Deep State
One of the most destructive features of the current political climate and media landscape is the abandonment of any attempt at objectivity. Every situation or incident becomes a vehicle for partisan posturing.
One recent example is the faux outrage by Democrats over the sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone. The mandated reduction was supposed to prove that Barr is nothing but a butt boy for Trump and prove that the Justice Department has been terminally corrupted.
Let’s look at a few facts. A recommendation of 7–9 years for a first time, non-violent offender committing a process crime was out of line. Senior officials in the Justice Department, including the Attorney General, have the authority to overrule a prosecutor’s recommendations to a Judge. Neither the prosecutors, not the Attorney General, had the real authority in this instance. Sentence was imposed by the Judge, who has the protection of lifetime tenure. It was clear that Roger and his defense team pissed off the Judge. She excoriated them in her public declaration and threw the book at Roger — 3 years and 4 months. The cold hard fact is that the sentencing recommendation by the prosecutors and their subsequent resignations were political acts.
The DEEP STATE, as conjured in the swamps of the right, does not exist, but Deep State Lite does exist. No conspiracy theory is required to explain that phenomenon. Most senior public employees are Democrats or hold political views that are left of center. It is a natural alliance.
Why would anyone with a wide choice of career options choose to go to work for the government? The pay is good. Except at the highest levels, it usually exceeds comparable work in the private sector. The benefits, especially pension and job security, are much better. However, that is not the heart of the matter. Those who are afforded the choice seek work that is rewarding. Everybody wants to feel that what they do eight or more hours a day is meaningful. Democrats and government employees think, in general, that the public sector serves the public interest, as opposed to the private sector, which is driven by greed and profit. Republicans and business folks think that there should be less government and that the public sector is wasteful and self-serving. Civil servants are a lot happier serving in Democratic administrations.
The big fact is that a democracy requires that public sector employees execute the laws and directives of elected officials, whether they like them or not. Most civil servants make an effort to separate their political opinions from their work; some do not. If a civil servant finds that the work he/she is directed to do is so obnoxious as to be unsupportable, the option is to resign. The prosecutors engaged in two political acts. Resignation was appropriate; the sentencing recommendation was not. Those civil servants who cannot separate their political views from their workload should be fired.
