Deep State theory surmises that our nominal leaders, with all their obvious flaws (such as senility), are actually puppets having their strings pulled by shadowy but nearly omni-competent massively funded institutions, such as the Intelligence Community, that routinely mount brilliant triple bankshot psy-ops to manipulate the public.
Similar theories point instead to the World Economic Forum, Bilderberg, the Jews, and the lizard people.
I tend toward skepticism about this kind of thinking because it strikes me as overly respectful of how influence is actually exercised. I believe that the real world is less like a Tom Clancy novel in which the Deep State is enormously well-informed and hyper-rational, and more like an Armando Iannucci sitcom in which staffers maneuver against each other to manipulate their boss over great issues of state and, more importantly, which of them gets the best parking place. Meanwhile, the boss tends to be an egomaniac easily swayed by family and the most machiavellian of aids currently in favor.
As far as I can recall, however, few, whether conspiracists or realists, had theorized until now that the “Rasputin” of the Biden Administration is a … gay Mexican.
I, for one, didn’t have my money on Biden being controlled by a Gay Mexican Cabal.
The head Gay Caballero turns out to be Anthony Bernal, the First Lady’s top aide.
From the New York Post today:
Biden’s inner circle shrinks to these two men, sources say, with one likened to Rasputin
By Steven Nelson
Published July 4, 2024, 2:38 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — President Biden’s inner circle has gotten smaller following his disastrous debate last week — with his wife’s top aide Anthony Bernal emerging as one of the 81-year-old’s key advisers alongside longtime confidante Mike Donilon, four sources close to or inside the White House tell The Post.
Bernal, 51, is a divisive figure for allegedly bullying and sexually harassing [male] colleagues — and his influence was likened by three sources to that held by the mystic Grigori Rasputin over the family and court of Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia.
First lady Jill Biden considers Bernal her “work husband” and he’s also close to scandal-plagued first son Hunter, whom Bernal greeted with a hug June 11 after his felony gun conviction.
The “openly gay” Bernal is an alumnus of that finishing school for Inner Party Elites, the University of Texas at El Paso.
“Donilon and Bernal are 100% the most important advisers post-debate,” said one Democratic source close to the administration.
… A White House source told The Post that many of the president’s old guard of longtime aides are believed to be left out of the loop of discussions “about what’s next” — saying Bernal, who frequently vacations with the first family, “seriously” has a Rasputin-like pull over the first family.
Another source said they agreed with the Rasputin analogy — describing Bernal’s influence and immunity from consequences for alleged personal misconduct as perplexing to fellow aides.
“He’s like a tick who has just latched himself on for the last 15 years,” this source said.
“Accurate and on point,” said a third source of the comparison to Rasputin, who was murdered in December 1916 by rivals who believed he was contributing to poor decision-making in the months before the outbreak of the Russian Revolution, in which the royal family was ultimately toppled and killed.
“Everyone has kept their heads down about Bernal and just tries to avoid him at all costs,” the third source said. “But everyone always predicted that this movie would end badly because of how he treats colleagues and always poisons the well for anyone else with the Bidens.
“He will go down with the ship but he’s also the one behind the wheel.”
One veteran Democratic aide went so far as to say “the country would be better off with Trump” than Biden if Bernal was helping run the government.
That’s funny.
"this kind of thinking.... strikes me as overly respectful of how influence is actually exercised". I totally agree. The real tragedy of Western liberal democracy is that it has spun out of control by anyone. Various reasons why. I think the biggest is probably the internet. Representative democracy depended - amongst other things - on a relative scarcity of information. Now we have a massive surplus of both information and disinformation - way too much for the individual to process.... hence chaos. Le Deluge is fast approaching... And Apres? We'll just have to wait and see.