Monday, August 14, 2017

Trump and Gen. Kelly: What is He There For?

 
By Steven Jonas

Contrary to surface appearances, Pres. Donald J. Trump and Gen. John F. Kelly have certain very important characteristics in common. Two of the most prominent are a shared disdain for Congress and the legislative process and they both hate "the media" (that is the media other than that sector of it that is under their control). Nevertheless, Kelly is a general and Trump isn't. (In fact, while he was of induction age, the latter made sure that he did not do one day of military service during the War on Viet Nam.) So, one might ask, why Kelly, in addition to their commonalities? What is his role, or roles as they may be? And oh yes. I don't think that Kelly is there by accident or simply because Trump picked him on his own.

While many folk characterize the Trump Presidency so far as a "failure," because he has been able to accomplish nothing in the way of getting major legislation through the Congress, he is well on his way to hollowing out the Executive Branch of government and destroying the regulation of the political economy as we have come to know it since the New Deal. For the branch of the ruling class that got him elected (beginning with the Mercers, et al) this is far more important than any single piece of legislation, even further massive tax cuts for the wealthy. 

It is no accident that this "deconstruction of the administrative state" is the current primary goal of Steve Bannon . And do notice that in the major changeovers in the White House staff that have accompanied the installation of Kelly as Chief of Staff, Bannon and his principal lap-dog Stephen Miller and lap-cat, Kelly-Anne Conway (they both came with Bannon, brought over by the Mercers, from the Cruz campaign), are very much in place and in play. Also note that it is not that Bannon does not like state apparati. It is just that like other fascists he wants state power to be fully under control of the Executive, with no independent civil service and career professionals running the day-to-day operations and, to a certain extent, being responsible for policy.  

Click here for the full article. 

Source: OpEdNews.com

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