Esper, on thin ice with the White House, reverses decision on troop deployments

Pollutico ^ | 06/03/2020 08:07 PM EDT | Lara Seligman and Meridith McGraw

[Olog-hai]

Good call.

[Olog-hai]

I was reviewing Esper’s past career, under Dubya’s administration to being part of the Chamber of Communism; he sure rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest RINOs.

[coaster123]

“I say that from far...”

He can’t let them burn. POTUS. Told the govs and mayors to do it. They aren’t. Get it?

Saying is easy.

[dinodino]

I agree...and I’m behind the same enemy lines with you.

[Zhang Fei]

It’s a mistake to deploy active duty troops inside CONUS. Something will happen, and it will absolutely be pinned on the president. Let the blue states burn. And I say that from far behind enemy lines in California.

National Guard troops were deployed in LA in full battle rattle in 1992. It wasn't that big a deal.

Currently, *Republicans* expect Trump to put down the riots and will blame him if the disorder continues. Longtime Trump supporters online are raging at his inaction and saying he doesn't deserve to be re-elected, because he is letting the Democrats (pols, rioters and looters alike) whale on them by destroying their property, life savings and jobs while standing aside. Think Katrina aftermath. Tell them about Posse Comitatus, and you'll draw a blank stare. My suspicion is the late response to the riots was a key factor in Bush Sr's 1992 defeat. And that lasted only 6 days. We are now in the 9th day of the George Floyd riots.

[TigersEye]

The Executive Branch has a Constitutional duty to put down insurrections.

If it doesn’t we can expect to have Congress appropriate several trillion more dollars to pay for the damage.

[Mariner]

Oh, he’s so fired.

Grab your sh!t and get out.

[rintintin]

Esper is a Bush Administration alum. He’s a weak sister like so many of George W Bush’s losers.

[Sequoyah101]

For being credentialed as smart and for his military service and for his 56 years he sure don’t know too much or just doesn’t give a flip or thinks he is the smartest man in the room or some of all the above.

We are not impressed.

[Cobra64]

Here we go again. When Trump interviews these people, like Mattis, like Tillerson, and soon to be Wray, Trump should make it clear who the boss is.

[absalom01]

Yeah, the guard is good.

Not the army.

[absalom01]

We’re one election away from a hot civil war.

I’m ready, but would prefer to avoid that.

How about you?

[absalom01]

Hey, if you’re ready to go hot now, I’m good to go.

But if not, we should probably win this election.

What do you say?

[Olog-hai]

Given the worldwide activity vis-à-vis Mr. Floyd, this is far more than a domestic civil war; it’s an attack from without.

[Vendome]

He needs to be publicly humilated.

March his ass right out the front door of the White House and up to the pool reporters, then inform them he has been fired and he is a dishonest kcuF or whatever, then have the SS grab him securely by each arm and walk him out of the gates with a nice little shove as they do.

[absalom01]

Austin is not Texas.

But if you need backup, just holler!

(And Austin can burn for all I care.)

[absalom01]

You’re not wrong, brother.

[Zhang Fei]

[Yeah, the guard is good.

Not the army.]

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Many state and local officials will not act to protect the property rights of their residents, but are actually aiding and abetting the law breakers in their destruction and thievery. Trump could, therefore, invoke Eisenhower’s justification:

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act#2006%E2%80%9307_suspension
[In the mid-20th century, the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower used an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act, derived from the Enforcement Acts, to send federal troops into Little Rock, Arkansas, during the 1957 school desegregation crisis. The Arkansas governor had opposed desegregation after the United States Supreme Court ruled in 1954 in the Brown v. Board of Education that segregated public schools were unconstitutional. The Enforcement Acts, among other powers, allowed the president to call up military forces when state authorities were either unable or unwilling to suppress violence that were in opposition to the citizens’ constitutional rights.[5]]

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Given that Democratic governors and municipal officials are now complicit in the destruction wrought by rioters and will neither protect business owners nor restore order, I think Trump is well within his authority in putting troops on the streets. The question is whether he has enough troops and what the electoral impact is going to be. Given that the press has been doing the whole Orange Hitler routine pretty much since the inauguration, I’m not even sure it’s even a risky play, politically. They’ve cried wolf way too often.

And Trump is held responsible by voters for rioting in the streets, even though it’s not really within the normal scope of his authority to put riots down. Voters aren’t legal scholars. They’re not up on the Posse Comitatus Act. If Trump’s going to be held responsible anyway, then he should use Federal resources and get this resolved. Bush wasn’t responsible for Katrina’s aftermath. He was held responsible anyway. There’s a lesson in that.

I see this as an opportunity to lock up a bunch of criminals and take felons off the voter rolls, while reminding both owners and employees of small businesses that he has their backs, even if Democratic state and local officials would be content to let them be wiped out financially. The problem with GOP presidents is that they’ve often tied their own hands with respect to scofflaw Democratic local officials where Democrats have ridden roughshod over Republican ones. It’s time to return the favor.

Remember what happened to the Sheriff of Maricopa County, Joe Arpaio, when he acted up against Obama’s edicts? Trump can do the same against the state and local officials that resist his efforts to restore order.

[William Tell]

"... Trump should make it clear who the boss is."

That is not the problem. You don't have to know much about Trump to know that he will be the boss.

What Trump lacks is the ability to find people who don't have a different agenda and who won't stab him in the back.

[absalom01]

First, I admire the efficiency of the brackets as opposed to fooling around with html to get italic fonts. Well done!

Second, your posts are always well reasoned and articulate, so thank you.

Third, I see your point, but differ. The media want to re-play their Katrina narrative (they are not terribly bright, and not so creative), and THAT narrative was about inaction. Let the Democrat governors be guilty of that inaction. Trump is playing this right: “Please let me send in the troops.”, and the Blue governors are refusing. Let the people see who’s on their side, and on the side of Antifa.

And the bonus?

It’s the blue voters who are paying. The schadenfreude is delicious.