Posted on 10/30/2017 2:14:03 PM PDT by tjd1454
Shouldn't the title read The Deep State Strikes Back, you ask? No, unfortunately, because there is precious little to react to. After nine months of supposedly controlling all three branches of power, the much-heralded Trump “Drain the Swamp” revolution has scarcely managed to land a blow against the Deep State, which not only survives, but continues to thrive in the midst of the liberal cesspool inside the Beltway.
The problems began early on, as Trump failed to decisively clean house and remove high-level holdovers from the previous administration, something which his Democratic predecessors quickly and ruthlessly accomplished. It was a rooky mistake by someone who, despite his campaign rhetoric, governed like the businessman he was, seeking to build consensus. When a corporation is bought out, the new management typically retains much of the old administration simply because they “know the ropes” and thus are in a position to implement any new changes.
But here's the key difference: unlike corporate executives who are easily malleable so long as they retain their cushy jobs, Washington DC is a political battleground inhabited by ideologues committed to preserving and advancing the leftist, statist drift of the nation.
What MAGA cheerleaders fail to realize is that Trump is fundamentally not an ideologue, but a pragmatist –albeit one with laudable goals. To be sure, much good has been accomplished, including the appointment of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch as well as a growing number of conservative federal judges. Bureaucratic red tape has been rolled back, the energy sector is being unleashed, and efforts are ongoing to bring fundamental reform to healthcare and the tax code.
Yet all this has been accomplished without uprooting the Deep State, much of which has been allowed to remain in place in the vain hope that it would stand idly by as everything they have been working for is systematically dismantled. A prominent example is the Eric Holder appointment, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who stands accused of political conflicts in the Clinton email matter after it was revealed that his wife received nearly $700,000 in campaign contributions from longtime Clinton associates during her unsuccessful run for the Virginia state senate.
Preet Bharara, former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York – an Obama appointee – has noted regarding the Robert Mueller inquiry that “it's odd and unusual” that Rod Rosenstein is overseeing an investigation for which he is a witness. Indeed, Rosenstein is responsible for the catastrophe that is the so-called “Russian collusion” investigation, having given Mueller carte blanche to conduct an open-ended witch hunt fueled by a massive staff composed largely of die-hard liberals racking up tens of thousands of man-hours seeking evidence against Trump.
The fierce counterattack began today. Special Counsel Mueller has chosen to go after arguably the weakest link in Trump's chain of command over the past few years: Paul Manafort. Due to his questionable associations, Manafort should never have been hired in the first place. But Trump, ever the pragmatic businessman, saw Manafort as someone ideally situated to perform a specific task; namely, to head off a potential revolt against him at the convention. That threat failed to materialize, and two months later Manafort was fired after reports emerged about his undisclosed consulting work with Ukraine.
Earlier in the investigation, in an unusual action which the Washington Post said added “huge intrigue to the Russia probe,” Mueller took the unusual step of authorizing a pre-dawn no-knock raid of Manafort’s home to execute a surprise search warrant. According to the Post, Manafort had become an “increasingly major wild card” in the inquiry.
Mueller played one of his trump (no pun intended) cards today. Manafort and his business associate, Rick Gates, were indicted on 12 counts in federal court, including conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, acting as an unregistered foreign agent for a foreign government, and making false and misleading statements. Revealingly, the indictment deals with issues dating from 2012, and contained no accusations regarding the alleged Trump-Russian collusion during the 2016 election.
No matter; it was soon apparent that the Manafort indictment was Mueller’s opening gambit against Trump, which also included news of the indictment of ex-campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who met with Russian contacts to discuss “dirt” on then presidential-candidate Hillary Clinton. Papadopoulos reportedly pleaded guilty to misleading the F.B.I. regarding those conversations, which as the indictment itself admits were not authorized by the Trump campaign.
Manafort and Gates both plead not guilty in federal court Monday afternoon, and were released on bail of $10,000,000 and $5,000,000 respectively, on condition of being confined to home detention. Special Counsel Mueller has long experience in cornering his prey, and appears to be adeptly leveraging his considerable powers to compel Manafort to turn state’s evidence against the President. Mueller’s heavy-handed tactics have raised concerns by Harvard law professor emeritus and lifelong Democrat Alan Dershowitz, who dismisses them as “the criminalization of political differences." "He has to go after somebody," said Dershowitz, "He can't just spend all the money and do nothing."
To the great relief of the mainstream media, the actions of Special Counsel Robert Mueller today effectively sidelined more legitimate and substantive scandals such as Uranium One, Fusion GPS, and the massive steaming pile that is the Podesta Group/DNC/Clinton/Russia connection. Instead, all eyes are on Paul Manafort. Faced with millions of dollars in fines and up to 40 years in prison, having been summarily dismissed after a scant two months service, only time will reveal the degree of loyalty he feels he owes his erstwhile employer.
Given that it’s so close to Halloween, I’m substituting “Creep State” for “Deep State”. Maybe it’ll stick.
