Posted originally on the CTH on November 27, 2024 | Sundance
There are four general aspects to the larger Trump legacy term that are starting to become very visible. This is the era when political change starts to become visible in real terms. We are all in the front row, on the cusp of a historic moment.
♦ The four generalized fronts are: (1) The economic front, which will be both domestic (Main St) and foreign (multinationals) as executed. (2) The IC/Justice front, which is inherently domestic. (3) The Legislative Branch front, this is where DOGE (Dept of Government Efficiency) comes into play; and lastly (4) The Dept of State confrontation with allies and enemies on all three other fronts.
Within #3, the legislative branch battle against the executive, this is where the spending issue, the purse strings, the power center dynamic over taxpayer distribution will be fought through the Dept of Government Efficiency, or DOGE led by Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and a few key allies in both the House and Senate.
Because the nature of the DOGE battle is centered around money, the root issue is ultimately who controls the power within Washington DC. Control the money and you control the power. Inside this battle over spending the historic dynamic of the UniParty will be visible. Remember, Democrats want power, Republicans want money.
Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer have already started to position their defenses against DOGE and Trump {SEE HERE}. The committee chairs and vice-chairs are selected to keep the power of control of spending away from DOGE/Trump. Republican Chair Susan Collins, appointed by Thune/McConnell will not willingly let DOGE/Trump interfere in the way the Senate assigns funds. Ultimately this distribution is their power center.
DOGE is reported to be looking carefully at the Impoundment Control Act, challenging the system that places limits on a president’s ability to unilaterally withhold funding. According to Politico, Musk and Ramaswamy “believe the Supreme Court, which has three justices nominated by Trump, would be favorable to them.” The bottom line is the Executive v Legislative battle, where President Trump is going to try and reduce the size of government while congress keeps spending to maintain it.
In commonly held wisdom, traditional conservatives have always said government was spending too much, and reducing spending will limit the scale and reach of government. However, those same traditional “conservative” voices who call for spending cuts are the same people who previously called for ‘Obamacare repeal’, and when given the chance to do it – they disappeared. The Republican wing of the UniParty is full of those false conservatives, that’s why I call them DeceptiCONS.
One of the key people from inside the republican ranks on the upper chamber, is Senator Jodi Ernst. Currently she is positioning herself for influence and assist with DOGE; however, Ernst is not an honest broker when it comes to actually delivering a result. Like many of her colleagues, Ted Cruz, James Lankford and Mike Lee as examples, they talk a good game, write good op-eds, appear on Fox News, send strongly worded letters, and then do nothing.
Musk has the tool to drag these Republican DeceptiCONS into the sunlight via Twitter and a high dose of brutal honesty. However, before they accept the burn from sunlight, they will predictably seek comfort behind the protection of the lobbyists who fund the RNC, and the skirt of John Thune.
The voice of Mitch McConnell looms over the entire dynamic like the universal message in 2010 Space Odyssey, “All these worlds are yours, except Europa, attempt no landing there.” McConnell assuredly hoping to cement his legacy by creating an omnipotent and powerful Senate, far beyond the reach of any White House, temporary DOGE movement, or even voter intent.
I like the position that President Trump has taken amid this entire dynamic. Remember, he previously was burned by the DeceptiCONs when he gave them the option to repeal Obamacare.
President Trump has a priority agenda to create something much bigger than all of the component parts. RFK JR challenging food and health, Elon Musk challenging government size/spending, while President Trump focuses on the Trump Doctrine (economics and national security).
Centinel2012 