President Donald J. MacGuffin -WSJ op-ed

[question everything]

(snip)

On taking office, Mr. Trump proceeded to hire smart people and create a massive diversion (tweets, border walls, tariffs) as a smokescreen to let them implement an agenda of tax cuts, deregulation and originalist judges. The daily Trump hurricane—like the commotion over the Chiefs from Kansas—makes the media focus on the all-powerful wizard while ignoring the policy makers behind the curtain.

Alfred Hitchcock called this kind of distraction a “MacGuffin”—something that moves the plot along and provides motivation for the characters, but is itself unimportant, insignificant or irrelevant. It can be a kind of sleight of hand, a distraction, and Mr. Trump uses his own public persona as a MacGuffin in precisely that way.

....

https://www.wsj.com/articles/president-donald-j-macguffin-11581278117 (subscription)

The rest of the oped is pretty rabid but, several years ago I remember posting on these pages that while we were busy with Russia interference and MeToo, he and the Turtle were filling judicial posts, posts that the Turtle refused to fill with Obama nominees.

And this is why I think flipping the Senate is more important than the White House.

[2naSalit]

1. Gotta have both...

someone needs to sign after passage in Congress. Veto overrides are hard to come by.

[question everything]

4. True. But remember that in their eight years as presidents, both Clinton and Obama enjoyed

only two years of a Democratic Congress.

Congress can hamstring a president. Certainly an impetuous one like Trump who is not used to anyone saying NO.

[babylonsister]

2. Yes, moscow mitch has been busy:

Trump cover-up achieved, Moscow Mitch returns Senate to acting as Trump's conveyor belt for judges

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/2/10/1918200/-Trump-cover-up-achieved-Moscow-Mitch-returns-Senate-to-acting-as-Trump-s-conveyor-belt-for-judges

[Nasruddin]

3. No plan

I agree with the idea of distraction, but I don't think there's much of a plan. Mr Trump may've made some kind of deal with some Republicans and ceded control of certain areas that didn't interest him (like Betsy DeVos & the Dept of Education). McConnell is taking advantage of the situation, definitely.

I reject the notion that he hired smart people. Mr Trump is not the kind of personality who is going to keep someone smarter or more knowledgeable than him around. If there were real competent parties in place we would be in hell. The Reagan and Bush administrations were way more effective and full of smart, but horrifying, managers. Barr might be one of those, however.

Mr Trump mostly hired incompetent policos or low skill level grifters. Quite a few of them dumped out really early because the stink surrounding them just got too great. I wonder how Mulvaney managed to survive.

Others were second rank narcissists who thought they could, but couldn't, control the boss, like Sessions, Tillerson, Mathis, & Kelly.

[Karadeniz]

5. Not having the senate would surely cramp Trump's style, but the DoJ would still enable him.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. The DoJ can't confirm nominees. The Senate can. Take the Senate. NT

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. while we were busy with Russia interference and MeToo, he and the Turtle were filling judicial posts

And this is why I think flipping the Senate is more important than the White House.

Is it ever. Please see the three posts I just made in the forum. Trump isn't slowing down for anything.