The Big Shake Down & Shuffle: American Politics at What It Does Best These Days or at Least Often Enough (And Whence Pence?)

This blog, The Perched Eye (formally "The Eclectic Commentary from Pericles21') was started in February 2009, at the time of President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration. Initially, this blog would simply serve to chronicle standout happenings and trends in American politics judged to be significant from the the author's experience as a past candidate for elected political office and from extensive foreign travel. Also thrown in would be commentary about anything else in American affairs the author judged to significantly affect American life in general. Since 2008, America's 'life' has evolved in dramatic ways and directions; we appear to be faced with a totally new political paradigm, Trumpist 'populism' which seems to be Populism maybe in demographics and belief as the definition might dictate...but no one is totally certain about the reality of who are the participants or what the base ideology really is...beyond an apparent unity structured around racism and fear...but even that is cloudy. Anyway, times since the Obama presidency have 'morphed' radically in all manner of different and new, often bizarre and certainly unexpected directions that are revealed from the White House in almost every 24 hour cycle. But there seems to be an emerging pattern - things in Trumpland are getting more and more unusual, more and more extending beyond the Constitutional boundaries set by America's founders for the powers of America's chief executive ('Chief Executive' because after all, American democracy was founded on the principle of the separation of co-equal branches (3) whose smooth operation relies mostly on well-intentioned elected officers whose actions are guided in broad stroke with minimal (but strictured where the Founders, from their newly conceptualized and enthusiastic 18th century enlightenment, deemed necessary). Such seems to be where America is today...trying to hold onto the Founders' dream for an enduring Democracy, but faced with a political 'sport' a different kind of 'politician-citizen' whose talents, morality and even election (as far as we can tell) do not appear to fit the position and responsibilities of an American president.
----------
So far as we know, this morning October 5, 2019, Vice President Pence has not committed readily identifiable, or publicly released, criminal acts like Richard Nixon's VP Agnew who in the 70s received brown paper bags filled with bribery money delivered to his VP office in Washington, DC. But VP Pence might have aided s scheme to to purchase an unlawful political service, by unlawful means from a foreign nation..i.e., to have possibly aided a strong-arm shakedown of a foreign nation, Ukraine, through a $400 million bribe (through a Trump delay of an already Congress-approved, aid package to Ukraine). The ultimate goal was/is to obtain Ukraine's 'quid pro quo' participation in a scheme to influence the 2020 American presidential election bay falsely smirching Joe Biden, Donald Trump's potential 2020 presidential rival.

Overall, it seems at least on the national level, the venue of American political shenanigans has changed since the 70s Nixon-Agnew days. More than ever, American political crime schemes impacting even our domestic politics extend internationally in scope and and utilize degrees-removed foreign nation participation.

Now American politics' criminal activity utilizes impersonal, ultra-sophisticated technology that replaces actual people walking around carrying paper bags of cash,...or at least they use international first class seats. Anyway, the 70s brown paper bags of cash bribes walked into political office buildings, at the national level 'passe'.

But some things remain the same since the Nixon-Agnew 70s. Although there is more 'smoke and mirrors' and newer technologies are used to disguise political crime, there remains at the core the quintessential 'quid pro quo', the 'something-for-something', the 'deal'(why Pericles21 doesn't like to hear 'deal' used to refer to legitimate diplomatic negotiations, agreements and treaty). By this definition Trumps current 'Ukraine' mess is not 'diplomacy' - it is a shakedown deal done in the crime-language of a bad Hollywood gangster film.

In today's political crime, as with more of crime in general (but outside of the world of the poor caste who are capital/imfluence limited to do criminal deals the 'old fashioned way' through direct force and face-to-face threats), the high-level criminal activity has replaced the paper bag with impersonal, multi-tiered, intricately-webbed and hopefully untraceable, electronic-digital systems disguised as 'something else' but intended, ultimately, to deliver criminally obtained, or unlawful, assets or service of value.

In the world of international relations, things criminal or unlawful have changed, too. Modern political international criminal activity is increasingly centered around grey banking transactions involving hidden and/or degrees-removed participants whose intentions and everything possibly linked with the true criminal plot are cloaked under innocent-seeming disguises.

