The latest?
The "anonymous" NY Times op-ed that has everybody speculating about its authorship.
It's not Pence unless the NYT's deep backgrounding included encouraging him to throw in the "job fear" issue as a smokescreen for having Constitutional protection. Otherwise, my guesses are in kind of order: Elaine Chao, aka Ms. Mitch McConnell at Transportation; chief of staff John Kelly, whose military background might lead to "lodestar"; intelligence establishment hack Dan Coats at DNI; press spox Sarah Sanders, whose position would put herself in the best place of covering her own tracks; and Trump himself (with sufficient editorial help), throwing shade on the GOP establishment.
Speaking of, that's the cue to go to non-leftist Greenwald. (He supported, and still supports, Citizens United. No leftist does that, and with Kavanaugh a potential fifth vote to gut the last few shreds of campaign finance regulation, Glenn is a fitful ally of actual leftists at this time.)
So, off to Twitter, starting with:
Glenn, all Trump has to do is fire his whole Cabinet. He's threatened half of them with firing anyway. And, remember, Trump appointed them in the first place. They may be unelected, but they WERE duly appointed by Trump in the first place. Mr. "Apprentice" is too weak to fire em? https://t.co/ezvQz4EPLZ— @realDonaldTrump 🌻 (@SocraticGadfly) September 6, 2018
Followed by:
You're getting close to Bill Binney/Ray McGovern #DeepState glue sniffing in this thread otherwise, Glenn. Even if Pence, not an appointee, wrote #AnonymousOpEd, if Trump simply fires people, Pence is neutralized.— @realDonaldTrump 🌻 (@SocraticGadfly) September 6, 2018
I've Tweeted the material in the first tweet before. I am not sure if I shadowtweeted, quote-tweeted, or directly replied.
Anyway, Glenn knows this all himself. Given the amount of people Trump has already hired and fired, he should have little compunction about canning even more.
But, let's go beyond that. Let's note that Trump has not only hired some of these people but even promoted them. Like moving Mike Pompeo from CIA to State. Or moving Kelly from Homeland Security to be his Chief of Staff. Or hiring John Bolton, an America Firster neocon who told the world "fuck you" on this year's 9/11.
It's these facts, which Glenn also knows, that lead to the second Tweet.
And, related to that, let's look at stuff in his original thread:
It's perfectly cogent & valid to celebrate as a net positive that unelected Generals, CIA operatives & WH functionaries are subverting Trump's agenda & overriding orders. What's not fine is to simultaneously deny it's happening, mock those who note it, or pretend it's democratic.— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) September 6, 2018
Specifically, let's look at the last sentence.
Among members of #TheResistance who are not its dimmer bulbs, and certainly among those with some degree of renown, I'm unaware of anybody claiming all three simultaneously. As a lawyer, Glenn should have edited that sentence; it's not only untrue, it's a poor legal argument.
I then want to look together at a second tweet plus the one I quoted.
So:
It's been obvious from the start that large, unelected factions within the US Government have been devoted to sabotaging Trump & his agenda: some of whom he appointed, many who he did not. The "crazies" are not those who have pointed this out, but those who deceitfully denied it.— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) September 6, 2018
and:
Hey! You know that ideology - old-school Republicanism - that 16 GOP candidates advocated in the primaries and which got rejected by voters in favor of Trump? Don't worry! We, The Unelected, formed a cabal inside the WH to impose that ideology anyway. Liberals: that is fantastic!— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) September 6, 2018
Again, poor legal argumentation.
It's EITHER largely inside the White House (which is exactly what the column was about) OR it's "out there" in the broader government.
Theoretically, it could be both. But, the amount of Trump loyalty pushing you hear in many agencies, if it's "out there," it's at lower levels. And, as the whole post-Steele FBI shows, there are factions that cut both ways before Trump was ever elected. I'm talking in large part about NYC FBI agents whom Comey worried were anti-Clinton leakers par excellence. And, if it's in the legislative branch, well, Glenn, that's the old division of powers.
If it's inside the WH, well, Glenn, we're back to the top half of this column. All Trump has to do is fire people, and stop hiring people who will try to "control" him.
Beyond that, such "cabals" aren't new anyway.
History shows Wilson's second wife, along with Joe Tumulty and select others, covering for his stroke. It shows Henry Kissenger and Al Haig covering for Nixon's late-Watergate nuttery. It shows Whig politicos who had planned to manipulate William Henry Harrison.
Beyond that, such "cabals" aren't new anyway.
History shows Wilson's second wife, along with Joe Tumulty and select others, covering for his stroke. It shows Henry Kissenger and Al Haig covering for Nixon's late-Watergate nuttery. It shows Whig politicos who had planned to manipulate William Henry Harrison.
Confounding this all are Greenwald fanboys who conflate leftists and liberals, and many other things.
Glenn himself, again, per the top, is NOT a leftist. His youth Socialist speaking events have never been about anything other than First Amendment issues. To some degree, on constitutional jurisprudence, he's one of those First Amendment Weaponizers who, like Ken White (Popehat) claim their legal shit doesn't stink when in reality they back the same results-oriented jurisprudence others do.
Finally, Greenwald, while buying Edward Snowden at face value, and having a certain amount of condemnation for the "deep state" then, is a Johnny-come-lately for the privatization of the national security state to the Booz Allens of the world who get people like Snowden working for the government in the first place.
Finally, Greenwald, while buying Edward Snowden at face value, and having a certain amount of condemnation for the "deep state" then, is a Johnny-come-lately for the privatization of the national security state to the Booz Allens of the world who get people like Snowden working for the government in the first place.
In reality, Glenn is getting closer to becoming a more psychologically complex version of Justin Raimundo.
