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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump's Rasputin seizes the moment: A week of chaos may suit Steve Bannon's master plan
Alt-right guru turned Trump adviser is using both the "Muslim ban" and bogus voter-fraud charges to spread disorderHEATHER DIGBY PARTON
There was so much going on in President Donald Trumps first week of presidential decrees that it was hard to keep track of it all. The most acute problem, in that it immediatelyaffected peoples lives, was the executive order issued on Friday that banned entry to the United States for immigrants, refugees or visitors arriving from a list of certain Muslim-majority countries designated as having terrorist activity. On Saturday when it became clear that the ban was taking effect immediately and people were being denied entry or told at their point of origin that they could not board U.S.-bound planes, all hell broke loose.
Nobody understood the rules. Passengers were being held and interrogated. Chaos ensued at international airports all over the country. Protesters gathered en masse at terminals to show their solidarity. Immigration lawyers arrived to help detainees and their families navigate a system that nobody understood because it was arbitrary and constitutionally dubious. The world reacted with disbelief.
Finally several federal judges issued stays, for a variety of reasons, in response to suits filed by civil liberties and immigration attorneys around the country. Even hawkish constitutional experts were appalled.
It was a shocking moment in American history.
But we shouldnt have been too surprised. Trump had promised to ban Muslims from entering the country during the campaign, famously making a speech after the San Bernardino terrorist attack saying it had to be done until the U.S. could figure out what the hell is going on. He modified his remarks later, apparently at the urging of Rudy Giuliani, who bragged that he told Trump he could only ban Muslims by nationality rather than religion (while offering priority to those who practice a different religion) or hed run afoul of the Constitution. Now the Trump administration has absurdly proclaimed that it was just following Barack Obamas lead (an assertion refuted by the Washington Posts Glenn Kessler.)
more
http://www.salon.com/2017/01/30/trumps-rasputin-seizes-the-moment-a-week-of-chaos-may-suit-steve-bannons-master-plan/
The Blue Flower
(5,444 posts)The goal is to undermine democracy. I'd like to point out to President Bannon that you are now the establishment, and you will undoubtedly succeed in bringing yourself down.
oasis
(49,407 posts)catbyte
(34,447 posts)for the planet is if he drops dead. I usually don't wish anyone ill because I think it's bad karma, but this feels like self-preservation.
Wounded Bear
(58,706 posts)Yes, it's a feature, not a bug. The chaos hides the really evil things they have planned.
dalton99a
(81,570 posts)and Western democracies in general
Solly Mack
(90,785 posts)in hopes of creating a better America.
He wants to destroy the government so he can impose his fundamentalist thinking. And make no mistake, Bannon is every bit the religious nutcase Betsy DeVos is.
He bemoans the fat cats of Washington when he - in fact - has long aspired to be one of those fat cats. He's not mad they benefited from cronyism. He was jealous he wasn't the one getting the gains. He claims to hate Ryan but the two of them agree on just about everything.
He is subverting government and our institutions from within, making him a danger to our democracy and not simply someone who disagrees on policy and how to govern, but is basically a decent person.
Bannon is not a decent person.
He's not shaking up the status quo, as he tells himself he is, but is merely ensuring that his way is the status quo.
He's a king-maker that fully expects to be the man behind the curtain, the real power.
flamingdem
(39,321 posts)Kelly Ann Conway is on their board
LeftInTX
(25,551 posts)Alex Jones preaches his survivalist crap so he can sell survival kits.
Bannon has some money plot....