The pace of the Trump
administration is dizzying. It is always finding a way to do something
outrageous while preparing to pivot to the next piece of madness. The Atlantic pointed this out recently
when they wrote about four
stories that broke in a single day. Prior to this I have wanted to publish
several articles on the Trump administration; none have made it through the editing
process before losing not only their timeliness but almost their coherence, as
the world around us seemed to change.
I have
wanted to write about how Donald Trump is getting co-opted by those around him,
and how his alt-right followers should be furious. There were too many examples
to keep going, the article never seemed up to date enough. Sure he didn’t
reinforce Article
5 but he did just quietly allow in a
bunch of refugees.
I started
doing research on health care, tax policy, and infrastructure. None seemed
important enough to pull together 500 words on while the Russia story burned
brightly. There is so much that could be said on them but each feels as if it
will have its moment. The Russian moment is now, and like a glitter bomb it is
on everything.
I wanted to
write several wide ranging analyses of the Russia revelations but that might be
the least solid ground in politics right now. I scroll through my Facebook feed
to see the “promoted” stories are a part of the scandal that I have almost
forgotten. Reading back through stories the news site algorithms suggest
stories that seem like ancient history. In fact reading news from April, right
now being the end of May, feels like simpler time. The most recent breaking
news has
been about the Transition, a time which even allowed non-political news to
enter the public consciousness.
It has been
said many times before but it is worth repeating, Donald Trump is good at
disruption, it is how he likes to run his businesses and it is how we are being
governed. He wants to keep people off balance, he wants us to be stuck five
outrages ago while he is off signing executive orders or golfing. This allows
him space to operate, but also gives him plenty of coverage on the news. The
NPR politics podcast pointed out last week that he will say whatever he wants
to get to the next 10 minutes, but once under oath he is evasive and
disciplined.
So it is
time to take a breath away from Russia, the investigations will continue at
pace. The world is a place full of problems and provocations, so for the next
two weeks those will take center stage for The
Polaris Revolution.
