Day 424

[elaphe (Lynn)]

@MissJava

Can you share your sources for this?

No, sorry. Please just take it as “food for thought”, not a quote.

[matt (Matt Kiser)]

Let’s refrain from speculating on speculation…

[matt (Matt Kiser)]

@KennyDojo

Because I think there’s too much grey and variation in the notion or concept of “probably.”

I’ll take Maths for 800, Trebek

[matt (Matt Kiser)]

@deckbose

it’s eminently clear that poll officials have slanted the results

50% of WTFJHT readers are 100% satisfied

[SEPTGUY]

I cannot recall the date or source of hearing the term “deep state” but it was before the election and I associated it with the far right so I didn’t go down a rabbit hole to define it or determine it’s roots. A friend who read and quoted “Reddit” a lot used the term and I knew or felt pretty quickly it was coming from the conspiracy theory crowd. This poll smells a bit. I venture I could walk into my local coffee shop and ask 10 people what “deep state” is and I’d get a WTF look, unless they also watched FOX news.

[ActionPumpkin]

@deckbose

However, when the term is described as a group of unelected government and military officials who secretly manipulate or direct national policy, nearly 3-in-4 (74%) say they believe this type of apparatus exists in Washington.

Sure, if you’re talking about all of the powerful special interest lobbies that basically have all branches of government by the collective balls, then yeah, I will give that a pass.

Sadly, there’s this:

@deckbose

Donald Trump has been using “Deep State,” beating it like a dead horse, to evade responsibility for anything and everything his administration has been up to since the inauguration?

If it’s not the so-called “Deep State”, it’s the “Globalists”, “obstructionist Democrats”, Obama, “the alt-left”, the FBI, the Mueller investigation, multiculturalism, China, North Korea, “fake news”, “liberal media”, or “accusers”. Take your pick. Poor, poor Donnie, everybody’s out to get him. Nothing’s ever his fault. He’s just an honest businessman and great guy that’s trying to MAGA but everybody’s out to bring him down because “reasons”.

@deckbose

Mark my words. You will see Trump tweeting in the next few days, if not tonight, about Americans overwhelming believing in the Deep State and confirming Trump’s innocence of everything.

Even though Trump hired many of these so-called Deep State actors directly, or his cabinet is beholden to their whims.

But yeah, nuance was never a strong suit of Trump or his followers.

[Vee (Vera)]

Just another move by the President through his man! Will the nightmare ever end?

[Pet_Proletariat]

@Keaton_James

I can find almost no reporting on these positions. Here’s the State Department page that confirms they are vacant, but it includes no information about any steps being taken to fill them. If anyone finds some reporting on these vacant positions, please share. Thanks!

yes please share that reporting. Good job buddy!

[matt (Matt Kiser)]

@theredpen

74% is inaccurate

You’re adding the wrong numbers.

27% (definitely exists) + 47% (probably exist) = 74% of people who believe that a group of unelected gov’t and military officials (aka the “deep state”) manipulate policy. I don’t know what you think is inaccurate about the statement.

https://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/documents/monmouthpoll_us_031918.pdf/

[elaphe (Lynn)]

@catone

Jeff Sessions says McCabe was fired because he “lacked candor — including under oath — on multiple occasions.”

Sessions himself has lied under oath more than once. There is some speculation that he is cooperating w/ Mueller on some level so he can remain in his position & help Mueller at the same time he angles for a more favorable outcome for himself when everything hits the fan. I think I believe that: Mueller has not shied away from charging any of the others who’ve lied (etc), and Sessions wants nothing more than to inflict his agenda on the country for as long as he can. Sessions may want trump in power but he wouldn’t have recused himself if he didn’t have at least some sense of self-preservation. I guess we’ll see?

[KennyDojo]

The number is 27 % then.

[theredpen]

I was looking at results for a different question that coincidentally added up to 74%. Thanks for the clarification.