We’re living in a freakin’ Star Wars movie, modified for earth and American politics, but still...
It's time for the "[And] [So] [Now] It Begins" drinking game! Every time someone posts the neverending, pearl-clutching, hand-wringing, fainting couch
"[And] [So] [Now] It Begins"
- we take a drink!!
And so it begins....
And So It Begins.....
And so It begins
And so It begins
And So It Begins....
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And so it begins...
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And so it begins:
And so it begins.
So it begins,
So it begins.
And so it begins
and so it begins.....
And so it begins.
and so it begins.
And so it begins
And so it Begins….
A Romney we can respect (So it begins)
And So It Begins (Dollar Warnings)
And So It Begins! (And so it begins)
And so it begins....
(And So It Begins)
And so it begins again.....
School Is Renamed For Obama (And so it begins...)
So it begins.
And so it begins.
And so, it begins.....
And So It Begins...
And so it begins!
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(so it begins...)
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and so it begins......
and so it begins......
It Begins"
And so it begins.
And so It begins…
"It Begins Again"
It Begins...
IT BEGINS: Ryan Releases Presidential Ad
It Begins...
It begins: In wake of California...
It Begins...Trump-Haters...
It Begins Again:...
So it begins.
It begins.
It begins:Facebook...
It begins.
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...And So It Begins
It Begins…
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It Begins… Seizure
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...and the ominous ‘So It Begins’
And so it begins.
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It Begins: Illegal Immigrants ...
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It Begins – Trump Administration ...
It begins!
IT BEGINS
and so it begins ...
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It Begins! Ten Kushner Scandals..
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IT BEGINS: Merkel’s Migrants..
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So it Begins:
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Well, it begins!
As Drudge says: “It begins.”
and so it begins?
And So It Begins:
It Begins.
It Begins.
It Begins: Stubhub..
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It Begins… Far Left WaPo..
and so it begins..
It Begins: Axios'..
Now it Begins: The Deep State Strikes..
Everybody grab a fainting couch while you're at it!
While this list is not complete, it demonstrates the fun you and your family can have at home while kissing your own butts goodbye!!
So bottoms up everyone!
LOL - there certainly is something almost “supernatural” about how deeply the entrenched bureaucracy is in Washington DC. I think a lot of people are wondering why the top 2 or 3 floors of all these government departments haven’t been cleaned out yet.
The FIRST that needs to go - WITHOUT DELAY - is Rod Rosenstein! He should be under indictment in the Uranium One scandal anyway!
I don't understand how the President could've overlooked the danger of keeping the seditious "Deep State" holdovers in place. One problem is that he was convinced by someone (Reince Preibus?) to put Swamp Dwellers in Cabinet Positions - Jeffie Sessions immediately come to mind.
>>Given that it’s so close to Halloween, I’m substituting “Creep State” for “Deep State”. Maybe it’ll stick.
Please don’t. Let’s not turn this into cutesy word play. This is serious sh!t. In any other time or place, the civil war would have started today.
Where have these drama queens been? The Deep State has been striking.
Go back to your fainting couches, ya pussies!
>>One problem is that he was convinced by someone (Reince Preibus?) to put Swamp Dwellers in Cabinet Positions - Jeffie Sessions immediately come to mind.
It isn’t that Sessions is disloyal. I think he’s just been in DC too long and knows how much the other side (which is made up of the hacks of both parties) will do to maintain power. He lacks the guts to drain the swamp. Many of them do. Its like trying to find someone to fight the mob in an Italian neighborhood.
Huh, I wonder why?
“To the great relief of the mainstream media, the actions of Special Counsel Robert Mueller today effectively sidelined more legitimate and substantive scandals such as Uranium One, Fusion GPS, and the massive steaming pile that is the Podesta Group/DNC/Clinton/Russia connection.”
Like they would have given any of it any print or air time otherwise? Now who’s being naive.
Well, hey, way back, after the Civil War, there were more prostitutes in Washington DC, than any other city in the world.
True, but that makes him a Prime Swamp Dweller. He took the AG job after being in the Senate for decades, with it's strenuous two to three day work weeks, with the thought that it would be a crowning achievement in position where he could coast. Well, he's certainly been coasting. I don't think he'd even make a descent rural Justice of the Peace back in Alabama. The guy in "My Cousin Vinnie" outshines him!
Look up the origin of the noun “hooker”.
But thanks for the "heads up."
When the author stated.....”What MAGA cheerleaders fail to realize is that Trump is fundamentally not an ideologue, but a pragmatist”.....I knew the article wasn’t worth further reading.
MAGA cheerleaders, as he calls them, don’t care what he’s ‘labeled’...they see a man in their corner fighting for the country they love and against those who want to destroy it. That’s frankly all they need to know even though most are far ahead of just that.
I see it totally as who is going to be the fall guys that will satisfy the establishment that Muller has done his job. Manafort was easily a good target to go after in order to protect all their dirty butts!
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