actions – even when they grossly violate the Constitution (e.g., this fine example, or personally approving treaties). But their fight with Trump might force Americans to see the Deep State, as the exercise of their full power brings them into the sunlight. This might change the course of America. Or it might be a milestone to our abandonment of self-government. Time will tell.
“When the plot is ripe it remains no longer secret.”
— Said by Gandolf in The Two Towers, part two of The Lord of the Rings.
, part two of The Lord of the Rings.See part two:
The terrifying revelation from learning about the Deep State.
For More Information
Ideas! For shopping ideas see my recommended books and films at Amazon.
Powerful details at “John Solomon Reports” about a seldom-discussed aspect of UkraineGate – Ukraine’s efforts to influence the US government and the 2016 campaign: “Debunking some of the Ukraine scandal myths about Biden and election interference.”
Please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For more information see all posts about RussiaGate, about the Deep State, and about ways to reform America’s politics, and especially these…
- Democrats betray their principles & embrace the Deep State.
- In 2018 the Deep State went public & the Dems betrayed us.
- Reviewing “Ball of Collusion”, the big book of 2019 about RussiaGate.
- The amazing Trump-Ukraine-Whistleblower story in a nutshell.
- Impeachment = reform of our antique political system.
- See behind the impeachment stories to learn about America.
- Welcome to Third World America. Stand by for a coup.
- See our strange politics. It’s the first step to change.
Books revealing the Deep State
A few people have warned us about the rising reach and growth of the Deep State.
The Deep State: The Fall of the Constitution and the Rise of a Shadow Government
The American Deep State: Big Money, Big Oil, and the Struggle for U.S. Democracy
Pingback: FBI from Michael_Novakhov (34 sites): "fbi reform" – Google News: The Deep State emerges. This will change America forever. – Fabius Maximus website | Trump-FBI - trump-fbi.com
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American people.” – Theodore Roosevelt
I want to know how many Trump supporters would still support him if he committed a murder in broad daylight.
Trump held back arms needed to fight Russian attacks to coerce the leader of the country to have them repeat conspiracy theories, all to attack Sleepy Joe who hopefully won’t get the nomination anyway.
When it comes to abuse of office, Nixon is a boy scout compared to Trump. It turns out Nixon didn’t need dirty tricks to be reelected. If he kept to legal campaign research, he would have avoided the scandal.
Trump was told what he wanted to do was illegal many times before the July 25th call, but he went ahead anyway. If he kept to legal campaign research, he would have avoided the scandal.
Trump extorted a foreign country using military aid in return for a public statement about investigating Sleepy Joe. These days Biden doesn’t look like the favorite anymore. That means Trump didn’t need to do this either.
I don’t think Trump was that scared of Biden, he just wanted to run the country the way his dictator and oligarch friends would do.
The phony scandal he pinned on Biden became the real scandal with which he will be tarred for all of written history.
The narcissism is exposed in the fact he was told many times not to do this, but he did it anyway.
The higher you rise in fame, the lower you fall in infamy.
A century from now people will only remember Biden as a player involved in the fourth impeachment, and only remember Trump as the fourth president to be impeached.
At John Solomon Reports: “Debunking some of the Ukraine scandal myths about Biden and election interference,” 31 OCTOBER 2019.
Robert,
That is very interesting and well-documented information. Thank you for posting the link!
The comment appeared twice. I deleted the duplicate.
So is it now true that the “whistleblower” Eric Ciaramella is a long time Democrat operative, worked with Alexandra Chalupa and Ukraine to solicit dirt on Donald Trump and Paul Manafort during the spring of 2016, spearheading the Russia investigation, has been in contact for months with Schiff to create another smear?
It’s hard keeping up with these people’s webs of lies!
Kingfisher,
It’s fun, in a weird sort of way, to watch the definitive “gotcha” stories on Trump blow up one after another. My impression is that their half-lives are growing shorter.
Timmy,
“A century from now people will only remember Biden as a player involved in the fourth impeachment, and only remember Trump as the fourth president to be impeached.”
A player yes, President no, impeachment next to impossible.
Watch Joe Biden Brag About Bribing Ukraine To Fire The Prosecutor Investigating His Son’s Company
Ron,
“impeachment next to impossible.”
Technical note: The House impeaches a president. That seems almost certain. The Senate tries the President. Conviction on the current non-evidence, is almost impossible.
Tim,
(1) All of that hysterical commentary rests on one telephone call – where the transcript disagrees with you.
(2) The evidence is clear that Ukraine did not learn that the aid was held back until many weeks after the call. That alone trashes your theory.
