TIR 2/21/17: Seven Days in February
Web Publication: National Review, by Victor Davis Hanson
Amidst all the bi-partisan hate going around, Victor Davis Hanson takes a step back and does a compare-and-contrast of some of Trump’s moves compared with his predecessors and a 1964 work of fiction ‘Seven Days in May’. Washington and the news cycle have a memory of about 3-5 days…in a good season, but I’m old enough to observe and agree with Hanson’s historical observations. The article is reassuring because many of Trumps measures are not so far from precedent as the media/left would have you believe but it is also disturbing because as I suggested in my previous article, the office of the president appears to be booby-trapped, literally and figuratively. Also as I suggested, Trump plays right into his adversary’s hand.
Lets cut to the chase and speculate: Leaks? There is mounting evidence that the white house is bugged and the intelligence community is now the 4th branch of government. Considering the other traps laid by Obama, perhaps he’s the architect of this invasion. If so, we’re now in uncharted constitutional waters. How would an administration sufficiently document, root out, and prosecute a shadow intelligence coup? Trump has certainly heightened the animus considerably against the intelligence community and their sidekick, the media. While this is a huge tactical error – a gross miscalculation, it’s fair to suggest in Trump’s case, that it really wouldn’t make that much difference if he did otherwise. By Trump’s supposed successful negotiating genius, I just wonder if there is ever a place or a tactic to pretend to be friends, or is all bloody warfare and submission?
All high officials and sworn military officers take their oath to protect the constitution. Its time for that oath to kick into action. As objectionable as Trump is on so many levels, we should never cede the executive office to career intelligence operatives doing the bidding of a former president or any other shadow interest group, if that is indeed what’s going on. Protecting legitimately elected offices transcends the limitations of the office holder. Most of the public are worried if Trump will be the one to violate that office – an internal threat, but really, the external threat may already be in play.
