Yes, Trump can drain the 'swamp' but he must do this first or get eaten by the alligators
By Pete Hoekstra
President Donald Trump is a man in a hurry. Throughout his campaign he laid out his priorities. He’s a man who likes to get things done and is intent on keeping his promises. We've seen this before. But draining a swamp is never easy.
In January of 1995 we were part of the first (and historic) Republican House majority in 40 years. In the 1994 election, under the leadership of Newt Gingrich, House candidates signed the Contract with America that promised a 100 day agenda to transform Washington.
Some might say it was a commitment to “drain the swamp”. During those first 100 days, over 300 roll call votes were taken. We voted on every item that had been promised. We kept our word and set a course to actually balance the federal budget.
Today, President Trump is committed to achieving the same record of performance during his first 100 days. Promises made, promises kept.
As President Trump begins the process of implementing commitments and draining the swamp through his executive orders and legislative initiatives, he needs to clearly understand that the swamp will undoubtedly fight back.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has already slow-rolled the confirmation process of the President’s new cabinet.
The angry left has mobilized and encouraged protestors to attempt to create the impression that his new policies lack public support.
Even some Republicans are proving to be less than helpful. These actions were all expected. Candidate Trump got a taste of this opposition during his campaign.
What is conceivably new and maybe somewhat unexpected in terms of its scale and impact is the fourth branch of the U.S. government – the bureaucracy.
Perhaps the most glaring example of the power of the bureaucracy was the decision by his acting Attorney General to refuse to defend the President’s Executive Order on a refugee pause as new enhanced vetting protocols from seven countries were developed.
The swamp now has officially claimed its first victim of the administration, Mike Flynn. Flynn made a mistake, no doubt about it. But he fell victim to the bureaucracy that was not fond of him or his reform agenda. It collected information secretively and then leaked it to a willing and eager media.
Team Trump will soon see that this is just the tip of the iceberg. The federal bureaucracy is full of employees who do not share his world view. From Foggy Bottom to NOAA to the IRS, they have become increasingly politicized. The bureaucracy would be happy to undermine and “resist”. Some have already begun and it will only get worse.
President Trump must recognize this threat to his agenda. He needs to gather his team and get them on the field. The president has the ability to fill roughly 5,000 positions. While that number may seem massive, it pales in comparison to the almost three million workers in the fourth estate. Many if not most of who are committed to maintaining the status quo.
Candidate Trump ran a clean and successful campaign that lasted about 18 months. If he expects to be a successful two-term president, he will need to build a strong core of supporters throughout the executive branch who share his same vision.
Bringing change to Washington is complex.
Newt Gingrich has advised President Trump. If you are determined to drain the swamp, beware of the alligators.
Newt speaks from personal experience. He was a true transformational leader who confronted the status quo.
The swamp fought back taking advantage of every “mistake” made by the former Speaker.
The bottom line for Speaker Gingrich was that after four years, the swamp had claimed Newt Gingrich as its victim. And it then came creeping back.
Balanced budgets and strong economic growth soon vanished. The bureaucracy and federal spending that fed it soon started rising again.
If President Trump wants to truly transform America he will need loyal teammates to make it happen. He will need to run a tight ship. Yes, these alligators are relentless.
No one should doubt what’s at stake here. President Trump is serious about draining the swamp, and as we are currently witnessing, the swamp will surely fight back.
Trump’s team needs to find a way to improve quickly because if they don’t, Mike Flynn will have been the first of many who will fall victim to the predatory swamp!
Republican Pete Hoekstra is the Shillman senior fellow at the Investigative Project on Terrorism and the former chairman (R-Michigan) of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee. He is the author of "Architects of Disaster: The Destruction of Libya" (The Calamo Press, October 2, 2015).
By Pete Hoekstra
President Donald Trump is a man in a hurry. Throughout his campaign he laid out his priorities. He’s a man who likes to get things done and is intent on keeping his promises. We've seen this before. But draining a swamp is never easy.
