Wednesday Morning Rant

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - a 1966 science fiction book by Robert A. Heinlein, about revolution in a lunar penal colony - spends a lot of time on the general discussion of government as such. This became quite explicit toward the end of the book, but it is peppered throughout the overall work. When I was reading it for the first time, one brief passage - really, more of a quote - stuck with me. As I've returned to the book from time to time, it still stands out as one of the great descriptions of government and its press.

But India keeps quiet because she gets the lion's share from Luna ... and then 'plays politics with hunger' - a phrase you may remember - by using our grain to control her elections. Kerala had a planned famine last year. Did you see it in the news?" "No." "Because it wasn't in the news. A managed democracy is a wonderful thing, Manuel, for the managers ... and its greatest strength is a 'free press' when 'free' is defined as 'responsible' and the managers define what is 'irresponsible.' ...

We may be seeing something like that. I am not so naive as to assert "the deep state is finished, the Party is on the run and liberty is ascendant" - but the scurrying scramble over the past few weeks has been interesting. Ace has covered much of it detail. The Party couldn't or wouldn't keep nature from taking its course this year, and has either permitted Trump to be elected or has retreated this round. But the Managers are out in full force during this brief lull between administrations.

The "responsible" Press continues its vaguely schizophrenic caterwaul, leveling both barrels in a continuous barrage at the Hated Enemy Within while simultaneously bemoaning its waning relevance. The Managers of Press and State are openly calling for and scheming bureaucratic resistance against any diminution of their management authority. Publicly in the newspapers and on TV and privately in conference rooms and offices across Washington, they are planning and positioning to repeat their feat of containment from 2016-2020.

The Managers are enthusiastically and openly violating the law in an effort to ensure that its enemies don't get too comfortable with their margins or too ambitious. The naked attempt to steal the Senate election in Pennsylvania is as galling as it is unsurprising. They even know it's flatly illegal. They don't care. They must maintain Management Prerogatives. Overturned or not, successful or not, the attempt is being made in broad daylight. The Managers must manage, after all.

Throughout government, the Managers are jockeying for position. Agencies across the board are starting to scrub evidence of their arrogant malfeasance from their public portals as, for example, DEI is seemingly vanishing before our eyes. Behind the scenes, the amount of data being destroyed and the amount of paper being crosscut into one-millimeter squares is likely stupendous. The notable Managers (like Wray) who have specifically drawn the ire of the incoming administration are positioning themselves to fight or quit or be fired - but surely to pass the baton on their way out if it comes to that.

But why are so many of the likely doomed engaging in the mad scramble? To defend their system, of course. They are positioning things to make any interference with Management harder. From amping up the conflict in Ukraine to positioning state and local governments to work against any displeasing new federal rules to planning mass insubordination within the administrative bureaus, everything is taking on an aggressive defensive position. I don't know what the offensive position will look like, but it is surely coming.

Their Managed Democracy was painstakingly built, hard won and will be jealously and zealously defended. They will not surrender it easily. They will not surrender it all. It will have to be wrested away from them and dismantled. I look forward to seeing if Trump and his new team of heavy hitters are up to the task of effectively executing the opening stages of what will be a generational conflict for the future of government.

posted by Joe Mannix at 11:00 AM

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