Does Bannon want to tear down the government because he can never hold the official roles he'd like?

I posted a topic a couple of weeks ago about Steve Bannon's military career

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028707078

and the political ambitions he talked about then.

Early on, he was telling other men he served with that he wasn't planning on staying in the military, but his military service would look good on his resume if he went into politics.

Later, after working at the Pentagon, before he left the military to go to Harvard Business School. he was saying he'd come back and be secretary of defense.

So Bannon was not, at least initially, interested in being a chief strategist working behind the scenes. Unlike Karl Rove, who studied and admired Mark Hanna, the kingmaker behind President McKinley.

Bannon, at least early in his career, wanted to be the center of attention. He wanted to be an elected official, or at least a top appointee in the government, with great formal power.

Those plans would have been derailed by the domestic abuse charge against him in 1996, one that was bolstered by a police report noting the physical evidence backing up what Bannon's wife told them. That charge, though dropped because his apparently intimidated wife didn't show up in court, would also have made it impossible for Trump to name him to any post now that requires confirmation.

He's still unofficially in control of Breitbart, which is being used not only to help guide Trump in the direction he wants (hence the conspiracy-theory DeepStateGate articles now), but to turn a spotlight on Bannon's role behind the scenes.

This morning the spotlight -- the headline at the very top of Breitbart's home page -- is on a NY Times column comparing Bannon to Henry VIII's Thomas Cromwell, a "brilliant and cunning" strategist.

But Breitbart will turn the spotlight on much less important media outlets in its quest to call attention to Bannon's alleged brilliance, as it did back in December when it featured an article about, and extensively quoting, a column by Hunter Lewis at AgainstCronyCapitalism.org. Lewis, in ridiculous seriousness, promoted the lunatic theory that "Steve Bannon won the election with one brilliant idea" -- that so-called brilliant idea being the dog-and-pony-show fake news conference Trump called the press to before the second debate, so he could trot out Clinton accusers. Since that stupid show would have made a bad impression on anyone not already a Trump devotee, that was hardly brilliant strategy and would have swayed few if any voters. But Breitbart had to headline Hunter Lewis's absurd flattery of Bannon.

Who apparently doesn't feel he's getting enough attention in his role behind the scenes at the White House.

It's a safe bet that Bannon has long believed that he should be president. If he was saying while still in a minor role at the Pentagon that he'd be back as secretary of defense, his dreams of being an elected official wouldn't have stopped short of the top.

But his own violent temper crippled those ambitions, forcing him to look for influence via the media, and eventually as Trump's strategist after first turning Breitbart into a pro-Trump platform to convince Trump of his loyalty.

It's well known that Bannon had first identified Sarah Palin as a figurehead he could turn into a successful presidential candidate. And that choice was important in understanding Bannon, since both Palin and Trump are obviously muddleheaded, with often-incoherent statements that could be molded into the message Bannon wanted.

But he really wants everyone to notice him as the puppetmaster behind his chosen tool. He even told Vanity Fair's Ken Stern last summer that Trump is a "blunt instrument" for Breitbart. That's not a description you'd appply to anyone for whom you felt the least respect. Trump is merely Bannon's path to power.

But it's obviously chafing Bannon that he'll never have the official title, and the official recognition, that he wants. Because he could stop Breitbart from highlighting any flattery of Bannon that it can find, no matter how far-fetched that flattery is. A strategist who was content with his role, and truly admired and wanted to help the person he's supposedly serving, would NOT want that attention directed to himself.

But since he'll never be a member of the president's cabinet, let alone the president, Bannon is doing all he can to tear down both the government and the mainstream media. And as the power of the government and the real media wane, the power of lunatic-fringe media outlets like Breitbart grows. And that's Bannon's consolation prize.