(3) The aid was delivered although the Ukraine government didn’t do anything. Again, contradicting your theory.
(4) It’s not god-given that we have any national interest in the Ukraine-Russian conflict. We’d be angry if Russia violated the Monroe Doctrine. We’re not the world’s policeman.
Timothy,
More about UkraineGate: “No, the Biden-Ukraine Story Is Not a ‘Conspiracy Theory’” by Matthew Bose. Opening:
I don’t think we appreciate here how our universities have been training thousands of students in this kind of ideological thinking for decades creating a whole economy in it in fact. “incurious” is quite true. I don’t think we appreciate how much people are motivated by status, (or a passing grade) and you gain a lot of easy status writing and thinking in public like the article Mathew Bose criticizes.
Another good article, and good links! Well done. For the curious that is, lol.
I shiver at the arrogant ignorance of so many Americans; by turns I feel pity, then disgust.
Every single American should read the 568 page Office of the Inspector General report entitled “2016 Election Final Report“, 6-18-18”. It lays out – clearly and concisely – the actions of what is called the “Deep State” leading up to the 2016 election. The political corruption is all encompassing and mind boggling. It would dispel the propaganda that we are force fed – much like geese for pate – from the main stream media and other “trusted” sources.
This document would dispel the arrogant ignorance so many Americans proudly display. Such hubris.
But then again, on a little more reflection, people would likely still cling to their dishonest and foolish righteousness because otherwise, they would be proved wrong – and we wouldn’t want to look foolish now, would we? A good example of what I’m trying to say here is a couple years ago, a certain tv personality said they would rather have nuclear war with N Korea than have Trump even appear to look successful in negotiations with Kim Jong-un.
That’s the arrogant ignorance I’m talking about! Trump is but a dupe – or is he? The whole thing plays li(k)e political theater. As to American politics, I’ve been saying for years: One bird, two wings, one coin, two sides.
For more interesting reading, check out the declassified memo “Operation Northwoods“. That is, if you want to further understand just wtf.
ToS,
Sad but true. I added links to your comment for the IG report and the Wiki page on Op Northwoods.
Everybody has their subjective favorites in this sad game. Neither of those are in my top ten. My #1: see the Big List of Lies by our officials since 1960. Not comprehensive, of course. They lie like rugs. But we always believe the next lie. Which is why developing some skepticism is #1 on my list of Things to Do for reform of American Politics.
“Trump is but a dupe”
Can you explain in what way Trump is a “victim of deception”?
The problem is Trump and Rudy themselves admitted asking Ukraine for help on Biden…..That is not deep state. That is the dope state. At some point we need realize Trump lies like a rug and if the roles were reversed we would be rightly going after Obama or whomever. Was Clinton’s impeachment the dope, I mean deep state?
Ted,
“The problem is Trump and Rudy themselves admitted asking Ukraine for help on Biden”
Since Ukraine attempted to interfere in the 2016 election, was bribing VP Biden’s son, and VP Biden was protecting his son – asking for the Ukraine government’s assistance under the “Mutual Legal Assistance In Criminal Matters” treaty was an appropriate exercise of Executive authority. Even if you disagree, that does not make it a “high crime.”
If the positions were reversed, Dem for GOP, a Dem president would be cheered for such an action. The newspapers would cheer him (or her) as a Hero for Fighting Corruption.
Trump’s biggest mistake was not purging the entire WH staff, the place leaks like a sieve. Leftover Trump haters from the Obama error, like the latest characters in this impeachment saga.
Ron,
That’s a seldom-mentioned likely consequence of the Trump years. A reformist president will see the bureaucrats as potential foes and, if smart, will pre-emptively purge them.
Larry,
Pluto makes a good point about the size of the WH staff, 3000/4000 according to Wikipedia. Even so, Mulvaney, chief of staff, has done a poor job of keeping Trump protected and has made several gaffes in public in the last few weeks.
Mulvaney was left in the dark on the al-Baghdadi operation, according to several reports.
Ron,
“about the size of the WH staff, 3000/4000 according to Wikipedia.”
Not technically correct. The White House isn’t that large. The White House staff is aprox 300. The Executive Office of the President – few of which are in the White House – is aprox 3000+. Only a fraction are significant players. Many of the people in the inner circles – like the alleged “Whistleblower” in UkraineGate – are attached from other agencies, part of the almost limitless pool of officials.
“has done a poor job of keeping Trump protected and has made several gaffes in public in the last few weeks.”
The staff reflects the boss. Trump is an incompetent clown. He can’t keep competent people. Few of those he does keep have much loyalty to him.
Larry,
Trump’s all that and more. Consider the alternatives.
