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Jack is a graduate of Rutgers University where he majored in history. His career in the life and health insurance industry involved medical risk selection and brokerage management. Retired in Florida for over two decades after many years in NJ and NY, he occasionally writes, paints, plays poker, participates in play readings and is catching up on Shakespeare, Melville and Joyce, etc.

Monday, May 29, 2017

Dark Money, The Meeting, Memorial Day, a Fish Story and Two Really Good Columns

On Memorial Day

Most of us are familiar with the poem,“Paul Revere’s Ride” by the great nineteenth century American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Some years later Longfellow wrote a poem about “Decoration Day,” a day when Americans from both sides which had fought in the Civil War decorated the graves of those who had fallen in battle with flags and flowers.  Today, that holiday is known as Memorial Day and it honors those who have fallen in all of our country’s wars.  The poem first appeared in the June 1882 Atlantic, seventeen years after the end of the Civil War.
JL


Decoration Day

Sleep, comrades, sleep and rest
On this Field of the Grounded Arms,
Where foes no more molest,
Nor sentry's shot alarms!

Ye have slept on the ground before,
And started to your feet
At the cannon's sudden roar,
Or the drum's redoubling beat.

But in this camp of Death
No sound your slumber breaks;
Here is no fevered breath,
No wound that bleeds and aches.

All is repose and peace,
Untrampled lies the sod;
The shouts of battle cease,
It is the Truce of God!

Rest, comrades, rest and sleep!
The thoughts of men shall be
As sentinels to keep
Your rest from danger free.

Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours.


                              
                                                      Henry Wadsworth Longfellow




In last week's posting on this blog I mentioned the byzantine strategies which enabled enormous conservative wealth to finance the Republican victories in the 2016 elections.  I promised more on this in the future and am starting off with a review of a truly great book.
JL

Dark Money
                                                                      Jane Mayer  

I’ve just finished reading Jane Mayer’s 2016 bestseller, “Dark Money (the Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right).” Nominated for several awards, it was among the New York Times “Best Books of 2016.”

If you care about the future of the United States of America, you must read this book.  Take it out of the library, purchase a copy (there’s a paperback version) for yourself or to share with others, but get to read it.  Steal a copy if you have to.  If you never read another book, read this one! 

Right now, our country is faced by a threat equal to that posed by the Civil War, which almost split the nation in two, or a threat greater than that posed by Nazi Germany or the former Soviet Union in their heydays, both of which sought to ultimately replace our democracy with dictatorship.

Our Republic, so meticulously planned in the Constitution of the United States, where our democratic system of elections was supposed to put it under the control of its citizens, has fallen prey to those whose specific aim has been to legally steal our government from its citizens and within the framework of our Constitution, put it into the hands of a miniscule group of individuals the enormity of whose wealth is beyond the comprehension of most Americans (and probably the mythical King Midas as well, if he were still around).

This has been, and continues to be, accomplished by the expenditure of almost infinite amounts of money to fund ideas, and change the way Americans think and vote, with the ultimate aim of reducing taxes, particularly on the wealthy, and eliminating government regulation of business and finance.  It has been a gradual process, taking place over the past third of a century in often halting steps, but nonetheless, is now perched at the pinnacle of our economic, social and political structure.  Its proponents aspire to a state in which individual liberty is defined as both corporate and individual “freedom from government,” which is theoretically by its very nature, evil.  Those of you who have read the novels of Ayn Rand may have some idea of what I am talking about.  By stretching and squeezing definitions and regulations, those that are carrying out this theft of the United States from its citizens are doing it legally.  

The author starts the book explaining how the money which drives this movement was initially accumulated and used.  The Scaife, Olin, and Bradley families’ wealth is discussed and what was done with it.  Most significantly, the Koch family’s history, its free-market orientation and how their “non-political” involvement in politics spread throughout the “free market” is explained.  She covers how the personnel to do this was amassed, the establishment of the Tea Party, the relationship to the energy business, the disbelief in climate change, the despoiling of the environment, the Citizens United decision, the elections of 2010, 2012 and 2014, the gaining of influence in Congress and in State legislatures (in order to gerrymander) and finally, successfully convincing America that the reduction of not only taxes on the wealthy but also of the role of government itself actually produced “well-being” for more Americans. 


