5D Chess

[gcode]

How mass firings are freezing the deep state

Over the past several days, the President has "abruptly fired dozens of officials," if not hundreds of them. The Times, at least, is beginning to detect a figure of rationality emerging from the fog of administrative war. It claims to have uncovered a pattern among Trump's firings of powerful federal actors who thought they were safe. These included the 17 aforementioned Inspector Generals (including high-heeled rebel Fong), plus cemented-in officials from agencies like the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Note that all four categories include officials appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

Astonishingly, Trump's mass firings of top-level commissioners from the NLRB, the Privacy Board, and the EEOC, were thought to be illegal and impossible. But even more historic and astonishing, Trump has fired so many it leaves those agencies without quora. They are dead in the water. These now-paralyzed agencies literally cannot undermine Trump's agenda, even if they wanted to, for the practical reason that there simply aren't enough commissioners left to vote on anything. They're frozen.

Strikingly, none of the "abruptly fired" officials have yet sued the federal government—even though Trump is trampling on all sorts of precedents, customs, and statutes. Ms. Fong merely staged a bizarre mini-protest rather than assert her legal rights. All this legal restraint is especially strange considering that in at least one agency, the NLRB, federal law expressly limits the President's ability to fire commissioners except in very limited circumstances.

The Times and the fired officials smelled a Trump trap.

"The prospect of getting dragged into court," an alarmed Times observed, "may be exactly what Mr. Trump's lawyers are hoping for." What terrified and dismayed the far-left Times and its progressive allies was the ghastly prospect that "any rulings in the president's favor would establish precedents that would expand presidential power to control the federal government."

In other words: Trump is hoping that they'll sue him.

The New York Times began connecting the dots starting with a Reagan-era constitutional interpretation of broad Executive Branch power. The Reaganites believed "that presidents must be able to fire any executive branch official at will."

"In recent years," the Times realized with growing horror, "the Supreme Court's majority — led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who worked in the White House Counsel's Office under the Reagan administration — has pushed that idea" of broad executive powers in employment.

[CNCAppsJames]

I love the smell of scorched earth in the morning.

[CNCAppsJames]

If Ms. Fong thought her dismissal was wrong, she could have professionally challenged it in several legal and procedural ways. There was no reason to stage an embarrassing spectacle. The way media tells it, Phyllis was a brave Resister. But when security arrived, Phyllis folded like a cheap pair of LuluLemon knock offs. She just walked out. She didn't chain herself to her desk. She didn't make them arrest her. Phyllis clearly isn't martyr material.

NONE of those worthless bureaucrats are. She'll go get a job as a lobbyist now and spill all the secrets.

[CNCAppsJames]

Consider this: What made you think most partisan federal workers were any braver than Phyllis Fong? Was it media narratives?
In other words, the radical "Resistance" the plagued Trump's first term was always a 2-dimensional branding exercise, a cheap cardboard cutout. It was never an actual movement. Bacteria-like, the Resistance only thrived in a temperature-controlled culture of anonymity where defiance was cost-free—where brave bureaucrats could slow-roll policies, leak fake news to the press, and quietly sabotage the Trump 1.0 Administration while still cashing their taxpayer-funded paychecks with ironclad job security.
As we will see, those assumptions are now in doubt. But in 2017, the stakes were low and there were no real risks, not with any real consequences. So partisan federal workers boldly cast themselves as brave warriors for democracy wielding jiu-jitsu-like weapons of bureaucracy.
But Trump 2.0 flipped the script. Now there are real consequences. People are getting fired. There's real accountability—Trump's Team seems to know who they are. This time, there's no guarantee the Resisters can ride out another four years unscathed. The big blue wall is cracking. Now that they're forced to stand on their principles and take tangible risks, it looks more like a cowardly, disorganized retreat than steely-eyed defiance.

Take a listen to this podcast;

If you're not into military stuff... start around 01:02:13 . It's a good episode.

This guy Jeremy Stern spent time in the State Department, witnessed the bureaucracy in FULL effect against Trump 1.0

It's worth a listen if you think your government lifers are are clean as a whistle and/or apolitical. They are NOT. That said there are good people there, just like anywhere but there's real partisan hack shitbirds there too. Hacks in an Embassy that literally told their counterparts "don't worry, he'll be gone soon and it will be back to normal, so don't make this thing a priority...".

Imagine you go to work one day and just decide to slow roll your boss's plan. How you think you're going to be able to do that until you're in the unemployment line?

[mkd]

Turns out democrats fraudung their way to a 2020 'win' gave Trump and the country time to reflect and regroup.
Trump 2.0 is gonna be lit.

[Bucky Cornstarch]

Looking for a conservative voice in a sea of liberal media? Look no further than Flopping Aces. Our blog features insightful analysis and commentary on ...

At least they admit it. That's more than can be said for some of the other right wing "information" sources out there.

The firings are all good until someone loses their life (oops), or some low information, misinformed Trumptard doesn't get the handout he is expecting. All because he was duped into voting against his own interests. For the third time.

[beej]

The firings are all good until someone loses their life (oops), or some low information, misinformed Trumptard doesn't get the handout he is expecting. All because he was duped into voting against his own interests. For the third time.

I wonder how many people lost their lives and how long things like this prolonged the afghanistan war. It's not hard to  imagine a Taliban leader using a picture like this, just to encourage the resistance to keep fighting.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/importance-pride-flag-afghanistan-flna637359

also, I have a hard time reconciling your offense at LGBTQ slurs and then using "tard". You're kind of selective in your wokeness.

[CNCAppsJames]

I don't seem to recall ANY of these bureaucrats giving two shits about the American tax-payer. Matter of fact, a great many worked AGAINST their boss POTUS WITH IMPUNITY the first time around. Bureaucrats are supposed to be apolitical in their jobs. That is why active duty members of the military cannot campaign for a candidate in uniform.

Bureaucrat: Job for life
Tax Payer: Lives in the real world subject to "market" conditions and boss's perogative.

Welcome to the real world bureaucrats. Nice of you to join us.

While I am saddened it had to come to this because unfortunately families ARE going to be affected.  Perhaps they should have thought about that before they got their bureaucratic coup on.

When you come for the boss, you better take him out because if you don't, there WILL be consequences.

[mkd]

The firings are all good until someone loses their life (oops), or some low information, misinformed Trumptard doesn't get the handout he is expecting. All because he was duped into voting against his own interests.

I;m old enough to remember Obummer droning US citizens on foreign soil. THoSe wErE tHe dAys..

[gcode]

All because he was duped into voting against his own interests

Some of us put our country above our own interests

[Incogneeto]

The President figured out on his last Term He shoulda cleaned house.

He's doing it now.

The White House , The Media and The FBI included.

Love how he kicked NBC ,CBS and such out of their Offices.

[Incogneeto]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/pentagon-to-move-nbc-politico-npr-and-nyt-out-of-dedicated-media-offices/ar-AA1yfouP?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=c414383b0e8946c183cf74ddc2cf81a7&ei=36

[mkd]

F'me another MSN link  

https://archive.ph/

[Incogneeto]

F'me another MSN link  

https://archive.ph/

You're smarter than Neuro.

One Link should be enough.

[CNCAppsJames]

This part is especially delicious;

Our resident press corps has greatly expanded over the years and we have always welcomed new members and will continue to do so."

"We are, however, greatly troubled by this unprecedented move by DOD to single out highly professional media who have covered the Pentagon for decades, under both Republican and Democratic administrations,"

Sorry... laughter is mine...

Maybe is you would have practiced actual journalism "for decades" the american people would have more respect for you.

So for now cope and seethe harder.