Hello Everyone:
Blogger Candidate Forum is back with you after a brief technical delay. Welcome to The Mole edition. The question driving Washington D.C. and the Internet completely insane is "Who is Anonymous?" For those who have not read the explosive essay in the editorial section of the New York Times (nytimes.com; Sept. 5, 2018), it details a group of senior staffers trying to thwart parts of the president's agenda and his worst impulses. Today the Times's podcast "The Daily," (spotify.com) took an in-depth look at how the Op-Ed came into fruition. Host Michael Barbaro interviewed editor Jim Dao, who described having to go through intermediaries to ascertain the true identity of Anonymous and why he granted him or her anonymity. So who is Anonymous? The answer is known only to a handful of Times editors. The only we know about Anonymous is that it is a senior official in the Trump White House whose job would be jeopardized is his or her true identity was disclosed. Shall we have a look?
Anonymous writes,
The dilemma--which he does not fully grasp--is that many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.
I would know. I am one of them.
Anonymous make it perfectly clear that the mystery group of senior officials are not the popular "resistance" of the left. On the contrary, they are dedicated making the administration a success. In fact, Anonymous points to effective deregulation, historic tax reform, a more robust military,... as examples of these successes. Conveniently omitting the ill-conceived Travel Ban, the daily stripping away of basic civil liberties, the slashing of Obamacare benefits, the assault on women's reproductive rights, auctioning off public lands to oil and mining companies, and so on. This gives Blogger the impression that Anonymous is someone with higher aspirations whose hedging his or her bets. Could it be Vice President Mike Pence? Anonymous adds,
But thes successes have come despite--not because of--the president's leadership style, which is impetuous, adversarial, petty, and ineffective.
Very damning stuff.
What makes Blogger think it is VPOTUS? Simple, there are three people in Washington who have the most to gain if POTUS is forced out: VPOTUS, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and outgoing Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WS). Vice President assumes the office and it would fall to Congress to appoint a new Vice President. The last time that happened was after the late President Richard Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal. Each of these men are more traditional Republicans--smaller government, less regulation, fiscal prudence. Anonymous appears to share this political outlook:
Although he was elected as a Republican, the president shows little affinity for ideals long espoused by conservatives: free minds, free markets and free people. At best, he has invoked these ideals on scripted settings. At worst, he has attacked them outright.
More likely Anonymous is working off recordings and notes. In fact, the worst thing Anonymous accuses POTUS of is amorality. Anonymous writes,
The root of the problem is the president's amorality. Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any first principles that guide his decision making process.
Anonymous writes that colleagues were so deeply troubled by the petty, vindictive, mean spirited erratic behavior that they considered invoking Article 4 of the 25th Amendment (law.cornell.edu; date accessed Sept. 8, 2018) but opted not to do so because of the constitutional crisis that would follow. Rather, the biggest concern is the direction the United States is headed in:
The bigger concern is not what Mr. Trump has done to the presidency but rather what we as a nation have allowed him to do to us. We have sunk low with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of civility.
Forget all this "lodestar" nonsense, Anonymous is all about values. Sounds familiar but VPOTUS is not the writer. He is the possible inside contact, quietly gathering information and passing to an intermediary, who passed it to the actual writer.
The actual writer may not be someone in the West Wing. Even it was a West Wing staffer, they would not be so foolish as to use their White House-issued devices because Secret Service monitors them. The writer used a device unknown to Secret Service. Another theory is the writer is in the East Wing. The East Wing is where the Office of The First Lady is located.
Melania Trump has emerged as one of chief suspects in the great Anonymous mystery. One theory, put forth by Blogger ally Team Nutmeg, is FLOTUS charmed some young, good looking, eager male staffer into writing te essay. Blogger's theory is that she has had enough of the daily public humiliation and decided to turn the tables. The East Wing is the perfect cover because no one would think to look there. Blogger has another theory. The writer is not in the White House at all. The writer is a former staffer looking for payback. Yours Truly has floated the idea that former senior adviser Steve Bannon is the writer. His motive is revenge for being forced out.
Let us take a step back for a minute and look at the big picture. When you take this Op-Ed in context with Fire And Fury Inside The Trump White House by Michael Wolff; A Higher Loyalty by James Comey; Unhinged: An Insider's Account of The Trump White House by Omarosa Manigault Newman; Fear Trump In The White House by Bob Woodward, Anonymous' essay fits into this greater narrative of an off the rails presidency. In total they paint a picture of a president who is more concerned about marketing his brand than doing the work of the people. Therefore, it is little wonder that that staffers are exasperated by the
...repetitive rants, and his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back.
Thus, it is little wonder that whoever or whoevers is looking for some outlet to vent all this frustration over an out of control White House. Where does that leave the average American? Take a break from playing Clue: The White Mole Edition and heed these sage words by Anonymous:
...But the real difference will be made by everyday citizens rising above politics, reaching across the aisle and resolving to shed the labels in favor of a single one: Americans.
Here, here
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