Trump Isn't Even Trying to Be President
At least, not in the sense most of us think about it. He has left hundreds of leadership positions vacant in executive branch Departments, and shows no sign of even looking for people to fill those seats. In Departments like the State and Justice Departments, those positions, which must be confirmed by the Senate are crucial to the work of those departments. Without solid leadership talent in those secondary director and assistant jobs, all of the civil service workers find themselves without a clear direction.
Clearly, though, Trump is not concerned about this. In fact, it may be his plan to destroy the executive branch by attrition. He apparently believes that he can simply make statements and issue orders and have his wishes accomplished. He is incorrect in that belief. Instead, without second-level leadership, nothing at all will get done. The federal government cannot function without fully qualified leaders in each department. Instead, things grind to a halt as civil service employees flounder aimlessly.
Even Trump's immediate staff is paltry. He surrounds himself with family members and toadies, who have no knowledge of government operations. They cannot advise him wisely, because they know nothing. Those with even a little experience in government are not genuine leadership material, or have strange ideas that have little to do with the realities of governance.
Worse, as the Trump administration blunders along, making mistake after mistake, few people who are qualified to fill vacant positions or take a place on Trump's staff have any interest in doing so. For such people, those positions would become stains on their resumes, rather than high points. That's because Trump, himself, has no qualifications for the job he has taken. He cannot lead and will not take advice from those who understand what needs to be done.
If Trump's goal is to make the executive branch a useless thing, he is on the right path. However, the legislative branch, Congress, is equally saddled with many elected officials who also have no qualifications or experience in government. Brought into office during the spasm of teabaggery that infected the nation, they make up a minority of Congress, especially in the House, that is large enough to prevent even the Republican majority from accomplishing anything.
The bottom line is that our federal government is in limbo, while the world continues to change around it. With no direction and with ever-decreasing respect from other nations, the United States is drifting away from leadership. Our country is in danger of becoming irrelevant, while remaining militarily potent. That is not a good combination, it seems to me.
Can we fix this, staring in 2018? Yes, we can, but only if we are able to focus on what must be done and work together. At this point, I'm beginning to wonder if we are capable of that. We'd better turn to the job, though, or we will have some discordant music to face just down the road.
That's my opinion this Wednesday morning. Thanks for taking the time to read it.
= new reply since forum marked as read
