LaxPower Back-Up Stick

Was the author of today's NYT op ed a member of the Deep State?

DNI? CIA? NSA? DIA? FBI? DoSBIR? DHS.OIA? DEA.NSI? DoTR.I&A? DoE.I&C? NGIA? NRO? USAF.S&R? AMI? ONI? MCI? CGI? (Yeah, that's 17!)

Discuss amongst ya'selves...

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This Op Ed scares me, and no, I'm not kidding. But it opens a can of worms that we haven't seen since Watergate

1. We now know the Deep State isn't real. It's not a bunch of holdovers from Obama or whatever nonsense FoxNation cooked up. The Deep State----and man, I wish I could recall the Laxpower post where I said as much----is inside Trump's own house.

2. It ain't just one guy, if you read that Op-Ed.

3. This is a coup d etat, folks. Make no bones about it. This isn't some issue of semantics. This is the real deal subversion of the elected POTUS.
Intentionally making decisions for him, or taking his ability to make the decisions in the first place.....coup. This is not to be taken lightly, folks.

4. Clearly Trump isn't fit for his job. This is indeed news, despite what some say. First hand, real world news about what's really going on in the White House.

I'm worried about what's next. Seriously. If Trump cleans house and fires EVERYONE....what do we do next?

"1. We now know the Deep State isn't real. It's not a bunch of holdovers from Obama or whatever nonsense FoxNation cooked up. The Deep State----and man, I wish I could recall the Laxpower post where I said as much----is inside Trump's own house."

Well a fan, not sure how you can jump to this conclusion, although it's no surprise how much you'd like to. I've always preferred "resistance" to "deep state" since it goes well beyond the "little ds and rs" you like so much to refer to. Once again though a fan, patience!... we don't know who or what this op ed is...no need to conclude anything...yet.

a fan wrote:This Op Ed scares me, and no, I'm not kidding. But it opens a can of worms that we haven't seen since Watergate

1. We now know the Deep State isn't real. It's not a bunch of holdovers from Obama or whatever nonsense FoxNation cooked up. The Deep State----and man, I wish I could recall the Laxpower post where I said as much----is inside Trump's own house.

2. It ain't just one guy, if you read that Op-Ed.

3. This is a coup d etat, folks. Make no bones about it. This isn't some issue of semantics. This is the real deal subversion of the elected POTUS.
Intentionally making decisions for him, or taking his ability to make the decisions in the first place.....coup. This is not to be taken lightly, folks.

4. Clearly Trump isn't fit for his job. This is indeed news, despite what some say. First hand, real world news about what's really going on in the White House.

I'm worried about what's next. Seriously. If Trump cleans house and fires EVERYONE....what do we do next?

Completely agree with this.

If it is real it is a problem and the person should be arrested for purposely trying to overthrow/sabotage our government. Sounds like NYT fake news though. Fake news gonna fake news.

There are so many very real and dangerous problems with the op-ed I am not sure where to begin.

If it is real (let's not forget that the NYT has won Pulitzer's for completely fabricated stories) the writer is neither a hero nor a patriot.

If it is real, the writer has broken ranks - for what purpose? An immature need for self-congratulations?

If the writer is real, why would you be going to all that effort and then out yourself for no reason? What do you accomplish?

The part that is in fact treasonous is this:

So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until — one way or another — it’s over.

it all but calls for the assassination of the president of the US.

IF the writer has taken a "vow" - well, they just broke it....

That is why many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office.

If the writer were a) intelligent, and b) a true patriot seeking what is best for the country, they would resign their position and go public with everything they have seen. They now have no remaining ability to continue to influence the president (if it existed in the first place) nor do any of the fellow conspirators. And the American people are left with nothing but empty innuendo and accusations.

I don't care what side of the aisle you are on, this op-ed should really concern any rational person. In fact it should terrify any supporter of our representative government.

Here is the Op Ed being discussed:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opin ... tance.html

I think it was written by the kid with the lawnmower.

Who Is The Faux-Resistence Leader in the Trump Administration? [behind TPM Prime firewall]

"I say ‘faux-resistance leader’ because I see this exercise primarily as one of anticipatory self-exculpation. As things look darker and darker for the President we are beginning to see the first glimmers of the argument that those who should be tainted forever by their association with President Trump may actually be “unsung heroes” who were resisting from within.

This argument has no merit. Not only does this amount to late in the game special-pleading, on the merits what is described here is not good. Presidents are elected by the people. They run the executive branch. If a President is unfit, committing criminal acts or guilty of misrule, our system has open and lawful paths to rectify the situation. There is the 25th Amendment. There is impeachment. There is the simpler course of disclosure: speaking out publicly, revealing the truth to the people in your own name and being fired. The “two-track presidency” which the author describes, with top advisers using subterfuge and stealth insubordination to frustrate the President’s constitutional rule is, at least in concept, clearly unconstitutional. A more hard-boiled version of what the author describes is this: We are fully cognizant of the the danger the President poses to the country and the fact that he is manifestly unfit for the job. But we are going along with the charade as long as it lasts to pocket deregulation and tax cuts.

In a true military dictatorship or monarchy, there is a certain logic to what is described here. People can work from the inside to frustrate the worst excesses of a malign leader. But the President doesn’t have an army or dynasty legitimacy keeping him fixed in power. As much as President Trump may want to change it, the United States is a constitutional republic. It is built with open and lawful procedures for removing a President from office."

Proactive exculpation and self-justification

aka: rats swimming from the sinking ship before the vortex pulls them under...

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dislaxxic wrote:aka: rats swimming from the sinking ship before the vortex pulls them under...

this (as a precursor to a massive book deal) or a hoax are the only two explanations that make any sense at all.

Perhaps hoo and his compadres consider the author a patriot? After all, he/she is attempting to "protect the Republic" IF it's not a hoax, of course...