Ron,
“Trump’s all that and more. Consider the alternatives.”
No, I reject that view. We’re not customers waiting in line for wormburgers at McDonald’s. People who think like that are well on their way to becoming servile subjects. If we get involved we can give ourselves better alternatives.
We can’t do that sitting on our butts whining that the choices on the menu don’t suit people of our awesomeness.
This guy is pretty interesting, in this clear take and how most of the previous democrat voters are left politically homeless with their current nonsense. He crowdfunded a million dollars to just present factual news without all the lying, aka spin. In short, “impeachment” is about tarring Trump, since the Democrats can’t find a remotely viable candidate, lol. Bizzaro.
Larry, thank you for a well-researched and well-written description of the Deep State. I’m now firmly of the belief that it exists. Successfully destroying it in our lifetime without destroying the effectiveness of the rest of the US Federal government is a very big challenge.
Ron Stabb’s comments on the necessity of purging the WH staff look reasonable from the outside but are nearly impossible to achieve. The problem with the idea isn’t the people involved but the fact that the White House is the absolute pinnacle of US government power and the number of people who try to get inside information and the tools at their disposal are so vast they are almost beyond belief. Humans work in the White House, humans are frequently gossipy, greedy, naive, etc., other humans with vast resources can and will take advantage of that.
Joe Biden as president would likely be a disaster of the first magnitude. How a man can serve under Obama for 8 years and still be so prone to gaffes, leaks, and misunderstandings and still think he’d be a good president is beyond me. If nothing else, the combination of his age and the world’s toughest job suggests that he wouldn’t survive a term in office without suffering some sort of mental degradation.
To repeat and expand an earlier broad comment of mine – we are moving to a republic of ___ that will be as different from the republic of FDR as the republic of FDR was from the republic of Lincoln. Whether Trump plays the role of a Wilson or a Hoover to this future FDR is yet to be seen. Trump’s greatest success has been exposing the opposing elite in all their mediocrity. How this gets resolved is still to be seen.
Drew,
That’s a good summary of what I’ve been saying!
“starting on inaugural day”
Wasn’t there a call in December before inaugural day, as well as Tom Steyer’s petition the day before inauguration? They weren’t even willing to wait and see if DJT committed high crimes and misdemeanors while in office before starting the campaign to get him out.
Heresolong,
Thanks for those pointers! I didn’t think to look for calls to overthrow the election’s result even before inauguration?
Amazing since one of the claims about Trump was that he would not accept the election result. Nice example of how some of the Left’s claims about Trump are projection of their own thinking.
A few important things to consider when discussing and doing an analysis of Deep State politics:
(1) The State is never a single actor with a unitary interest, rationale or capacity (factions must be identified as well as the policy stance of these same factions).
(2) All State functions have evolved historically (analyze closely the evolution of Central Banks, Intelligence Agencies and their relationships with private sector power-for example linkages between Silicon Valley and intelligence, the Federal Reserve and private banking and finance).
(3)Look closely at the supposed oversight capacities of elected officials. Are there really checks and balances presently in place? (Select committees of intelligence etc.)
(4) Study in detail how the different factions of the State structure are actually financed.
Does the present National Security State have any funding constraints? Do elements of the bureaucracy in co-ordination with Congress simply budget expenditures and then go ahead and spend the money?
(5) Examine closely the growth of the National Security edifice since WWII.(Importance of 9/11 as leverage for unrestrained expansion). Examine the expanding power of the Federal Reserve since the Great Recession of 2007-2008.
(6) Is it a fact that State structures are, indeed, no longer controlled by constitutionally controlled democratic institutions and elected representatives?
James,
Some of those questions have complex answers. Some are too complex to answer, but are well worth considering. A few have simple answers.
(1) “Are there really checks and balances presently in place? (Select committees of intelligence etc.)”
Yes. That they agree on policy does not mean there is no oversight. That is often considered a strength of the American polity.
(2) “Does the present National Security State have any funding constraints?”
Of course it does. Are you kidding?
(3) “Examine the expanding power of the Federal Reserve since the Great Recession of 2007-2008.”
That is an easy one: there has been no such expansion of power since 2008.
(4) “Is it a fact that State structures are, indeed, no longer controlled by constitutionally controlled democratic institutions and elected representatives?”
No, it is not true. The machinery the Founders bequeathed us remains fully functional and totally decisive. It needs only our dedication and effort to power it. That we choose to abdicate our responsibilities as citizens does not mean that the machinery no longer works. My snowblower and lawn mover sit quietly in the garage. They need me only to plug them in and turn on the power.
thanks for the information