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Sunday, May 07, 2017

Recently the "first 100 days" thing got press coverage, briefly, yet Trump's biggest mistake was earlier. And there is the RNC and the actual Republican insurgency, Tea Party or grassroots, which term you use, and there was head-butting, looking back. You look back to understand what to look for going forward, as in Trump spoke to the grassroots, but lied and wanted to bury Caesar not to praise him.

Mistake numero uno - a big time error:

Convention time, Dump Pence was considered, not done.

Mistake No.2 has to have story dimensions which the public will never learn. However, at a guess No.2 was less a disaster than Pence as VP, especially if anything happens to Trump, impeachment included. The transition team was packed with Trump family, politicians, and spoils seekers; and allegedly no lobbyists (Flynn had not yet then come out of his lobbyist closet).

Newsmax, Tuesday, 29 Nov 2016, reported:

Trump announced the appointments in a release with Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who is chairman of the presidential transition team.

Here are the vice chairs:

Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn.
Retired pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin.
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis.
Incoming Deputy National Security Adviser Kathleen Troia "K.T." McFarland.
New York Rep. Tom Reed.
Washington State Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions.
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.

Here is the executive committee:

Pennsylvania Rep. Lou Barletta.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
New York Rep. Chris Collins.
Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy.
South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy.
New York Observer publisher Jared Kushner.
Pennsylvania Rep. Tom Marino.
Philanthropist Rebekah Mercer.
Trump Campaign Finance Chairman Steven Mnuchin.
California Rep. Devin Nunes.
Florida Rep. Dennis Ross.
Financier and entrepreneur Anthony Scaramucci.
The Rev. Darrell Scott, pastor of New Spirit Revival Center Ministries, Cleveland.
Kiron Skinner, associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
Entrepreneur and hedge fund manager Peter Thiel.
Donald Trump Jr.
Eric Trump.
Ivanka Trump.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus.
Trump Campaign CEO Steve Bannon.

Here are key leadership team members:

Nick Ayers, senior adviser to Vice President-elect Mike Pence.
Kellyanne Conway, senior adviser.
David Bossie, deputy executive director.
Aaron Chang, advance operations lead.
Steven Cheung, director of rapid response.
A.J. Delgado, senior adviser.
Jeff DeWit, special adviser for operations.
Jessica Ditto, deputy communications director.
George Gigicos, director of advance operations.
Michael Glassner, special adviser for operations.
Stephanie Grisham, press director.
Hope Hicks, national press secretary.
Don McGahn, general counsel.
Jason Miller, communications director.
Stephen Miller, national policy director.
Katrina Pierson, senior adviser.
Josh Pitcock, senior adviser to Vice President-elect Pence.
Dan Scavino, social media director.
Marc Short, senior adviser to Pence.
Sean Spicer, senior communications adviser.
Katie Walsh, senior adviser.

Like that final Casablanca scene, "Round up the usual suspects."

Named foxes to set the henhouse up. And if any of those names are populist Tea Partiers, reader help on saying which is needed. At a guess, running as a populist, transitioning with RNC regularity, Pence on board, was an indication that all Trump said in campaigning to the little man was at that point in the Trumpster's dumpster, no longer of use, at that point. GOP established elite, Mercer money, and family and cronies need only apply. Others, irrelevant. Also, are any of the listed "having a voice on spoils" folks actual card-carrying members of the Jesus Jockey part of "the base?"

Nunes there, Cruz absent. Any pesky pastors in the list?

A link. Back then. On the eve of the GOP Cleveland convention. With an image.

Trump's job was to appeal to the Tea Party, then to disown it, in fact if not in rhetoric. And his "enemy" the press; when's the last mainstream media mention, much less analytical reporting, about Tea Party events, patriots, desires? MIA.

How things were then. How things are now now. Establishment Dems bleating about Russians - a chorus without any evidence. It could be worse. Corporatism is truly menacing, but less so than Dominionism, and while during the campaign the bible was declared a more favored book than Art of the Deal, that rhetoric was mere artful dealing. Artfully dealing with the Rafael Edward Cruz faction of the GOP for pre-election voter coalition building, related to the Rafael Bienvenido Cruz ministry being useful at that point but anathema in any actual governing situation that using that faction might yield.

We live in interesting times. Establishment GOP in the driver's seat. Establishment Dems holding onto their reins, despite Bernie, Our Revolution, and Justice Democrats. Could be better, much better. Could be worse. Establishment two-party stranglehold will not be surrendered. It must be superseded, and Tea Party stalwarts, true believers, should look at Bernie and whether Trump, as is, stands any closer to their actual needs, apart from wants, than Bernie and Our Revolution.

And back to Mainstream Media. Last 2016 election cycle, Rand Paul was he whose name shall not be mentioned, as much as Bernie was. Go figure.

UPDATE: Missed the obvious:

The Rev. Darrell Scott, pastor of New Spirit Revival Center Ministries, Cleveland.

Any others? It looks like one alien tree within a dense forest. Besides Pence, himself. However deep Pence Dominionism roots may go, he besides Rev. Scott seem a distinct minority voice to be drowned out by establishment GOP and Trump family voices.