If you remember the story of the Wizard of Oz, you recall that Oz, the Great and Powerful, was but a light projection run by a man behind a screen. I think that is an apt analogy for what we are seeing. If Trump is Oz, all bluster with little or no substance, then who is the manipulator, the man behind the curtain? Steve Bannon, of course.
Bannon fascinates me. He is the monster in the closet, the ruthless ideologue who drives policy and stomps on everyone who gets in the way, and all Presidents have one. Nixon had Chuck Colson, Reagan had Bush 1. Bush 1 had Lee Atwater, Bill Clinton had Hillary, Bush 2 had Karl Rove (remember what he did to poor Max Cleland).
When dealing with a world that runs on form and tradition, like American politics, every Administration needs an enforcer, a hit man, who will get the job done at damn near any cost.
In previous Administrations, Presidents treated these folks the way you might treat a pet rattlesnake. They admired them, took care of them, but kept them at arm's length and usually locked away, releasing them only when needed then hustling them, quietly, back to their cages.
Trump is not locking Bannon away. Trump has no real ideology. I believe he genuinely wants to see the American people doing well. He, like myself, remembers a much better America and wants that back. Worthy goals, but he has no interest in ideology so he has trouble presenting a coherent plan. He seems to want to do just whatever he thinks will work. That is not a bad plan, but it is very hard to get the ideologues who have run the Country for way too long to go with that. Add on to that, Trump's innate defensiveness, bad temper and overly high sense of self worth, and he is having a rough go of it. Some, in his Administration seem to want him to tone things down. Priebus is one of those, Pence is possibly another, maybe even Sessions. They are probably correct, but what fun would that be?
On the other hand, there is Bannon. He is definitely an ideologue and his ideology scares the poop out of the Washington establishment. Why? Simple. He wants them gone. His stated goal is the dismantling of what he calls the Washington Administrative State, the system that wants to control every element of our lives; what we do, where we work, what we eat, what we read and listen to, what we think. Trust me. That is the ultimate goal of the Bushes and Obamas and Clintons that have afflicted us for these far too many years. Bannon wants the government and social structure they have built destroyed and America returned to the sort of live and let live attitudes that we have not seen in full effect since the 1950s when the middle class was at its strongest.
Works for me, but I see no way we can jump quickly to that, unless we want a horribly traumatic period of almost complete revolt. Maybe that's the plan. I have little doubt that Bannon would not mind it and, remember, by all accounts, he has long and private meetings with Trump.
Part of me says, why not? Tear it down and let's get back to a sane government. Another part of me says, no, too many would be hurt, people who should not be punished for simply believing the lies they have been fed for so long, by expert liars. Oh well, it really doesn't much matter what I believe, since none of the big players are asking my opinion and, any of you reading this are pretty much in the same boat. All I can say is, don't let it get you down, stay happy and healthy, and be ready for a very rocky time.
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