If you cared anything about this country you would be on TV 24/7 telling the public the

truth about what is happening in the White House.

If you cared anything about this country you would be on TV 24/7 telling the public about

the insane things Trump does on a daily basis.

You are protecting your own ass, not this country.

You are protecting your party, not this country.

You are an enabler.

You enable and abet.

I don't think you know the definition of resistance.

a party than they are in "preserving institutions".

This is an incredible article, not for what it states outright, but for the audacity to act as if it is any different from any administratively run government. Each administration has policy wonks who have been doing the job for years and years, have their own internal rules and regulations (Administrative Procedure Act), and have their own, over time, culture and priorities that the people working in them will espouse.

You can change the head of an administration and you can coerce the direction it will head (the Trump administration has for example done that with the EPA), but you cannot remove the soul of an executive branch administration. This is evident in the Trump administration's historic staffer turnover rate (see The Brookings Institution), where 34% of high level staffers have resigned or been fired because they were unable to effect the change that the Trump administration wants.

So for the author to actually champion its internal administrations keeping their course isn't really a matter of surprise. If anything it illustrates an inflated ego about what can or could be done, knowing that what they want to be done, as conservatives, is to unwind the government to begin with.

This is something that should be taken with a great amount of caution, and perhaps a ton or so of salt. Something like this could destroy every bit of progress we've made. I advise caution, and not jumping head first into a pool of water that may be a mile wide, but only an inch deep. That being said, I hope every bit of it is true, and brings about the demise of the Trump administration.

Yes, this person does not share our ethics. I agree 100%.

But the VALUE of the information he or she is providing is stellar. Don't shut this person up!

Don't hide behind an anonymous op Ed. There are no adults in the White House

After Trump is gone, the narrative will be that all is well and back to "normal" (as if the Republican Party of the last 50 years didn't create this monster). The Republican Party will continue to be one of the most destructive forces in the world, and the anti-Trump Republicans will be right back on the bandwagon.

but as Trump keeps churning through positions, the resistance is going to be thrown into disarray. The real solution is to get the diabolical president out of the White House, ASAP!

Trump's worst impulses - the pro Russia/anti-democratic ones - not the anti-Trump resistance online.

I agree with your bold section!

Anonymous chickenshit enabler. And shame on the New York Times for giving this alleged person a platform.

now we will see what a witch hunt looks like.

The wins are big enough that they won't buck him. They see him as temporary while some of his wins are more permanent.

Because they are unwinding the very fabric of the US government by causing the debt to explode exponentially.

It’s huge.

I'm without words

it was probably edited, especially if there is a group effort going on. There's something about it that sounds artificially juvenile, as if a young staffer wrote it or it was worded to be unnecessarily mysterious. It almost sounds like a fake ransom letter.

As though an articulate person were afraid of being too articulate. I'm sure that would identify them immediately, as their number is surely limited.

they would be exactly like him.

They’re not blind to what he does. They admire it.

They bilk whoever they can, whenever they can. Their idea of a good deal is getting something for
nothing. They believe in underpaying others while getting as much as they can for themselves and they will cheat and lie to do it.

We all know the type. They talk a good talk but always act on their lowest impulses.

'The Times today is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers. We invite you to submit a question about the essay or our vetting process here.'

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/reader-center/oped-questions.html

So, the Times basically asks the public to trust them when they say this alleged person is bona fide and delivering "an important perspective." This is the same New York Times that employed Judith "Curveball" Miller and her credulous reporting from Iraq about those ol' debbil weapons of mass destruction. The same Times that employed Elisabeth "Weekly wet sloppy valentines to George W. Bush" Bumiller and her endless paeans to the greatness of 43. The same Times that currently has an editorial staff that includes David Brooks, Bret Stephens, and Ross Douthat.

Yeah, there's some credibility for ya.

or occasional columnists and opinion writers?

For Brooks, Stephens, and Douthat, this is their regular gig that opens the door to other opportunities to go on the teevee shows, get invited to be visiting lecturers at prestigious universities, be the guests of honor on Caribbean cruises during the cold months, and have their mental droppings consolidated and put into books. Any of which generates more money than you or I (and probably you and I) make in a year.

It's prolly Donnie hisownself, or John Barron, or Meredith McIver.

the NY Times has made a lot of mistakes, but it sounded pretty clear that they knew who the person was inside the White House, just agreed to not publish his or her name.

'The Times’s Opinion desk has taken the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. We did so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure.'

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/reader-center/oped-questions.html

they have put the entire planet at risk.

OK, yippee that there are people around the crazy moron who are keeping him from blowing up the country. Thank you.

BUT...THEY WILL NOT USE THE 25th amend to get the crazy moron out!

They are not getting respect from me since they are enabling him as a members of the GOP party.

Spot on !

I can't say anymore "it baffles me" as for long now, I'm in a continuous flabbergasted mood!

I wonder what would had it be if they hadn't vowed this :

We work for the president but we have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.

I don't know who wrote this, besides to be mind-blowing, it's counterproductive!

I'm really not fond at all of those anonymous testimony!

and come forward.

Good to hear from you too.

Link to tweet

Publishing this essay from a 'senior official' in the White House isn't doing anything except reaffirm what the left has always known, he's unfit for office. Unless these people start coming out into the light of day and proclaiming to Congress and for all to witness as to what they saw and why they believe Trump is a danger, then these anonymous sources are meaningless.

Link to tweet

But we knew that anyway.

decide to implement their own agenda in place of a president is beyond me. They have no right, if the president is that incompetent and dangerous he should be impeached.

All the power without having to take the heat? That they are now owning this tells me that they see the writing's on the wall, and they're working to create a narrative that insulates them from going down with the ship - the "Steady State." Gag me.