                                                                David and Charles Koch

The use of innumerable, intertwined, non-profit, supposedly non-political (such as "Americans for Prosperity"), social welfare, charitable and “blind” organizational entities to accomplish all of this is the core of the book.  Of particular interest is the development of formal sounding foundations and institutes (such as Heritage and Cato), and the infiltration of colleges and universities (example: George Mason University), to give credibility to ideas which really have no real  merit and only serve the goals of reducing taxes and regulations.  Money can buy anything and the book shows how it has done exactly that, even contaminating law school curriculums throughout the country, resulting in right wing jurists a generation later.


“Dark Money” explains how we got into a situation where the radical right wields a tremendous amount of power, far in excess of its numerical size.  The reader’s task is to figure a way out of this sordid situation.  Read the book.  It should leave you with a feeling of anger toward those who are stealing your country.  Read the book.
Jack Lippman

Addendum:  In 2011, I published a fictitious short story on this blog which parallels some of the things which actually occur in “Dark Money.”  I have repeated it several times over the years on this blog and am including it on this posting.  Any resemblance to events in “Dark Money” is purely coincidental.  To find out what happened after the conclusion of my short story, “The Meeting,” you must read “Dark Money.”   Read the book!
JL


The Meeting
Jack Lippman

 The meeting was held in a secluded and luxurious chalet in the foothills of an isolated mountain range.   A private airstrip was the only access to the place other than a rugged unmarked road used to bring in the staff, food and housekeeping essentials from the nearest town, sixty miles away.  A number of private jets were parked at the end of the runway where the hangar and fuel depot were located.


The men, all casually dressed as if they were there for a weekend of hunting or fishing, sat around a large conference table.  They shall remain nameless, but suffice it to say, each one represented personal wealth in excess of the 300 billion dollar level, which made their eight figure annual salaries almost meaningless.  These were the wealthiest men in America.   If I were to identify them, you would not recognize one name.  Each had gone to great lengths to preserve their anonymity, a quality common to possessors of wealth of this kind.
“Gentlemen,” intoned a short gray-haired man sitting at the table.  “In order to get to our agenda promptly and tend to business, I want to remind all of you of what our group is all about.  I am sure you all already know this … that is why you are here … but these ideas bear frequent repeating.”  No one said anything.  A few of the men nodded their assent.

"Although we as individuals are clearly the most charitable people in the world, our prime objective is wealth preservation.”

“Not exactly,” someone interjected.  “I am not in the least charitable.  I don’t care if people out there live or die or starve or whatever.  I donate for tax purposes.  If the God damn government took away the deductions I get for what I give, and what my foundations give away, I wouldn’t let loose of a red cent.”
“Thank you, George, for your comments.  But let’s get on with it,” the discussion leader continued. 
“Ideally, it would be wonderful if there were no such thing as taxes.  Some of you, I know, have moved a lot of your wealth to countries where there are practically none, but we all know there are limits to how much of that you can do.  So long as we are Americans, we must do as much as we can to keep taxes here to a minimum and deductions and loopholes at a maximum.  We must have a government, for without one, we would lose the protection it provides to allow us the freedom to do what we want with our money.  And of course, at a minimum, we need an army and navy to provide that protection.”
George raised his hand, was recognized, and spoke up.  “Bull.  We don’t need the government to provide us with a military.  We can hire our own.  It’s cheaper that way.  There’s plenty of mercenaries around and no one gives a shit if they get killed.”
“George, thank you for your comments.  That’s something to consider, but let’s get on.  Even though the maximum tax rate is down to 35%. that's still a big hit.  Even with deductions and shelters, it takes a lot out our wallets.  The Democrats would like to see it go back up to 39%, like it was under Clinton.  I would love it back down to 25% or even lower.  Single digits would be fine.  And paying into Social Security is something we must avoid.  That’s a bottomless pit. We only pay into it on a miniscule fraction of our income but I would hate to see that changed, and there are those out there who want to do exactly that.”
“Look at the numbers, though. There are only ten of us in this room and there are maybe another 100,000 top-bracket taxpayers out there who are almost in the same boat as we are, and we are speaking for them too.  Our task is to make sure the government keeps doing it our way.  We have to get the country behind us.  That Norquist fellow did a fine job getting a lot of Congressmen to pledge never to increase taxes nor get rid of our blessed loopholes, but he’s beginning to lose his credibility.  Bush helped him a lot to connect to the conservatives out there, but that’s history now.”
    





