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The Establishments war on Donald Trump Title: Cabinet of Deplorables Imagining a Donald Trump presidency pushes the bounds of creative thought, even as it becomes more concrete during these months of transition. Given Trump's epic disinterest in the minutiae of actual governing – the threat of his authoritarianism is all vindictiveness, no on-time trains – it becomes more important than ever to track the way he staffs the 4,000 positions under his control. And early signs indicate it will be rife with deplorables. On Sunday, we learned that Trump has chosen Steve Bannon as chief strategist and senior adviser. Bannon, who transformed Breitbart News into the platform of the anti-Semitic, white nationalist, anti-woman alt-right, was the mastermind behind much of the Trump campaign. Post-election, Trump could have cut ties with Bannon, signaling that while he was willing to use racism and misogyny to win the presidency, he didn't want it in his White House. That didn't happen. The Bannon hire signals that, despite his reach-across-the-divide rhetoric, Trump has no intention of distancing himself from the bigotry and chaos that defined his campaign. More disturbing: Trump has secured the support of GOP leaders for his choice. Paul Ryan said he had no problem with the Bannon choice, and Reince Priebus has – shockingly – praised Bannon as "a force for good." Anyone hoping the mainstream Republican Party would be the voice of reason in the Trump era can now safely abandon that idea. So Bannon will serve as the administration's chief deplorable. The remaining question is how many like-minded people will join him. The short-list of cabinet appointees does not clarify much. It includes names that could portend a regular cabinet of professionals and experts, folks like Kelly Ayotte and Fran Townsend who, whatever one thinks of their politics, would be believable when they pledged to uphold and protect the constitution. Then there is the cabinet of deplorables. There's Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House who is short-listed for secretary of state. During the last several years, Gingrich called Obama the "food-stamp president" and traced Obama's political style to "Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior." When he wasn't race-baiting, he was Muslim-hunting, suggesting a new House Un-American Activities Committee aimed at Muslim communities. There's Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County sheriff, whose resume is fat with prisoner abuse scandals, racial profiling and politically motivated arrests. Arpaio forced male prisoners to wear pink underwear in a show of toxic masculinity. He brought back chain gangs and cut prisoner meals to twice a day, occasionally serving them spoiled food. He's up for Homeland Security secretary. Also on the list: David Clarke, the far-right sheriff of Milwaukee County. Clarke, like Trump, has spent time in Alex Jones's disinformation trenches. (Jones, host of InfoWars, is a crackpot conspiracist who argues that, among other things, the massacre of children at Sandy Hook was a hoax.) He calls mass incarceration, one of the great civil rights crises of our time, a "myth." He has said the anti-Trump protests "must be quelled" – chilling stuff from a law enforcement officer who could be put in charge of Homeland Security. None of this should come as a surprise. All of these people stumped for Trump; all underscored his anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, authoritarian worldview. But the campaign trail is one thing, the Cabinet another. Aside from Bannon, we don't know which, if any, of these people will staff a Trump administration. And whether they are appointed may only demarcate the borders between fascism at a snail's pace or fascism at a gallop. Donald Trump will still be the president, and his tastes for unrestrained power and retribution are well known. But the cabinet choices will tell us how embedded, how structural, these deplorable ideas will be. Early signs are not good. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 1.
#1. To: Willie Green (#0)
When Willie cries and pisses himself. Real Americans smile.
There are no replies to Comment # 1. End Trace Mode for Comment # 1.
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