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dislaxxic wrote:Who Is The Faux-Resistence Leader in the Trump Administration? [behind TPM Prime firewall]

"I say ‘faux-resistance leader’ because I see this exercise primarily as one of anticipatory self-exculpation. As things look darker and darker for the President we are beginning to see the first glimmers of the argument that those who should be tainted forever by their association with President Trump may actually be “unsung heroes” who were resisting from within.

This argument has no merit. Not only does this amount to late in the game special-pleading, on the merits what is described here is not good. Presidents are elected by the people. They run the executive branch. If a President is unfit, committing criminal acts or guilty of misrule, our system has open and lawful paths to rectify the situation. There is the 25th Amendment. There is impeachment. There is the simpler course of disclosure: speaking out publicly, revealing the truth to the people in your own name and being fired. The “two-track presidency” which the author describes, with top advisers using subterfuge and stealth insubordination to frustrate the President’s constitutional rule is, at least in concept, clearly unconstitutional. A more hard-boiled version of what the author describes is this: We are fully cognizant of the the danger the President poses to the country and the fact that he is manifestly unfit for the job. But we are going along with the charade as long as it lasts to pocket deregulation and tax cuts.

In a true military dictatorship or monarchy, there is a certain logic to what is described here. People can work from the inside to frustrate the worst excesses of a malign leader. But the President doesn’t have an army or dynasty legitimacy keeping him fixed in power. As much as President Trump may want to change it, the United States is a constitutional republic. It is built with open and lawful procedures for removing a President from office."

Proactive exculpation and self-justification

aka: rats swimming from the sinking ship before the vortex pulls them under...

..

Agree. There is no saving grace. This person is either:

A) Treasonous
B) A rat jumping ship to save themself
C) A&B

IMO, the system with checks, balances and law needs to be active and trusted.

Trump may do harm to the country and presidency, but the Republic is stronger than him.

Reading the comments to the article, most seem to take it as authentic and confirming of their own opinions of Trump. But this whole thing raises more questions, the first being is it real. From there it gets very convoluted.

Two of the comments that I liked are below.

Daniel
DublinSept. 5

It would appear to this reader from across the Atlantic that this piece is confirmation of a coup d'etat in the USA. The anonymous author of the op-ed and their fellow 'adults in the room' are ruling the people without a mandate from the people. And justifying it, anonymously, in the 4th estate. Wow.

Padfoot
Portland, ORSept. 5

Sorry, but what I am reading is that the author and his or her like-minded colleagues are willing to tolerate an amoral president to move forward their own agendas. Our government is not supposed to work this way. These bureaucrats have two options: carry out the president's wishes consistent with the laws of our land or resign. Their third option of picking and choosing how they want to run the government sets a dangerous precedent. To be clear, I am not defending President Trump, but the solution this author offers is equally dangerous.

The Donald needs to set up an Apprentice-Like set in the White House and frog march every one of his senior staff out onto a closed trapdoor on the floor.

Each will be hooked up to a lie-detector.

The questioning will begin and, with sharks circling in a tank below the hatch, Trump will sit in Black Robes, his finger on the hatch door trigger...

Theater! Ratings! aka "Governing" in TrumpleThinSkin's America.

#FAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

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Trump may do harm to the country and presidency, but the Republic is stronger than him.

Totally agree. Trump too will pass.

The op-ed really isn't anything really new -- it is just unusual. It is just one more person telling/confirming the story that we all already know about Trump. The op-ed is saying the same thing that we've heard from Woodward, Omarosa, Michael Wolff and many others. Bob Corker was talking about the White House being an adult day care center a year ago.

The country is holding up just fine. Our institutions are pretty strong and will probably be stronger after Trump finishes giving them a stress test. The voters (if they can rouse themselves from the couch) can handle this just fine via the ballot box.

And end of the day, Trump is just too scattered and too lacking in self-control to really cause any permanent big damage. It actually takes a lot of strategic hard work to be Putin, Xi or even Kim Jong Un. Sure Trump would like to be a feared authoritarian leader. But that takes a LOT more effort than watching TV and working your iPhone with two thumbs. Trump is the pro wrestling version of a tough guy. He's the kayfabe president and everyone (except for about 25% of U.S. voters) knows it.

Trump's ratio of talk to action is off the charts. Any Republican with control of the House, Senate and WH would be able to cut taxes and confirm conservative judges. It would be pretty much impossible to accomplish less.

"Not I" said the fly.

"Not me" said the flea.

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/0 ... /23519352/

My take...if this is even real, the identity of the "senior" official will be disappointing...if authentic, perhaps a woman?

It probably isn't someone at the very top level (like a Pence, Mattis, Coats, Haley, Kelly, Pompeo, Sessions, Wray). Although if it was one of those people, they would of course be denying it for the time being.

More likely it is a person working for one of those type people. Still high level, but a name that few outside the Beltway would know. Which was exactly the kind of person Mark Felt (a top deputy at the FBI) was. A deep stater.

But the op-ed is genuine. It is only a matter of time before Anonymous is revealed. So it would be preposterous and suicidal for the NY Times to publish a fake on this.

The NYT most certainly has this nailed down.

1. They published an opinion...free speech and all that.
2. They know the name of the author and it's not a 2nd or 3rd tier player. They may not be at the table, but they are in the room.
3. This is the new normal, barely took the time to read the article or listen to commentary.
4. It doesn't sit well with me either....see #3
5. The idea that this is a national security threat only holds water if the author is afraid of getting outed....you don't do this with the expectation of prolonged anonymity

tech37 wrote:My take...if this is even real, the identity of the "senior" official will be disappointing...if authentic, perhaps a woman?

It was probably Putin. or maybe Melania punching back....now that would hysterical.