View looking westward from chalet picture window   
The discussion leader paused briefly, looked out of the massive picture windows at the spectacular scenery surrounding the chalet and continued.  
“As I see it, we must do everything to promote the idea that tax increases, in any form whatsoever, including removing loopholes and deductions, are extremely bad for the country.  We must drill it into the heads of all Americans that taxation removes incentive to invest and grow the economy at all levels and kills jobs.  That gets them every time.  We have to get that into the schools at all levels, even kindergarten.” 
“Ha,” someone laughed.  “Maybe we should put out an Ayn Rand inspired comic book for kids.”
“Great idea,” the leader chuckled. “But this is no laughing matter.  We must convince America that the Laffer curve, the economic ideas of Milton Friedman and of course, of Frederick Hayek, are irrefutable truths, deserving of as much respect as the Ten Commandments.  And that the Keynesian policies of using government spending and higher taxes as tools with which to manage the economy, and to provide an unearned safety net, are poisonous.”
“The way to do this is to convince a majority of Americans of the validity of our positions.  And this is a great time to continue to do this.  The citizenry is hurting and they, like us, are taxpayers.  We need them on our side. They will buy this argument that taxes are the cause of all of the country’s problems, if we shove it down their throats hard enough and often enough.  Put the blame on the government.  It spends too much.  On anything and everything.  As a wise person out there has said, ‘we have to starve the beast.’"

"If the funding for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and every government spending program out there were cut at least in half, we would never again need to even think about raising taxes.  We might even cut them significantly.   Frankly, I know people would be hurting and some might even die, and things the government does, like roads and dams and research, would have to be eliminated.  But it is far more important that this nation preserve our freedom to accumulate wealth without having to share it with anyone else through excessive taxation.  It’s our money. We cannot have anything that would even hint at the Marxist concept of wealth redistribution.  That’s what high taxes really are. The French cut off Louis XIV’s head to start this God damn leftist ball rolling and we aim to make sure it is stopped right here.” 
All those around the table rose and applauded the speaker.
“Okay, here is the way we do it.  And it has to be done so convincingly that even the Congressmen and local politicians who come aboard actually believe this stuff with all their hearts.  That won’t be easy, because some of them are really smart, but we need to make them believers.” 

1. We must control the media.  We have to have at least one or two major TV networks in our pocket whose programming we can control.  We must dominate talk radio, internet web sites, newspapers, particularly in smaller cities and towns, and magazines.  Once they get our message out, it gets E-mailed all over the country, multiplied ten-fold.  


2. We must fund foundations and institutes which provide legitimate appearing material and documentation, telling our story, to be provided to the media.  Generously endowing a few hard-up colleges or universities can result in strong support for our position from the academic world.  


3. We must ally ourselves with groups who seem susceptible to adopting our ideology because they are already single-mindedly devoted to one cause or another.  This blind devotion can be easily transferred to our cause. This will increase our numbers and believe me, this is very applicable to members of Congress and local legislators.  The groups with which we must ally ourselves are endless.  They include pro-Israel groups, pro-life groups, creationists, anti-fluouride groups, home schooling and pro-educational voucher groups, evangelical Christian groups, anti-immigrant groups, chambers of commerce, some professional societies, sporting groups, bankers associations and Second Amendment groups.


4.  We must repeatedly attack any opposition to our positions.  Innuendo and stretching the truth can be used to discredit any who disagree with us.  Guilt by association and lies, even ones easily disproven, are effective tools since refuting them takes the opposition’s eye off of the ball.  Individuals who are in financial distress can be coerced. Anything questionable in an opponent’s personal life should be capitalized on.

“Gentlemen, to embark on this program, we have established an off-shore funding center with access to all of our accounts in this country.  Everything is cryptographically protected to a degree beyond the capability of any government in the world to decipher.  You will never be identified as being involved in this program. Take a deep breath, gentlemen, for here is the price tag to do this job properly." 

"If any of you are not willing to contribute $200,000,000 to this effort right now and commit to that amount each and every year for the next ten years, you may get up and leave this room right now. All of your jets out there have been refueled and are ready to take off with you if you so choose. Remember though, what I propose  is not only for your good, but for the good of the country as we know it.  You see, I am firmly convinced of the truth of every word that I have said.”  
He rose and looked at all of the men sitting around the table, making eye contact with each of them individually.  None of the nine other men even budged nor made any motion to leave their seats.  He paused for half a minute and only then, smiled.

