By ann summers
![bannon_white_board[1]](https://genehowington.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/bannon_white_board1.png?w=529&h=520)
We will be at the mercy of Bannon’s whiteboard roadmap for a Trump who primarily watches TV
Charlie Rose interviewed Steve Bannon for CBS 60 Minutes, which was broadcast on Sunday, with an extended version available online.
Most revelations were teased in terms of the criticism of current Catholic church policy on immigrants.
The broadcast was more useful for considering the consistency of tone for Bannon in comparison to his session with Priebus at CPAC, as well as the recent interview with American Prospect.
The Bannon spin was that the opposition to Trump comes from a fictive GOP establishment, with loyalty and the Irish black book in force for “streetfighters”. Back to the “outsider” playbook of George Wallace and Ross Perot, except this time the dog caught the car.
The Senate GOP seems to be a current focus for his revenge, after the numerous legislative failures.
Apparently Trump’s use of Twitter “disintermediates” the media, according to Bannon. Because the 40 million fake followers apparently constitute the direct connection despite all those bots. That’s not democratic when Trump never replies to tweets, it’s autocratic.
The project of eradicating the permanent political class (K Street and the Beltway bureaucracy) makes sense to many actual libertarians, but it’s also thinning the oligarchy, which is what warlords do.
His real ire is laid upon the Bush administration, and his deflections on WH/NSC leaks were telling.
Apparently Bannon knows the Russians colluded because he hid behind a reason of classified intelligence reports.
His economic populism is based on citizenship, where documentation is the criteria for the current racist pandering. There will be for undocumented immigrants, no path to citizenship, no amnesty, and everyone undocumented needs to self-deport.
Similarly, Bannon apparently believes that immigrants and slaves played no part in the divisions of labor exploited under The American System.
Bannon sees “The American System” as the economic nationalist core (sans Whigs(sic)) of the Bannonist policy script that Trump continues to follow. Unfortunately we’re in the 21st Century and global trade includes actual modern economies under comparative advantage. Bannon is quite mistaken about using that 19th Century model.
The reality was that Trump is really quite clueless and that whatever policy outline he follows comes still from Bannon, whose combativeness probably gets more interesting with less makeup and more alcohol.
The more interesting takeaway is that the win was unexpected, and considering the “staffing-up” needed, supports the notion that the perfect storm of multiple active measures and the targeting of the Electoral College margins transformed an obvious 2016 defeat into the current WH disaster.
Bannon is, however his pretensions, a rather simple Trump booster, except he’s in the circle that gets to call him “Donald”.
Top quote: “The Republican establishment is trying to nullify the 2016 election. That’s a brutal fact we have to face.”
- On his relationship with the president: “I think I’m a street fighter. And by the way, I think that’s why Donald Trump and I get along so well. Donald Trump’s a fighter. Great counter puncher. Great counter puncher. He’s a fighter. I’m going to be his wing man outside for the entire time, to protect [Trump]” and “to make sure his enemies know that there’s no free shot on goal.”
- On Trump’s Charlottesville remarks: “I was the only guy that came out and tried to defend him.”
- On Gary Cohn’s critical interview with the Financial Times: “If you don’t like what [Trump’s] doing and you don’t agree with it, you have an obligation to resign.”
- On Republican criticism of Trump’s national security strategy: “That’s the geniuses of the Bush administration. I hold these people in contempt, total and complete contempt … They’re idiots, and they’ve gotten us in this situation, and they question a good man like Donald Trump,” Bannon said, naming Condoleezza Rice, Brent Scowcroft and Colin Powell.
- On the Russia investigation: “It’s a total and complete farce. Russian collusion is a farce.”
Apparently Breitbart claims CBS deliberately color-corrected (sic) Bannon to make him look… bad(sic).
Nicole Plyler Fisk
Gene Howington
FFS Guest Blogger
Joy of Fishes
Chuck Stanley
shortfinals
Terry Welshans
ann li-summers
wordcloud9
Flowers For Socrates 
There have been political claques for centuries. Trump’s Twitter claque has introduced a bit of novelty by including lots of bots, but getting your claque to shout the loudest, then claiming it as a victory is really ancient demagoguery.
Why any “legitimate” news media (if we still have such a thing) is airing more of this oaf’s vile lies and distortions forces one to ponder the depths into which American politics continue to free-fall.
When I think of Steve Bannon, the term
“asshat” comes to mind!!
He certainly made it clear that he is in the process of destroying the Republican party. Several Republicans have responded this week by saying they will not seek reelection. Listening to him in the interview, I see him as a two-faced looser who can not decide if he supports Donnie or is trying to discredit him. I agree with rafflaw: he is indeed an asshat.
And in other news, a certain website’s PR manager deserves a raise.
Lt. Aldo Raine: “Yeah, that’s what we thought. We don’t like that. You see, we like our Nazis in uniform. That way we can spot ’em just like that. But you take off that uniform, ain’t no one ever gonna know you were a Nazi. And that don’t sit well with us. So, I’m gonna give you a little something you can’t take off.”
Tarantino is a crazy man, but I like his work.
So…when these real Americans landed here, they were DOCUMENTED. The people who were already here (called “Indians” by ignorant immigrants who thought they were in India) were undocumented.
Yes. But they stole it fair and square. Early colonists bought and traded for the land offering European goods of scant value. Europeans, unlike the Norse and Chinese who stopped by in previous centuries, decided to stay. They were on a venture financed by the aristocrats in Europe to produce goods for sale, at a profit, back home.
Like many Americans, I have relatives who made the trip here from Europe long ago. My 8th Great Grandfather, Edward Poole, arrived in 1635 as a servant to a family as he was unable to pay his own transportation. In later years, once he had paid his debt to the family, Edward Poole was part of a company who bought the land southeast of Boston from the Native Americans to found the village of Weymouth.
Johan Jacob Welschhans, my 6th Great Grandfather came here 29 Sep 1741 on the ship Lydia. He arrived at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and took his oath of allegiance on his arrival.
Both of these men were documented at their points of departure and took oaths upon arrival. I don’t think the Native Americans thought much of the process, but probably thought they would go back home.