A slightly dysfunctional government.

My last post I said that our government is becoming dysfunctional . OR Is it slightly dysfunctional? Skepticism about the competence of the masses to govern themselves is as old as mass self-government. The sudden shake-up in Trump's administration reveal a weakness that crossing boarders of both parties . An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released  found that 57% of the country believes the government should do more to solve problems and meet the needs of Americans, as compared to 39% who believe the government is doing too much.  I think government is doing too little for its people . I am against raising taxes .  I am for things like better healthcare for one . More affordable housing . I not calling for handouts . I looking for the government to solve the problems our society , not spend so much money on other nations. I don't  know if that makes me a "populist" . But government should look out for the welfare of its citizens. The voter flip-flopping exploded  in  2008, the American people elected a liberal president, House and Senate. What resulted was anything but gridlock. Democrats passed an unprecedented stimulus package, Obama Care, and the Frank-Dodd bill. In 2010, the country revolted, swung back to the right and elected a conservative House, the likes of which has not been seen before. 2017 came it swung way far to the right with Donald Trump as President. In one of the "strangest" elections ever . (1)>>The coup as I called it now is falling apart with the accusations of Russian "meddling" -Senate hearings , which only erode Congress . I can't really completely blame Mr. Trump  - Mr. Obama . The downward spiral has been decades in the making . The resurgence of American distrust of government has a growing place in the nation's political dialogue. Gallup reports that over the past five years 35–45 percent of Americans have reported little or no confidence in their national government—close to the European average. In September 2013, 60 percent of Americans, a record level, thought the Federal government had too much power. The big-state, social-democratic model faces a growing challenge, just as “anything goes” capitalism did in the first half of the twentieth century. 

Sean Spicer's sudden resignation .  

President Donald Trump’s mysterious post to Twitter in the wee hours of MAY Wednesday morning about “constant negative press covfefe” may have sparked hours of jokes and overnight confusion, but to hear White House press secretary Sean Spicer tell it, the president’s tweet was no typo.“The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant,” Spicer said at Wednesday’s off-camera press gaggle in the White House briefing room. He refused to elaborate and ignored questions shouted by reporters. It followed a rarely seen self-deprecating joke from Trump early Wednesday morning that made light of the typo (or newly invented word) the president had birthed hours earlier. Mr Spicer's resignation has been rumoured about for months. After a tumultuous start to the year, he became a national target of ridicule, and was mocked by Saturday Night Live with a recurring character portraying him.The President reportedly asked Mr Spicer to stay on as press secretary after he hired Mr Scaramucci, but Mr Spicer held fast that the appointment was a major mistake.     (2)>>For Sean Spicer it may have been vary hard to make any sense of Donald Trump , or even defending him . Last month it was reported the White House was considering stopping Spicer from dealing with the press following a series of embarrassing gaffes. A senior official said discussions had taken place to shift the under fire press secretary from his daily spokesman role into a senior communications position.Spicer has been a frequent source of criticism for his performance at the White House lectern during daily news briefings, although President Donald Trump has stood by him through a variety of controversies. In April, Spicer sparked outrage and calls to be sacked after he said "even Hitler" didn't use chemical weapons . Spicer repeated a claim that the secretive Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) were drafted in to avoid any “American fingerprints" on the alleged surveillance. Although the Home Office refused to comment on claims, one official said called the allegations "totally untrue and quite frankly absurd."  As the White House has struggled to come to terms with the fact that the Russia investigations are not going away, Spicer was under immense pressure. The president blamed him for media stories that portrayed Trump in a negative light. In addition, Trump attacked Spicer for his supposed failure to push back against "fake news." On the flip side, the media correspondents of the White House press corps became increasingly frustrated with Spicer's reluctance to address their concerns. This put Spicer in an unenviable catch-22 position. There’s an element of comedy to this: Spicer’s job is to explain the president’s positions to the press and the public. And sure, the press secretary can’t be expected to be an expert in every topic. Except that Spicer knows a thing or two about trade policy, having served as a spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative during the George W. Bush administration. For Spicer, Trump’s decision to install Scaramucci above him—the press secretary reports to the communications director—was too much to take. Given the highs and lows of Spicer’s time at the White House, this was an unusual choice of hills to die on. Spicer began his tenure as press secretary with a bizarre rant about how Trump’s Inauguration audience (3)>>“was the largest audience to ever witness an Inauguration, period.” (It wasn’t.) For someone who was never fully inside the Trump circle of trust, the performance had the ring of an eager gang initiate committing a crime to please the boss. Trump, who regularly watched the briefings, which were broadcast live on cable news, reportedlycomplained about Spicer’s pale suits and later seemed to become aggravated that Spicer was becoming famous, or at least infamous. Spicer’s temper tantrums, ill-fitting suits, and mispronunciations turned him into a pop-culture sensation. 

Scaramucci's UN-Divided Loyalty ?