“Okay, then.  Let’s have lunch and afterwards, I want to introduce you to a few people who will make sure every penny of the two billion dollars that you have just pledged is well spent … and turn over the chair of our group for the next year to whomever is next in alphabetical order.  That’s you, George, right?”

Everyone leaned back as white-jacketed waiters entered the room, laid down fine bone china and sterling silver table settings and prepared to serve a lunch which did not come from McDonalds.   
JL



Two Columns You Should Read 









E.J. Dionne, Jr. and David Brooks


Okay, it’s time for someone else to sound off.  Last week, there were a couple of brilliant columns which you might have missed.   The Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne, Jr. wrote about how the Trump budget is a far greater scandal than whatever is going on in regard to Russia and the New York Times’ David Brooks thought about what the country needs after the Trump presidency “to address the spirit of alienation that gave rise to Trump, but which transcends him.”    

Dionne’s column is easy reading red meat for progressives while Brooks’ column requires the kind of thought and introspection which most Republicans lack … evidenced by the fact that they nominated and elected our 45th president … and probably will be ignored by them.

Read Dionne’s column BY CLICKING HERE.  You can read Brooks’ column BY CLICKING HERE.   Pour yourself a drink, sit back and read both columns!
JL



A Fish Story

Eating in a local restaurant the other evening, I felt like ordering the fish and chips which were on the menu (substituting cole slaw for the chips, of course).  When I asked the waitress what kind of fish they were giving me, she replied, “a tender white fish.”  Inquiring further, I was told they were using a fish called “swai.”  

It tasted fine, but my curiosity got the best of me so I checked "swai" out on the internet and quickly decided that I would never order it again.  Curious as to why? Click right here to find out why.




JL


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To view older postings on this blog, just click on the appropriate date in the “Blog Archive” midway down the column off to the right, or scroll down until you see the “Older Posts” notation at the very bottom of this posting.  The “Search Box” in the right side of the posting also may be helpful in locating a posting topic for which you are looking.

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To send this posting to a friend, or enemy for that matter, whom you think might be interested in it, just click on the envelope with the arrow on the "Comments" line directly below, enabling you to send them an Email providing a link directly to this posting.  You might also want to let me know their Email address so that they may be alerted to future postings.

Jack Lippman 
           

Monday, May 22, 2017

The Special Counsel, the Stockholm Syndrome, Stupidity & Cunning, Democratic Success Recipe and Two Bits of Poetry

Two Bits of Poetry Upon Which to Reflect

After the Second World War, this version of a poem by German Lutheran Pastor Martin Niemoller became well known (there are other versions).  The point of it is that when an authoritarian government singles out one group, it portends potential danger for all other groups.  This comes to mind when I reflect on our government’s thinly veiled efforts to effect a travel ban on Muslims.
 
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

And also in this vein is the often and inaccurately quoted meditation of the poet John Donne: “Ask not for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”  The quote comes from a more extensive writing, excerpted portions of which I quote below.

"Perchance he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill, as that he knows not it tolls for him; and perchance I may think myself so much better than I am, as that they who are about me, and see my state, may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that.”

No man is an island, entire of itself; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee."
JL

Reporting on the "Special Counsel" and the "Stockholm Syndrome"

Okay, the Department of Justice has appointed former FBI head Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to oversee investigations into possible connections between Russia and the 2016 tRump campaign. 


That is an important thing, regardless of what the results of the investigations are because it will clear the air in Washington and elsewhere.  Then, hopefully, government can resume functioning as it should.

What appalled me the morning after the announcement of the appointment was the different treatment it received on the TV news channels.   The appointment was generally applauded by CNN and MSNBC with commentary by analysts and lawyers.

I turned to Fox, however, and was greeted by a collection of “tweets” from and interviews with tRump loyalists throughout the country trumpeting their intent to stick with the president through thick and thin.  This was followed by Fox “experts” outraged by the fact that such a Special Counsel was not appointed to investigate Bill Clinton’s or Barack Obama’s wrongdoings.  One of these “experts” was a journalist from “The Federalist,” a relatively obscure conservative-funded journal usually far to the right of the Republican Party.  Probably encouraged by this kind of support, the president, who initially had been non-committal about the Mueller appointment, got out his IPhone and contributed his own tweets expressing his outrage at the appointment and the “witch hunt” which was being directed against him.

