The New New Normal?

Go back in time with me to November of 1994. Imagine, if you will, waking up one morning to news reports that Hillary Clinton had demanded the ouster of then- Deputy National Security Advisor Sandy Berger. I imagine the incoming speaker of the house, Newt Gingrich would have lit his hair on fire and would be demanding investigations into this obvious overreach of the first lady's influence. Can you for one minute imagine the Washington Republicans letting that pass without so much as an inquiry into the situation? If you are honest with yourself the answer is a resounding no.

So I ask you, why, now 25 years hence the exact same scenario plays out in Washington and no one seems to bat an eye. This past Tuesday, in the aftermath of the mid-term elections and the removal of Jeff Sessions from the Justice Department, the First Lady's spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham issued a statement that read in part, "It is the position of the Office

of the First Lady that she [Mira Ricardel] no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House." Mira Ricardel is a staunchly partisan government official and since 1986 she has served as an aide to Bob Dole and in the Bush Administration from 2001-2006. She was raised in Pasadena, California and her father was a Croatian immigrant and a supporter of the Ustache, a fascist, ultranationalist terrorist organization in Croatia. On the surface, she seems like a perfect fit for the Trump Administration. Ms. Ricardel, it seems, can be brash and abrasive in her dealings with both subordinates and superiors and she apparently clashed with the first lady and her staff on her recent trip to Africa. It is said that Ms. Ricardel does not suffer fools easily so it is as clear as the nose on my face why she had such trouble in the Trump White House, the house of fools.

All this intrigue and upheaval in the Trump Administration has lasting consequences. Is this the new normal? One day, in the not too distant future, a Democrat will again occupy The White House and I dare any Republican to speak out about anything that goes against tradition or the norms that existed prior to the Trump Administration. Trump has broken almost all the rules and norms of governmental actions at the highest level and as long as he goes unchecked, these will be the new norms of the future. Chew on that for a while.

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