Till then:

There have been so many bombshells already that I'm over the shell shocked phase and into sleeping through the new blitz.

Although I don't know what good it does. If they really wanted to resist Trump, they wouldn't do it in the form of an anonymous letter.

And for Trump supporters who see it, it legitimizes their belief that there's a "deep state" that's determined to derail Trump...because that's pretty much what the Op-Ed states, without actually saying "deep state".

Their secret 'efforts' do nothing to move this country forward and place our government in grave jeopardy. However sincere their intent, it is misguided and selfish. Clearly they don't trust their own party to protect this country and do not believe the system of checks and balances can be relied upon to remove this man. They have turned their backs on our Constitution and their behavior is perhaps even traitorous as well.

She's an idiot, but she's well-spoken, she's been beaten up by the Trump administration and her husband is a vocally anti-Trump.

Lol imagine if it was Pence.

"Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until — one way or another — it’s over."

No, chickenshits, do what is right.

This is history in the making

Someone on MSNBC just drew a historic parallel to the last great whistle-blower we had, it was Deep Throat during Watergate and exposed by Bob Woodward who now produced a book that may be the beginning of the unraveling of this administration.

That’s what was happening at the end of Watergate.

It led to Goldwater and Co talking Nixon into resigning.

I don’t think the correlation to Trump’s plunging approval ratings is an accident. Whoever wrote this has been thinking about it for a while.

Link to tweet

This is a disgrace.

Come forward and expose the truth.

This "Senior Official" is an enabler.

This person and all the others who think they are protecting America are just as guilty of betraying our democracy as Trump himself.

Last edited Wed Sep 5, 2018, 06:50 PM - Edit history (1)

2. They think they are part of a heroic resistance? They are enablers and co-conspirators.
3. If they truly believe in duty to country, how did they ever end up in the Trumpy WH?

More rat-ish Republicans leaving the sinking ship.

We may believe we understand what his worst instincts are, but we only know what's reported and the dots we can connect based on those reports. We believe he's a traitor who could care less about this country, the constitution, and our shared ideals. We're probably right, but we haven't seen what the WH staff sees every day.

He lies publicly what -- five, six, seven times a day? How many lies does he tell more privately? Does he want to go full Hitler and mass murder everyone he doesn't think belongs here or will he stop at mass deportation? We just don't know and can't be sure yet.

This just tells the asshole what they are doing...…. heads up boss!

Link to tweet

This anonymous source is basically collaborating that the Trumpster is unfit but that he/she is covering for (working diligently to frustrate . . . his worst inclinations) the lunacy, the impulsive and dangerous instincts of his deranged and erratic behavior.

This must stop! The man must be removed, yesterday.

What is wrong with these people????

deregulation, tax cuts for the wealthy and a robust military? Could it be more than one person writing this

What it says to me is that Trump has become uncontrollable.

There are many people who entered this administration hoping to push Trump in a certain direction - one that we at DU may not agree with, but that is consistent with "conservative thinking". What they are discovering is that the president has become irrational. The bar for 25.4 is high - it requires that there be a consensus among his cabinet and there are many of those within the cabinet that know full well that their career will be over if they can't turn things around. I'm a consultant - I've seen organizations that reach this level, where it's obvious that there's only one end-state on the outside, but that from within there are enough people who believe that maybe if they spend enough nights and weekends they will manage to pull victory from disaster. However, I think the end is nigh.

Link to tweet

A truly welcomed end of... whatever!

I think we're all exhausted of winning!

Link to tweet

Not Ivanka, because she has an eye on running for office.

Kellyanne? Dunno, she's such a soldier of fortune, she wants it to last as long as possible.

Mattis? maybe...

A reassurance to the GOP and fence-sitters or anyone considering voting (D) in order to rid us of this pestilence, that leaving the (R)s in control is OK.

This should put a halt to the Kavenaugh hearings.

How can a president who is possibly not fit for office appoint a lifetime judge?

Or in banning all Muslims entering this country? In this much touted middle ground they demand we give in to some line that they draw? Where can we find a common line regarding Putin’s future plans for us, or climate change, gun control, letting women have the right to choose, or just about any other crazed Trump policy.

they aren't xenophobic racists.

who is actually in charge?!?

....to drown the government in a bathtub as we want him to.

He keeps trying to do it in his shoe, his Mac Donald's container etc.

We're keeping him in the bathroom, and directing his attention back to the tub as much as necessary.

Busted by Twitter.
https://mobile.twitter.com/danbl00m/status/1037428190166347776

implies pence wrote it
and gives four or five examples when pence has used the word lodestar in speeches

maybe the reference to ashley has to do with investigating stuff? i don't know

Cant wait till we find out who wrote this.

so I think it’s someone who has deep and personal connections to the military, so I’m going with Mattis. It sounds like someone who is confidently speaking on behalf of others like a military leader does.

who would be a better stooge for the "intellectual right".

The Republic of Gilead/Fourth Reich/Holy American Empire.

Because he ‘appears’ to be sane unlike Dotard Puppet.

Did someone read the op-ed to Trump?

While they work tirelessly behind the scenes to enact the evil agenda of the Kochs and Mercers and other shadowy billionaires who are the real people running this shitshow.

Not impressed.

Is that any internal resistance with the Trump party, why would they want to announce their existence to the world?

A secret resistance generally embraces secrecy, instead of publication.

This is them assuring the country that, despite Trump's dangerous insanity, they'll keep him from destroying the country or the world...so, you see, you can put away all this talk about impeachment or prosecution. "We got this."

I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Ryan and McConnell haven't been informed, and have signed off, on the country being run by the President's Nannies.