The “Stockholm Syndrome” is a theory which suggests that a hostage, held long enough and exposed to the ideas of the hostage takers, may eventually agree with them and espouse their ideas.  I suspect that this applies to those who get their news from Fox! But don't disparage them!   Here is a challenge for progressives: 
 
For a three-month period, do not look at any news channel on TV other than Fox.  Don’t go anywhere near MSNBC, CNN, NPR, Bloomberg or even the news on ABC, CBS or NBC.  Avoid newspapers.  Watch only Fox!  And at least for a couple of hours daily.  It’s not difficult in view of the mini-skirts their blond anchors wear. 




















I contend that at the end of ninety days of this poison in one’s system, you will be ready to contribute to the NRA, support the president (even if he shoots someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue), campaign to lower taxes,  jail Hillary Clinton, de-regulate banking, finance and the energy industries, and to privatize our educational and prison systems and back up every dictator in the world who has brought stability to their countries by authoritarian means. As a side benefit, you will also find yourself keeping your radio tuned to stations carrying Rush Limbaugh, Mike Savage and their imitators.


Try it.  You won’t like it at first.  It will be painful, but it will change the way you think. You will have been recruited into the ranks of the gullible.  And in just ninety days!  It has happened to millions and it can happen to you.  Aftewards, you will have to participate in rehabilitation sessions, be "debriefed" and be exposed to some gentle "de-programming" to return you to sanity.  This is not intended to be funny.  George Orwell (pictured to left) wrote about things like this.






Jack Lippman
I count on you, kind readers, to pass this blog on to others.  Friends, relatives, wherever they may be.  Just tell them to check out www.jackspotpourri.com.  Please. Or just let me know their email addresses so that I might send them alert notices.
Thanks,  Jack






The Democrats should not have lost the 2016 Presidential election.  I feel that by attempting to be the “party of many” as their 2016 Presidential slogan, “Together Stronger,” implied, they ran a multi-pronged campaign aiming at getting the votes of many groups, each of which had its own agenda. It didn’t work. Latinos, women, environmentalists, academics, Blacks, LGBTs, students and union members, all were organized to register and vote but what was missing was a reason for “Americans” to vote Democratic. 



In fact, catering to the agendas of these separate groups sometimes offended those outside of these groups, perhaps even losing some votes. “Together Stronger” turned out to be “Together Weaker” in some crucial States. DEMOCRATS CANNOT AFFORD TO DO THAT AGAIN!

In 2016, “American” voters were interested in three issues.  1. jobs and related job security, 2. health care without a hassle, and 3. avoiding sending their children into wars which didn’t immediately threaten the Nation’s security.  Nothing more! The Republicans sensed this and even though they didn’t have solutions for these issues, they campaigned on the first two of them, nominating a circus sideshow barker as their Presidential candidate whose exaggerated, often dishonest, claims led them to victory.  Any dissatisfaction with these three issues was blamed on the Democrats who were busy organizing “groups” to be “together stronger” and ignoring the general electorate.

Supporting the Republican effort was the gigantic wealth behind the conservative movement which through byzantine strategies, nurtured over the years, funded their campaigns and conditioned the minds of many voters, infecting them with an unbelievable level of gullibility. 

                                                                              The Koch Brothers, David and Charles 

It is no accident that so many Americans listen to Rush faithfully and know no other news source than Fox.  But there will be more about that in a future blog posting.    

Of course, in the final analysis, regardless of what they might say, the aim of the Republican Party remained what is has always been since the early years of the last century, reduced taxation of the wealthy and businesses along with less, if any, regulation of business and finance.

Despite the White House being occupied by a totally unfit and unqualified President, the Republican Party’s control of both Houses of Congress and probably the Supreme Court will allow this country to sink to the level of a Third World Banana Republic just so long as taxes on the wealthy and regulations on business are reduced.  That is their permanent agenda, written in stone. They have no reason to act against the President and they will not!  Doing so would jeopardize their solid presence in the driver’s seat of the Nation.  And this is despite anything the Special Counsel might come up with!  Ask Mitch.  Ask Paul.  Ask the “recused” Attorney General.

While the appointment of that Special Counsel to oversee the Justice Department’s (and that includes the FBI’s) “Russia” investigation is a good thing, that action will not “bear fruit” for several months. But at a minimum, that appointment may be beneficial in itself in that it will delay the Republicans in Congress in moving on their reactionary agenda. 


