A look at two forces-behind-the-throne, after-the-jump ...
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In November, 2016 (after the election) I recall Newt Gingrich saying on NPR that Krasnov told him something along-the-lines of “I didn’t realize being president would involve so much work”. That was borne out when we read about his schedule involving Executive Time (i.e., watching TV), as he must have thought the job would be powerful yet ceremonial (signing things, giving speeches, et al). Then, he had some people who had governmental experience and some independence, which was no longer true by the close of his first term.
Jamelle Bouie of the NY Times (in a gift article) does not use the term outsourcing, yet indicates that he has largely outsourced most of his work. When asked about some of his pardons or decisions and Krasnov responds, “I don’t know about that, it was suggested to me” … sometimes he’s hiding the truth, yet by outsourcing: there may be times it is true. Jamelle Bouie notes two figures:
Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, is the de facto shadow president for domestic affairs. As one senior government official told ProPublica, “It feels like we work for Russ Vought. He has centralized decision-making power to an extent that he is the commander in chief.” It was Vought who orchestrated the administration’s assault on the federal bureaucracy, including the wholesale destruction of U.S.A.I.D. It was Vought who either froze or canceled hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for anti-poverty programs, H.I.V. reduction initiatives and research into science, medicine and technology. And it is Vought who has been pushing the boundaries of executive power as he attempts to turn the federal government into little more than an extension of the personal will of the president — as channeled through himself, of course.
The other power broker?
Stephen Miller is its shadow president for internal security. Miller, Trump’s top domestic policy adviser, is using the president’s authority to try to transform the ethnic mix of the country — to make America white again, or at least whiter than it is now. He is the primary force behind the expansion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection into a roving deportation force. He has pushed both agencies to step up their enforcement operations, targeting schools, restaurants, farms and other work sites and detaining anyone agents can get their hands on, regardless of citizenship or legal status. It is Miller who is behind the militarization of ICE, the use of the National Guard to occupy Democrat-led cities and assist deportation efforts, and the plan to blanket the United States with a network of detention camps for unauthorized immigrants and anyone else caught in his dragnet.
Read the gift article, as it’s not long and goes into the “unitary executive” theory behind it. There are others that Krasnov delegates power to … and one wonders how much Executive Time he has on his hands (including nap time) nowadays.
Let’s close with the late, great Diane Keaton singing this Jerome Kern-Dorothy Fields classic for Steve Martin in 2007, when he received the Kennedy Center honors … which will always be its proper title.
Now, on to Top Comments (and some Top Photos):
Highlighted by Chillier:
Highlighted by Sarkazien:
Highlighted by Molly Bloom:
To end on a brighter note …..
And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........
In the diary by TheCriticalMind explaining Krasnov’s boast about a ‘warrior dividend’ being financed by tariffs was merely a re-direction of other already authorized funds — Lincoln green looked at which publications fell for the ruse … and which did not.
And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:
