The operative word is chaos, and predicting how chaos will manifest is almost a paradox. I think its a safe bet there will be feudal levels of infighting, schemes, and alliances around Trump. He loves that shit, watching his minions attack each other. Batman villians like Kennedy, Miller, Patel, and oh God all the rest will do their damage, but how much is unknowable. Incompetence trumps passion, and the more they clean house the more incompetence grows. The only certainty is the debt will balloon for tax cuts, again, and many, many books will be written about the palace intrigue. Everything else will depend on Events, dear boy.
It's a cliche to say Trump loves chaos, with the caveat of chaos that he causes. Its his main weapon that he aims and promotes, riding above because he simply doesn't care. COVID is a good example of external chaos he doesn't control. He blusters, lies, and misdirects, but that's about the limit of his skills. He needs others to plan and respond, and there won't be adults in charge anywhere this time. If we get an Event in the next 4 years, things will fail, possibly spectacularly. We better hope Trump's luck rubs off on us.
The article makes excellent points, for sure, but what about an improperly constituted dick-tatorship? The top executives of the US Federal Gov't will be Chaos Muppets looting everything in sight, while fanatical underlings desecrate sacred institutions and immiserate all of us in the process. Instead of oligarchy, toxic masculinity gives us toxi-garchy and "Idiocracy" instead of kakistocracy,
I agree! Without the constant fluffing by FOX NEWS, Trump is the lamest of lame ducks, and oh-so pathetically needy it's embarrassing. His weakness is already apparent.
The whole world has his number, just like Elon "Who's that guy with the Big Head?" Mush.
The whole world doesn't matter. It's the incoming bureau chiefs who will withhold paychecks til the loyal opposition gives up and vacates. And it's the guys (almost all guys) with their hands on the messaging machines, and the viciously eager millions of minions who get those messages loud and...well OK, maybe not clear...
Oh. And the courts. There is no substantive legal remedy for the sorts of things the Man From Queens will do, because the courtiers will interpret* laws as necessary.
I’m more worried about downstream effects: the appointment of RFK, Jr., at HHS, Jay Bhattacharya at NIH, Russell Vought at OMB. Bobby Brainworm would make it harder, if not outright impossible, to get COVID vaccines for newer variants and seasonal flu vaccines approved. Bhattacharya is part of the Great Barrington Declaration gang and advocated for widespread exposure of younger people to COVID to achieve herd immunity. If, as some think possible, H5N1 ( bird flu) becomes a pandemic, we’ll be in big trouble. Vought at OMB will do his best to promulgate the Project 2025 agenda, starving regulatory agencies of funding necessary to do their jobs. If Trump implements Schedule F , institutional experience and competence will be replaced by incompetent hacks.
A cautionary note: historically, authoritarian régimes are usually shitshows of court-politics backstabbing...
Hope you are doing well...
Yours,
Brad DeLong
I guess we just get a clearer view of it when we're living through it.
Back at you!
"lonely and wistful, with an oddly large head."
What a great line ! Edroso worthy.! Perhaps even Evelyn Waugh.
The operative word is chaos, and predicting how chaos will manifest is almost a paradox. I think its a safe bet there will be feudal levels of infighting, schemes, and alliances around Trump. He loves that shit, watching his minions attack each other. Batman villians like Kennedy, Miller, Patel, and oh God all the rest will do their damage, but how much is unknowable. Incompetence trumps passion, and the more they clean house the more incompetence grows. The only certainty is the debt will balloon for tax cuts, again, and many, many books will be written about the palace intrigue. Everything else will depend on Events, dear boy.
It's a cliche to say Trump loves chaos, with the caveat of chaos that he causes. Its his main weapon that he aims and promotes, riding above because he simply doesn't care. COVID is a good example of external chaos he doesn't control. He blusters, lies, and misdirects, but that's about the limit of his skills. He needs others to plan and respond, and there won't be adults in charge anywhere this time. If we get an Event in the next 4 years, things will fail, possibly spectacularly. We better hope Trump's luck rubs off on us.
The article makes excellent points, for sure, but what about an improperly constituted dick-tatorship? The top executives of the US Federal Gov't will be Chaos Muppets looting everything in sight, while fanatical underlings desecrate sacred institutions and immiserate all of us in the process. Instead of oligarchy, toxic masculinity gives us toxi-garchy and "Idiocracy" instead of kakistocracy,
Hoping they'll be so busy fighting each other that their outside defenses will be down. I'm not saying you're wrong! But it is possible
I agree! Without the constant fluffing by FOX NEWS, Trump is the lamest of lame ducks, and oh-so pathetically needy it's embarrassing. His weakness is already apparent.
The whole world has his number, just like Elon "Who's that guy with the Big Head?" Mush.
The whole world doesn't matter. It's the incoming bureau chiefs who will withhold paychecks til the loyal opposition gives up and vacates. And it's the guys (almost all guys) with their hands on the messaging machines, and the viciously eager millions of minions who get those messages loud and...well OK, maybe not clear...
Oh. And the courts. There is no substantive legal remedy for the sorts of things the Man From Queens will do, because the courtiers will interpret* laws as necessary.
*invent
I’m more worried about downstream effects: the appointment of RFK, Jr., at HHS, Jay Bhattacharya at NIH, Russell Vought at OMB. Bobby Brainworm would make it harder, if not outright impossible, to get COVID vaccines for newer variants and seasonal flu vaccines approved. Bhattacharya is part of the Great Barrington Declaration gang and advocated for widespread exposure of younger people to COVID to achieve herd immunity. If, as some think possible, H5N1 ( bird flu) becomes a pandemic, we’ll be in big trouble. Vought at OMB will do his best to promulgate the Project 2025 agenda, starving regulatory agencies of funding necessary to do their jobs. If Trump implements Schedule F , institutional experience and competence will be replaced by incompetent hacks.