The real answer rests with local Democratic groups (like the one to which I belong) working diligently to elect Democrats in State races and Congressional races where the numbers indicate they have a chance.  Leadership in this effort must be a ‘grass roots’ effort arising from recognition that neither the President nor the Republican-controlled Congress operate in the interest of the majority of the American people. A column by Tom Friedman in the New York Times last week offered a recipe for this. I quote several thoughts from that column:

“Democrats and independents should not be deluded or distracted by marches on Washington, clever tweets or Saturday Night Live skits lampooning Trump.  They need power.  If you are appalled by what Trump is doing, then you need to get out of Facebook and into somebody’s face, by running for Congress as a Democrat or an independent, registering someone to vote for a Democrat or an independent, or raising money to support such candidates.  Nothing else matters.”

“… there are just two choices now: a Democratic-controlled House or Senate that can at least deter Trump for his last two years, or four years of an out-of-control president.  This GOP is not going to impeach him; forget that fantasy.”

                                                                                                     Friedman

I add to that the recommendation that no Republican candidate should ever appear before a microphone without being asked where he or she stands in regard to the President.  Don’t let them separate themselves from him!  And when they evade the question, it must be repeated. 


We may have to wait for Democratic gains in the 2018 elections, eighteen months away, resulting from these local efforts, to thwart Republican damage to the Nation.

There is a very, very, tiny chance that the President will finally become aware of the complexity of his job and wake up to the necessity of performing his duties in concert with the legislative and judicial branches of our government.  He might just recognize that his previous role as a real estate magnate, where he had the final word on everything, and where his "deal-making" skills worked well, will not work in running the Nation! 

Once the awareness of this distinction sinks in, he very well may walk away from the job, leaving it to the Vice President, with whom the Republican party would be quite happy.  In fact, the increasing day-by-day presence of Mike Pence in the public arena suggest that this scenario might already be in the rehearsal stage.  Pence would not digress an inch from the traditional Republican ideas.

V.P. Mike Pence

Therefore, the 2018 elections remain the best avenue for rescuing America from the evil-doers now in control in Washington, regardless of who sits in the White House.
JL
I count on you, kind readers, to pass this blog on to others.  Friends, relatives, wherever they may be.  Just tell them to check out www.jackspotpourri.com.  Please. Or just let me know their email addresses so that I might send them alert notices.
Thanks,  Jack

Stupidity and Cunning  (not the name of a law firm)



Leonard Pitts' Miami Herald column, reproduced in this past Sunday's Palm Beach Post, Pitts drew the following conclusion:  


"People often ask if Trump is 'crazy' or engaged in some deep strategy.  But they are overthinking him.  All evidence suggest the answer is actually simple: Donald Trump is stupid.  No, not 'ignorant.' Ignorance can be fixed.  Trump is profoundly stupid.  Yes, he has a certain native cunning.  But he is simply not smart."

Looking at that quote, here are some synonyms for the "cunning" with which Pitts credits tRump: "crafty, wily, artful guileful, devious, sly, scheming, designing, calculating, etc."  By now, you should get what he means.  

It looks like these qualities have been sufficient for an otherwise stupid person like tRump to reach great heights in the real estate business (where being cunning is apparently more important than being smart) but they are not enough to allow a stupid person to succeed as President.  He is proving that every day.  tRump's arrogance and that of some of his appointees stem from the fact that they honestly believe what worked in the real estate business would work in the "swamp" they went to Washington to drainHow wrong they are!   In fact, a stupid person, regardless of how cunning he might be, would be booted out of the job of CEO of any major corporation in short order.  And so it should be with our government. 

BUT HERE'S THE CATCH.  If the Democrats are to have any chance of taking over the House of Representatives in 2018, it is important that tRump remain in office until then so that Republican candidates will be saddled with his incompetence.  And it would be in the interest of Republicans for him to be out of office as quickly as possible so they might ally themselves wtith the solid, wholesome-appearing, conservative values of Michael Pence.  The Vice-President, a former governor and talk radio host himself, would be a more effective pitchman for the G.O.P. than the unpredictable and unqualified Donald tRump.  Think about it.  The Republicans of course are.  Daily.

It would be very difficult for the Republicans to start an impeachment movement in the House against a Republican President.  And while the 25th Amendment might be used to shoehorn a President out, that could only be used if he were rendered incompetent by disease (ex: a stroke or Alzheimers).  And tRumps stupidity, although it might seem pathological to some, is not a disease. 

So unless, the President walks away on his own, (see end of preceding article) the Democrats will have him around in eighteen months to tie to their Republican Congressional opponents.   Good Luck.
JL

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Jack Lippman