In January of 1995 we were part of the first (and historic) Republican House majority in 40 years. In the 1994 election, under the leadership of Newt Gingrich, House candidates signed the Contract with America that promised a 100 day agenda to transform Washington.
Some might say it was a commitment to “drain the swamp”. During those first 100 days, over 300 roll call votes were taken. We voted on every item that had been promised. We kept our word and set a course to actually balance the federal budget.
Today, President Trump is committed to achieving the same record of performance during his first 100 days. Promises made, promises kept.
As President Trump begins the process of implementing commitments and draining the swamp through his executive orders and legislative initiatives, he needs to clearly understand that the swamp will undoubtedly fight back.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has already slow-rolled the confirmation process of the President’s new cabinet.
The angry left has mobilized and encouraged protestors to attempt to create the impression that his new policies lack public support.
Even some Republicans are proving to be less than helpful. These actions were all expected. Candidate Trump got a taste of this opposition during his campaign.
What is conceivably new and maybe somewhat unexpected in terms of its scale and impact is the fourth branch of the U.S. government – the bureaucracy.
Perhaps the most glaring example of the power of the bureaucracy was the decision by his acting Attorney General to refuse to defend the President’s Executive Order on a refugee pause as new enhanced vetting protocols from seven countries were developed.
The swamp now has officially claimed its first victim of the administration, Mike Flynn. Flynn made a mistake, no doubt about it. But he fell victim to the bureaucracy that was not fond of him or his reform agenda. It collected information secretively and then leaked it to a willing and eager media.
Team Trump will soon see that this is just the tip of the iceberg. The federal bureaucracy is full of employees who do not share his world view. From Foggy Bottom to NOAA to the IRS, they have become increasingly politicized. The bureaucracy would be happy to undermine and “resist”. Some have already begun and it will only get worse.
President Trump must recognize this threat to his agenda. He needs to gather his team and get them on the field. The president has the ability to fill roughly 5,000 positions. While that number may seem massive, it pales in comparison to the almost three million workers in the fourth estate. Many if not most of who are committed to maintaining the status quo.
Candidate Trump ran a clean and successful campaign that lasted about 18 months. If he expects to be a successful two-term president, he will need to build a strong core of supporters throughout the executive branch who share his same vision.
Bringing change to Washington is complex.
Newt Gingrich has advised President Trump. If you are determined to drain the swamp, beware of the alligators.
Newt speaks from personal experience. He was a true transformational leader who confronted the status quo.
The swamp fought back taking advantage of every “mistake” made by the former Speaker.
The bottom line for Speaker Gingrich was that after four years, the swamp had claimed Newt Gingrich as its victim. And it then came creeping back.
Balanced budgets and strong economic growth soon vanished. The bureaucracy and federal spending that fed it soon started rising again.
If President Trump wants to truly transform America he will need loyal teammates to make it happen. He will need to run a tight ship. Yes, these alligators are relentless.
No one should doubt what’s at stake here. President Trump is serious about draining the swamp, and as we are currently witnessing, the swamp will surely fight back.
Trump’s team needs to find a way to improve quickly because if they don’t, Mike Flynn will have been the first of many who will fall victim to the predatory swamp!
Republican Pete Hoekstra is the Shillman senior fellow at the Investigative Project on Terrorism and the former chairman (R-Michigan) of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee. He is the author of "Architects of Disaster: The Destruction of Libya" (The Calamo Press, October 2, 2015).
Can we make it official already?
BZ = useful idiot for corrupt Big Government
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[SIZE=+1]White House Plans to Have Trump Ally Review Intelligence Agencies[/SIZE]
President Trump plans to assign a New York billionaire to lead a broad review of American intelligence agencies, according to administration officials, an effort that members of the intelligence community fear could curtail their independence and reduce the flow of information that contradicts the president’s worldview.
