To be clear: Given that the Supreme Court broke the democratic process decisively with its Citizens United decision seven years ago, the street is a perfectly logical place to be, in my view. But there is no point in being there unless one is for something and not merely contra. Having failed to think things through, the implicit argument among many of those taking it to the street these days is that things were copacetic before Trump came along and ruined them. Obama now goes down as the Mighty Quinn. The self-delusion is astonishing, and the historians will fix it, one hopes. But in the meantime, this error turns consequential: It lands us with the kind of problem that David Talbot suggests killed Kennedy in Dallas, if you care to entertain the thesis.
Read the histories. The Ivy League culture that still suffuses the CIA has from the first been far more liberal than conservative. The Democratic Party’s Clintonian era is perfectly exemplary on this point. As a smart friend said the other day, John Brennan, who served Bill Clinton and then Obama at the CIA and wanted to serve in an HRC administration, had a lot of trouble sorting out his role in Langley and his relations with the Democrats.
It is one thing to tar Donald Trump with a groundless campaign, Nixon-style, so as to insinuate without evidence that he entertains objectionable ties to Russia. That is mere politics.
It is another matter altogether when the descendants of Dulles (whom Priebus suggests are not united on this one) mount what looks awfully like a coup operation against the president of our republic. That is a strong phrase, but it belongs on the table far more than the “complete garbage” you can read in any day’s edition of The New York Times.
https://www.thenation.com/article/are-we-witnessing-a-coup-operation-against-the-trump-white-house/
Democrat Dennis Kucinich says:
-The Deep State is a clear & present danger to our way of life
-We have to ask ‘what is the motive of the Deep State?’
-Who’s putting these leaks out, and why are they all anonymous?
-This isn’t about one president, this is about the political process of America under attack by intelligence agencies
-The Deep State wants to lead and direct the policy of the United States
-If a President goes against the Deep State, they’ll try to run that person out of office regardless of party affiliation
-President Trump is under attack by the Deep State!