Where Spicer struggled to defend the indefensible — President Donald Trump's inauguration crowd size — (4)>>Scaramucci came in on a day of chaos at the White House and painted a picture of relative calm. During an appearance on Fox Business in August 2015, Scaramucci called Trump a bully whose campaign would "eventually implode."In response to Trump's criticism of hedge fund managers, who he said "move around papers," Scaramucci called Trump "a hack politician" and said his comments were "anti-American.""Right out of Elizabeth Warren's playbook," the Wall Street financier said. "Are you a Democratic plant for Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren? Stand here and tell us otherwise." Scaramucci challenged Trump to criticize him, saying he'll be the president of the "Queens County bullies association." "The politicians don't want to go at Trump because he's got a big mouth and he's afraid he's gonna light them up on Fox News and all these other places, but I'm not a politician," he said.  "You're an inherited money dude from Queens County —  bring it, Donald. Bring it." Scaramucci might be the biggest "kiss ass" in politics with his flip flopping as we have seen a sudden about face .... Now he says "We are committed as true professionals to the team and the process of getting the administration's message out," Scaramucci said. "I think there's been at times a disconnect between the way we see the president, and how much we love the president, and the way some of you see the president."
Find the LEAKER!....
 Scaramucci’s reputation in GOP political circles as a press leaker may have originated in 2012, when he tipped off a Bloomberg reporter to the time and location of a fundraising event for the Republican super PAC Crossroads GPS, according to a report in Politico at the time. At the event, Crossroads chief Karl Rove made disparaging remarks about then-GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin, who was under fire for comments questioning whether a woman could be impregnated by rape. The comments, which were posted by Bloomberg, were immensely embarrassing for Rove, who apologized to Akin. Scaramucci, in turn, apologized to Rove.  Anthony Scaramucci flatly said Sunday that he as going to fire all future leakers on his watch. “We have to get the leaks stopped,” Scaramucci said on Fox News Sunday. “What’s going on right now is a high level of unprofessionalism, and it’s not helping the president. … I will take drastic action to stop the leaks.” Part of that effort will include getting rid of people as Scaramucci said he is ready to “pare down the staff” at the communications office to stop the leaks. "It’s not fair to the president. It’s actually not fair to America." Leaks to the press have been pervasive throughout the first six months of Trump’s presidency. They’ve ranged from highly consequential stories, such as the president himself revealing classified information during a meeting with Russian officials, to gossipy revelations about internal battles among the president’s inner circle. Scaramucci is no better man for the job !

NOTES AND COMMENTS:

(1)>>The coup as I called it now is falling apart with the accusations of Russian "meddling" -Senate hearings.  When it comes to accusations that Russia hacked or otherwise interfered in last year’s US presidential election, the Kremlin has consistently denied any involvement.Now, some Russian officials are pointing the finger at Washington, saying it’s America that is meddling in Moscow’s domestic affairs. In fact, Kremlin officials say, the US has been doing it for years.Hacking? The Kremlin’s website is attacked daily “from within US territories,” Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, said this month.Information warfare and fake news? Washington-funded media outlets like Radio Free Europe and the Voice of America have long run what the Kremlin sees as an anti-Putin propaganda campaign aimed at supporting the Russian opposition.A report prepared by a committee of the Russian parliament said American media outlets engaged in biased and “anti-Russia” coverage of Russian parliamentary elections in 2016.The FBI and several congressional committees are running multipronged investigations of possible cooperation between the Trump campaign and Russia and potential obstruction of justice by Trump. The president has repeatedly called the probe a “witch hunt” and a “phoney story”. (2)>>For Sean Spicer it may have been vary hard to make any sense of Donald Trump.   Spicer resigned from his post Friday soon after President Trump hired Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci as his White House communications director.  Scaramucci's new job has caused some tension among Trump's top advisers, it's being reported. Priebus and Chief Strategist Steve Bannon were against the hire, to the point they said Scaramucci would get the communications job "over their dead body."At his first appearance before the press corps, Scaramucci denied those rumors.    (3)>>“was the largest audience to ever witness an Inauguration, period.” (It wasn’t.)       In his first daily press conference, Mr Spicer summoned journalists to the White House and accused them of “deliberately false reporting” after attendance of Mr Trump’s inauguration was compared unfavourably to Barack Obama’s in 2009. Aerial photographs showed a significantly larger crowd in 2009 but Mr Spicer insisted: “This was the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration. Period. Both in person and around the globe.” (4)>>Scaramucci came. At one time Scaramucci was pro gun control, for climate change advocacy, and anti wall. Not any more. He has a new boss. Trump is bringing New York to DC. He has many New York lawyers working for him and now Scaramucci as communications director. Welcome to the swamp Mr. Scaramucci. Fake news? Read Scaramucci's own tweets. He'll fit right in in DC.  URL: { http://www.businessinsider.com/scaramucci-deleted-tweets-trump-communications-director-2017-7 }  well before he deleted them!