The possible role for Stephen A. Feinberg, a co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management, has met fierce resistance among intelligence officials already on edge because of the criticism the intelligence community has received from Mr. Trump during the campaign and since he became president. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump blamed leaks from the intelligence community for the departure of Michael T. Flynn, his national security adviser, whose resignation he requested.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/...prod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share
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w-thumbs!^
#DrainTheSwamp
What was the alternative? Clinton? You can ask anyone here. You can bump a thread. I, for one, was never a Obama basher. I called it like i seen it. I even wrote more than 1 article i spent time working on pointing out things he actually did right. So i know im logically sound in regards to politics and outcomes from them. You appear to be all in on Trump. Almost in a suspicious way. You are a libertarian. I would assume him trying to wage war against the establishment and bureaucracy would be something you could get behind? But you go in the opposite direction. The CIA and some of these intel agencies arent libertarian at all. Every once in a while we get someone like this. A revolutionary willing to stick his foot in the door for the people. Goes back to Andrew Jackson. I dont trust HIM i trust the type of figure he is and what he represents. Also, your "drumpf" makes you loook like a liberal. And no, not that one from yesteryear. Youre better than that
Joe, youre an old bastard. Have you seen anything like this? This gets crazier and crazier by the day. Just when you think they dealt Trump a blow to stagger him he comes back with gut punch of his own. The man is trying to unchain the republic and all we hear from a large section of this Republic is bitterness and cries.
Joe you are one to always speak your mind. Politicians try to please everyone. We really don't know what Trump thinks, only what he's been left with and he's not starting from scratch. We know that if they could the UN would force a Pal State that would replace Israel. Obviously that will never happen regardless of who our president is although Trump provides a much higher comfort level than Obama. It's not a terrible call for Trump to continue to play the game as it's stuck in the middle innings and follow the road map (no pun intended). Nothing will happen anyway until "4 year elected president for life" Mahmoud of Jordan dies. Then we can observe how the Palestinians and Arabs react. Who or what entity replaces him will send a signal to the world that the Pals still aren't ready to make peace and live under civilized laws.
Of course I can read.
You said:
:lolBIG:
Sooooo...work with those who want to undermine and destroy you. Got it. Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant, BZ!
k:This just in from the WSJ:
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Spies Keep Intelligence From Donald Trump on Leak Concerns
Decision to withhold information underscores deep mistrust between intelligence community and president
https://www.wsj.com/articles/spies-keep-intelligence-from-donald-trump-1487209351
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Folks, there you have it...BZ says work with them baby! Work with Hussein's traitors who kept horrific portions of the Iran deal secret from the American people! Work with John Brennan loyalists who sympathize with Muslim causes.
Wow! How did you get to be such a mastermind thinker, BZ? Details! Details! I want to know all your secrets! I want to know what makes such a brilliant mind work!
I can't wait until the "buffoon" (as BZ calls him) waltzes into the CIA with his Negan bat and cleans house!
@)
Yes Joe- the Intelligence Community doesn't trust Trump because of all his bullshit and media bashing of them along with his ties to Russia. So now you, and many other idiots, think the buffoon (who doesn't know shit) is going to clean house?? Then what Joe? Maybe he will appoint Palin or some other loon to head it up. 
ointer:
ointer:I would agree with addressing the overabundance of bureaucracy within the government, however it certainly appears that Trump has gone on the offensive with the intelligence community not for us, but rather to cover his ass. And as a Libertarian, one has to consider there must be some sacrifice for individual freedoms for the security of the nation. With that, as I have mentioned the Patriot Act should be repealed as it is one of the biggest assaults to person freedom/rights and frankly I don't trust the NSA. However, I do assume the CIA and FBI are working more on the nation's behalf than not. Further, there has never been anything that Trump has said that makes me feel safe with HIM making decisions. Stupidity trumps policy my friend. And lastly, I will agree to drop the Drumpf if you stop calling him "daddy." That makes you look like a cuck- and you are better than that!