As in the case of some Trump business 'deals (schemes), there are sophisticated, superficially legal-but-disguised financial transactions (sales) that are not 'normal but in reality are 'long-con' political-business deals involving inflated priced assets whose presently-exorbitant price tags are based on hidden or long-term 'dodges'.

An example is the sale of vacant condominiums (at exorbitant prices) to pregnant foreign-national women 'tourists' to deliver their babies on American soil so as to gain future-generational extended family immigration into America and tax-advantages for the women's foreign families when the babies turn 21... when they then have the right to bring primary family into America (or something like that...).

Even shady international political 'deals' begin with the "quid pro quo", though disguised in quasi-diplomatic agreements (in reality criminal 'deals' about the 'give and take').

Finally, there is the sophisticated, global cyber-crime, the disguised bribery of even foreign nations, where at both ends the participants are two or more degrees removed from direct, cash money transactions - like Russia's influencing the 2016 American election through several intermediate cyber-criminal 'cutouts' but where the ultimate 'payoff' was to be the potential-president Trump's lifting of economic sanctions against Russia...a scheme disguised behind a seemingly harmless and innocent 'baby adoption' disagreement. And there is the most recent political crime attempt by Trump and co-actors, whereby strong-arm bribery was used to obtain Ukrainian 'interference' in the upcoming 2020 election by Ukrainian false smirching of the reputations of Trump's political rivals...and their families.

But again, some things are the same... behind the layers of disguise and magician's curtains, there lies the pile of money.

And interestingly, the perpetrators seem drawn to use the same spoken shakedown language... like actors in a 1940s American gangster movie. Only instead of 'you wouldn't want bad things to happen to that nice family you have...', it's now graduated to threats against a president's country, "...it would be a shame if something happened to your beautiful country..." [ 2019, DTrump speaking 1940s Hollywood 'gangsterish' to 'muscle' 2020 election interference from Ukrainian President Zelensky...and possibly using the same delivery to obtain 2020 interference from several other country leaders internationally, e.g, possibly Australia, Denmark, Italy and more]. How did Nixon-Agnew wind up?

Trump aka the Adams Family Gang--Settling in and Setting Up at the White House.

The Adams family are almost moved into the White House... in Washington... 'DC' that is? Setting up a swap meet booth at the West Wing...getting rid that old stuff laying around.

Morticia as usual is taking her time, brooming in from Borneo (or from the Bronx...hmmmm).

Uncle Fester usually 'hangs'(in harness) in the unused intell-briefing room wherefrom he was last seen emerging with a smile and satisfied belch whilst munching on Mike Flynn's thumb knuckle - Mike disappeared some days ago.

The Pensive, ever faith-full stolnik, the one in charge of ...something, occasionally presents his glow-worm countenance to be chain-whipped to the amusement of all.

The crew assembles in their good time. Some kind of show is about to happen and crescendo. Something coming.

I'm Smart About Intelligence, Most Times. But Senator, I'm Telling This Investigative Committee I Don't Know A Thing About America's Intelligence Ops

If this blogger were in position to make large bank but was handcuffed in my business dealings by being bound to secrecy, then I would separate (erect a bulkhead, firewall) my activities from that which binds me.

For instance, if I were a mega-million/alleged multi-billionare, and there were critical payment deadlines coming in my business affairs just as I was about to be sworn in as some country's chief executive, why I would firewall my CEO activities from any compromising national secrets until the coast was clear, say 12-18 months into the 4 year term...know what I mean.

And what is great is the system is set up - I mean, 'the system just might be set up so that my second-in-command could take over the role of directly managing that secret-activities department. You see what I'm getting at? Why, I could hold that top dog position forever and be untouchable as for conflict-of-interest...while, ahem, making very uuuge bank. They don't call me 'OP' for nada.

Sound familiar?

Election 2016: "Deplorable": Hillary Clinton Tags Trump with a Word from the Heartland (Trump as 'Old Scratch')

“Deplorable". Hillary Clinton called out DTrump as "Deplorable". And it is a righteous thing.

With this seemingly simple word spoken as from an Iowa front porch, though now claimed as cleverly chosen, Hillary Clinton tagged Donald Trump as a "Deplorable' (SOB). And DT will wear it like the Devil, whom Dan’l Webster debated in the classic American short story, wears "Scratch" The Devil and Daniel Webster, (1936, Stephen Vincent Benet),. Indeed, DTrump is deplorable and DTrump should, as well, wear the tag, "Scratch". Besides, Keith Olbermann calls Trump, a "Demonic Messiah"!

