The teetering Trump Tower of cards

We are now approaching the halfway mark of the 45th President’s “First 100 Days” and in spite of being beset by numerous self-inflicted setbacks, the President is pressing on with his agenda.  Just what IS the intention of President Trump?  We should make no mistake about it.  The man is following the policy input of his advisor Stephen Bannon and deconstructing the administrative state.  In addition to cabinet appointments of individuals with histories of being diametrically opposed to the missions of the departments or agencies they now lead such as Scott Pruitt at EPA, Betsy DeVos at Department of Education and Dr. Ben Carson at HUD,  there are many government agency posts which are intentionally being left vacant.  He is also making good on his campaign promise of building his vaunted border wall at the expense of other organizations which, heretofore, have proven their need and effectiveness many times over.  I will go out on a limb here and predict that diverting budgetary funds for whatever reason from agencies such as the Coast Guard, the Travel Security Administration and FEMA are going to ultimately have a detrimental effect on our collective national security.  One thing that must be acknowledged before weakening any agency or removing any government regulation is the reason why an organization was instituted or a rule was imposed in the first place.  The welfare and benefit of workers and consumers once ranked among the top priorities of the U.S. government.  In 2017, the hot pursuit of the almighty dollar has all but left the rights of rank and file wage earners in the dust.  I shudder to think what we may have to suffer before those in policy making positions in government come to once again appreciate that limiting risky behavior by establishing reasonable limits on the free market works for the safety and benefit of all.  For all the latest plunging unemployment numbers and climbing median incomes, let it be duly noted that these figures have been on a steady trend in their respective directions for the past several months.  As we are still riding the wave of the economic boom starting in 2009, I cannot help trying to ward off the feeling of consternation of what I know is likely coming if we allow history to be our guide.  As those in Congress and the White House seek to make a relatively good economy better through deregulation, I am acutely aware of the history of boom and bust cycles,  their root causes and why we have ended up with so many government regulations and agencies tasked with oversight of legitimate problem areas.  I honestly fear what the President and his regime are constructing is a huge tower of cards that will be subject to easy collapse sooner than anyone may think. The above is but a cursory description of what is really happening while so many of us are distracted by other nonsense.  You know, things like baseless accusations that the last President ordered the bugging of Trump Tower in the final weeks of last year’s campaign.  This particular unforced error necessitates posing the following question:  When is Donald Trump going to realize that HE is now President of the United States?   He now holds the office he sought and access to information from the concerned government agencies regarding such things is now his for the asking.  Demanding that the Congress investigate such a baseless claim concurrently with the Russian hacking mess may not have been part of a strategy that will keep him from further intense scrutiny.  Such tactics, be they scripted or unscripted, are making it more difficult to give the 45th President the benefit of the doubt.  It seems with each passing day and with every new detail discovered regarding the Trump campaign’s ties with Russian officials or operatives, an ever increasing pall is hanging over this White House.  You can’t help but imagine how far along the new administration would be if it were not for such a huge element of doubt dogging it together with so many other self-generated problems.

The Russian hacking scandal and its relationship to the 2016 Trump campaign has already been credited for the sacking of one Trump cabinet secretary and necessitated his Attorney General to recuse himself from its investigation.  For all the President’s accusations of media “witch hunts” and claims of Democratic sour grapes over losing the election, there seem to be a credible number of witches being found.  There has been a steady trickle of new information related to the Trump/Russia connection coming to light on a daily basis.  There are enough dots now available to be connected, which at least one responsible TV journalist has been able to do.  MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow has very skillfully explained the players and their relationships on her prime time show this week.

Video:  Rachel Maddow exposes ‘The Russian Connection’

For all the Trump regime’s dismissal of allegations of dealings and possible collusion with Russian operatives during last year’s campaign and after the election, the pile of suspicion has only gotten larger and continues to grow on a daily basis.  We are way past the election and nothing new will ever change the outcome in terms of the 2016 Electoral Vote count so we need not waste time with any sort of do-over.  We need to look forward and the President should understand that he owes the American people the truth as to the extent of his dealings with foreign governments and/or agents, if any.  Releasing his tax returns would, for a start, be a good faith move in that direction.  Given the feeling of invincibility common to narcissistic personalities, breaking any laws won’t be an issue to him personally.  We can only hope that if and when it is discovered that U.S. laws or regulations were violated by this President or any other members of his team that the elected and appointed officials in charge of any investigation will put the nation before the ego of a media-produced character that played just enough American voters to get elected to the nation’s highest office.  With every bit of new information, I can feel that Trump Tower of cards sway a little more.