The Trump regime is continuing to consolidate its transformation of the republic into an authoritarian state.
Their war on the media has been underway for some time. The president makes statements that are provably false and repeats them — the technical term for that is lying. The administration uses alternative facts, and attacks the press for contradicting them. The Trump regime is blocking government agencies from communicating with the media, and is selectively blocking news outlets from covering events.
All of this is about consolidating power by controlling information* — even the most basic information needed to make informed decisions. And it’s not just about the press: the government itself must be broken and made to serve the interests of the regime where that information conflicts with their agenda.
* which is not to say they’re not using other means as well
The Trump regime wishes to pursue a number of policies not supported by facts (or law for that matter), and to the extent the government is staffed by people who try to do their jobs on the basis of objective facts and proven policies, those people are now targets because they are in the way of Trump and company.
Sean Spicer is on record charging that the “deep state” is full of people actively seeking to oppose the Trump agenda — and they have to go. According to Spicer, it’s the work of partisan holdovers from the Obama administration:
When he was asked if he believes a "deep state" system exists within the U.S. government, Spicer said, "Well, I think that there's no question when you have eight years of one party in office that there are people who stay in government who are affiliated with, joined, and continue to espouse the agenda of the previous administration."
He added, "So I don't think it should come as any surprise that there are people that burrowed into government during eight years of the last administration, and may have believed in that agenda and what to continue to seek it. I don't think that should come as a surprise to anyone."
Spicer hedged a little, when asked if the CIA might be used to root them out, saying "That's not part of the CIA's mandate under any circumstances...” but the message is clear.
This narrative serves several purposes. It ‘explains’ why the Trump regime is having problems implementing their promises. It’s not because they’re corrupt or incompetent — it’s because they’re being sabotaged. It provides ‘enemies’ to blame: Obama and by extension liberals and the Democratic Party. This is all aimed at consolidating power and delegitimizing opposition: the media, Democrats, government employees (the dreaded bureaucrats), over-regulating agencies out of control… It’s also meant to be a message to everyone in government — you’re being watched and there will be consequences if you don’t toe the Trump line. This is exactly how authoritarian governments work.
The Right Wing Echo Machine is catapulting the propaganda: check out Sean Hannity throwing one of his patented outrage hissy fits:
Deep-state Obama holdovers embedded like barnacles in the federal bureaucracy are hell-bent on destroying President Trump. It's time for the Trump administration to purge these saboteurs.
Back to 1861, President Abraham Lincoln created a so-called “team of rivals,” a cabinet of adversaries that he ran against in the Republican primary. But while Lincoln sought to unify his party through these cabinet selections, he also cleaned house in the federal government. He fired more than 75 percent of executive branch employees, at the time nearly 1,200 people. Why? He had reason to fear they could be disloyal.
President Trump would do well to follow Lincoln's example and a fire anyone and everyone who is actively working against him in government.
Of course, at the time Lincoln was facing an active Civil War. We’re in the middle of a slow motion coup.
The Trump regime is taking steps to cripple the government and make it dysfunctional — if only to ensure that it can’t do anything that might interfere with their agenda. The State Department is an alarming example. Trump’s brain, Steve Bannon, has set a goal of deconstructing the administrative state. (Call it an anti-infrastructure initiative.) Here’s how it’s working out:
U.S. allies and adversaries looking for clarity on President Donald Trump’s foreign policy will have to wait a bit longer to get that guidance from Rex Tillerson’s State Department.
For the third consecutive week since Trump took office, State Department press briefings normally held every workday haven’t been scheduled, no chief of staff has been named and many of the most senior posts at the department remain vacant. By this time in the Obama administration, the State Department had given 11 daily briefings.
If you have time to listen to the video at the above link, do so. It’s alarming all by itself, and a demonstration of the folly of turning government over to corporatists.
Pro Publica has an expose on the kind of people the Trump regime IS installing in the government:
While President Trump has not moved to fill many jobs that require Senate confirmation, he has quietly installed hundreds of officials to serve as his eyes and ears at every major federal agency, from the Pentagon to the Department of Interior.
Unlike appointees exposed to the scrutiny of the Senate, members of these so-called “beachhead teams” have operated largely in the shadows, with the White House declining to publicly reveal their identities.
While some names have previously dribbled out in the press, we are publishing a list of more than 400 hires, providing the most complete accounting so far of who Trump has brought into the federal government.
The White House said in January that around 520 staffers were being hired for the beachhead teams.
The list we obtained includes obscure campaign staffers, contributors to Breitbart and others who have embraced conspiracy theories, as well as dozens of Washington insiders who could be reasonably characterized as part of the “swamp” Trump pledged to drain.
Again — it’s all about consolidating power. One of the characteristics of fascism is a merger between government and corporate interests: the oligarchy/kleptocracy/kakistocracy crowd. In Ayn Rand’s etymology, these would be the government/corporate looters she described in Atlas Shrugged — except they see themselves as Rand’s heroes… It’s the kind of world Trump’s role model, Putin, reigns over.
The core fatuousness of the argument that government “needs to be run like a business” is exposed here, for those with eyes to see. Businesses are NOT democracies — they’re property. Owners don’t ask for a vote on how they run things, and have no concern about public interest save as to how it affects their bottom line. (Again, check out the video at this link.) The rule of law is honored only to the extent of the risk of getting caught and the price of breaking it if caught.
Donald J. Trump has a long history of bad behavior as a businessman; why should anyone expect him to be an ethical paragon at running a government, a very different kind of animal? What he is known for is a need to dominate every situation, keeping things to a tight circle of loyalists, and walking away from failure while blaming others. So far, there are no signs he is doing anything differently — or even that he realizes he should.
While Trump leads the country into fascism, the Republican Party is going along for the ride. So far, the consensus seems to be they stand more to gain than lose by supporting/tolerating him and his minions. There will be no recourse to the 25th amendment or impeachment so long as that remains their calculation — and they have control of the House and Senate.
The day that calculation changes is going to be very interesting — if it does. At that point there will be a tremendous battle between the party establishment and the Trump partisans. It won’t be pretty. It remains to be seen whether or not the forces resisting Trump and the Republican Party can turn things around before it comes to that.
We must resist and continue resisting.
For more background on this:
Tools to Fight American Fascism — We Should Have Listened to Sara Robinson in 2009 www.dailykos.com/…
Thank You Adolf Hitler — We have No Excuses Thanks To You www.dailykos.com/…
America and the “F” word — Fascism www.dailykos.com/…
Hitler, Trump, The Republican Party and the Problem of Power www.dailykos.com/…
Why the Intelligence Community Links are Worrying www.dailykos.com/...