Why has 'deplorable' emerged from the cloud-mass of seemingly-ordinary American vocabulary to cause such consternation in the DT camp (no longer properly referable to as 'Republican' because DT chased the bulk of Republicans, as we've known them since Nixon, out and away from their cozy, pork barrel (and lobbyist-golden parachute) 'public service' nests and to Hell where they stand in trembling fear and confusion.

And why is there in Hillary's camp a growing nodding among her doubters and cheering among her constant supporters? (Read Murfster35's piece in the DailyKos webzine.)

For starters, look at the symptoms resulting from tagging DT with "Deplorable" - the confused running in circles of her opponents. Even Mike Pence, Trump's choice for running-mate and knee-jerk to the alt-right, can't seem to find a comeback to 'Deplorable'...and this blogger has a theory 'why' - truth (Hillary's use of 'Deplorable') can't be rebutted by DT-Pence's blatant falsity or anything from anyone else in the bastardized, neo-Repub party.

And, BTW, who is Mike Pence? And, what is the 'Alt-right'?

Here are Trump and Pence in a recent but classic and appropriate 'Abbott and Costello' pose where the question is, as was with Abbot and Costello in their 1940s comedy films, 'Who's the real dummy?'):

And here is Abbot and Costello from the 1940s, (What a resemblance!):

Again,'Who's the real dummy?


Some features of Mike Pence the Indiana governor, probably chosen for the gleam on his eye shutters that he robbed from an Indiana mule, 'Mike Pence slowly learning his political future is dead':

And what is 'alt-right? It is, in an abbreviated list:

alt-right is a segment of right-wing ideologies presented as an alternative to mainstream conservatism in the United States.[1][2] It has been described as a movement unified by support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump,[3][4] as well as by opposition to multiculturalism and immigration.[2][5]

The alt-right has no official ideology, although various sources have said that it is associated with white nationalism,[1][2][6] white supremacism,[3][7][8] antisemitism,[1][2][9] right-wing populism,[6] nativism,[10] and the neoreactionary movement.[7][11]

And this is the 'APB" on the Trump-highjacked Republican Party...where 'Scratch'(DT) runs the show.

So, let's start to refer to DTrump as, "Scratch', the bald-liar One that Dan'l Webster successfully argued against.

But now to the point of all this.

As a top achieving Yale Law grad (after a Wellesley BA, for god’s sake) and wife of a two term President and a two term Secretary of State under another two term President, Hillary Clinton surely had a vast vocabulary at her command to use to pin DTrump ('Scratch') like a fly to a wall.

Instead Hillary used, in the first hour or so after hearing it, what sounded like a harmless sounding descriptor, “Deplorable’.

What? Was that the best Hillary could come up with...and what exactly was Hillary about, "Deplorable" seems so out of place in today’s charged media atmosphere? But after a few more hours, ‘deplorable’ still hung around one’s brain and it’s power began to take shape...and indeed, ‘deplorable’ continues to grow in force.

What is it about ‘Deplorable’ that makes it hang and swell in the air?

It is that ‘Deplorable’ speaks from the ‘Heartland’ of America, as from a current Dan’l Webster or in the manner of Joseph Welch who called out Joe McCarthy, “have you no sense of decency...” in the McCarthy-Army hearings of 1954 — McCarthy Hearings, 1954).

"Deplorable' speaks from the language base which the 'Trumpists', and all of America, knows and responds to. 'Scratch' could, and can never use words of that kind of truth because he and his minions are through and through False, fake surface dross.

“Deplorable’ strips Trump to nakedness and renders with a finality him and his behavior as unworthy to stand among responsible adults. No wonder Pence tries awkwardly, but unsuccessfully, to dance away and around that seemingly simple term because ’Deplorable’ rings as authentically American, and Scratch is not authentic — at best Scratch is a clown, a fool, even.

DTrump was called out in the olde language of America’s regions - East, West, South and North...and has been named as 'Scratach' who merits no place among responsible adults and all Americans. Hillary Clinton tagged the Devil.