Why Trump? Why now?

I apologize in advance for anything which is a duplication of prior posts.

When the authors created our founding documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, their intent was to throw obstacles in the path of those who would ever want to concentrate power in a centralized governmental authority. If you had told James Madison that there would ultimately be a federal agency, created under the Constitution, that would regulate the amount of water used to flush a toilet he would have scrubbed the entire mission and petitioned King George to undo the Revolution. And don’t bother to point out that Madison would not have had a clue about the concept of flushing a toilet.

For a century the US Government , with only modest excursions, ran as it was designed by the founders. President Grover Cleveland may have been the last President who understood the purpose of the Constitution. In his eight years in office he vetoed 346 pieces of legislation presented for his signature. This surpassed the total number of vetoes by all the other Presidents from Washington through Hoover. His veto messages were fairly straightforward: “I cannot find any support for this action in the Constitution.”

But toward the end of the 19th century things began to change when the so-called “progressive movement” got it’s nose under the Constitutional tent. The movement has been described as a platform for “social activism and political reform” necessary to address what they saw as dislocations created by the incredible success of capitalism. The intellectual class witnessed the immense creation of wealth and these progressives saw a huge reservoir of money that they could hijack and control without the need to actually accomplish anything.

Invariably the only answer offered up is the creation of a federal agency empowered to ensure a universal solution to all issues, real or imagined. The Progressives found a willing ally in the person of Theodore Roosevelt. He was willing because he believed that the United States would be better off if they were managed by a cadre of elite “intellectuals” rather than mere representatives of the the unwashed masses. And so began the creation of federal agencies which replicate like white mice. Today there are 448 agencies (https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies) and I recommend one more…Agency to Create Agencies. President Reagan pointed out that the closest thing he has seen to eternal life is a federal agency. The best way to preserve an agency is to ensure that no problems are ever actually resolved.

This begat a class of unelected bureaucrats who have the power to inflict immense damage on individuals and businesses without, in most cases, accountability. In 1883 the Pendleton Civil Service reform Act became law. It was intended to address political influence that might be used to control the actions of employees of the various agencies. Prior to Pendleton the agencies were restocked after every election and the policies were driven by the incumbent administration. The bill was signed into law by President Chester Arthur who was known for abusing and profiting from the spoils system. The law was intended to ensure that the agencies were populated by people hired on merit, now regarded as a quaint concept. As usual the politicians failed to understand the law of unintended consequences. Powerful bureaucrats are now protected and have become almost impossible to remove, even for cause. Worse they can not be controlled.

The federal bureaucracy has now become the “Deep State”. There has been no meaningful effort to harness the various bureaucratic empires. The denizens of the Deep State are “tenured” and are apparently immune even from orders that the President issues. For example, the President ordered that John Brennan’s security clearance be revoked based on his scurrilous conduct since Trump took office. To date nothing has been done. Brennan’s attempts to undermine the President are worn as a badge of honor. He is protected by the media and political leaders from both parties. It turns out that Paul Ryan was more loyal to the Deep State than to his President.

Merely trying to weed the Deep State garden is treated as conduct bordering on treasonous. The decision was made to transfer part of the Department of Agriculture to Kansas City, to a state that actually engages in agriculture. Many employees refused to make the move because the thought of living in flyover country was more than they could bear. They have no interest in actually rubbing shoulders with their clients. One can bet the ranch that there are frantic efforts being undertaken to reverse this decision and that such efforts are protected from public scrutiny.

During the campaign candidate Trump promised to “drain the swamp”. It was the first time this issue was made part of the national dialogue. Trump is an outsider who has no vested interest in the perpetuation of the Deep State. In fact, his business dealings gave him a victim’s perspective of the insidious power of the unelected bureaucrats. His election sent a Cat 5 message to the federal regulatory state and they have reacted in a manner that suggests that they know they face a serious, even mortal, threat. Trump, however, is not a professional politician and, as such, he will be energized rather than cowered by their threats. A professional politician would be reluctant to take on the swamp dwellers. The Trump administration is exactly what we need to take back control of our government…of the people, by the people, for the people.

It must be remembered that every time more power is exported from the local level to Washington there is a corresponding reduction in our individual freedoms. Watching Trump deal with the federal infrastructure has been instructive and should give every American pause. Break up the Deep State and send the power back to the people. Let us hope it is not too late!