Trading One Deep State for Another
There will always be a "deep state" in a country with more than 300 million people. The question is: will it serve the Republic or a band of tyrants and grifters?
Silence Before The Dawn
These are very dangerous times.
In the past two decades, we have been subject to a growing rumble about the '“deep state”, sometimes referred to as the “administrative state” more charitably.
While even more serious breakdowns of the Constitutional order and rule of law are already cascading from the acolytes of Project 2025, I think it is worth revisiting one of the core goals of Project 2025, “the deconstruction of the administrative state.” and how that “deconstruction” will affect the everyday functions of government and our individual lives as well as the ability of government to consistently deliver and improve the quality of outcome that we expect.
In short, the case being made by those most eager to “deconstruct the bureaucracy”, whether federal, state or local, is based on the fact that they believe that unelected employees are making decisions within their agencies based on personal opinions, prejudices, and political ideology inconsistent with their own.
If this all brings to mind the silliness and irrationality behind the “Defund the Police” movement that, for one insane moment, found some purchase after the murder of George Floyd, you’ve made the right association. A rational outrage, precipitated an irrational response to which we then - quite rationally - applied a dose of common sense and corrected our path.
Let’s begin with a simple dose of that same common sense.
Every growing business or organization, whether for-profit or not-for-profit, must hire employees who can serve their growth and efficiency. When you go into the Department of Motor Vehicles to register your new car or to renew your license, you expect that there will be individuals who are there to assist you in a reasonably timely fashion.
In the earlier days of the Republic - really until the early 1900s - what has come to be known as the progressive era - administrative jobs were “doled” out in the context of a “spoils” system. In other words, jobs were like the spoils of war. The campaign for president (or other elective offices) being the “war”.
What mattered most was not what you knew as an employee, but rather, who you knew.
In fairness, we were a young nation.
In most nations, reform of administrative systems takes generations. An administrative bureaucracy with expertise and an understanding of how to move the levers of power, influence, and - most of all - expertise, to provide the best possible outcomes for our citizens is a sign of the maturity of a society.
I say “in most nations” because a bureaucracy that is most responsive and professional develops in response to a citizenry that expects it to be so and has the power to do something about it. In other words, a democratic society where consumers have control through their vote and the power of their voices.
Of course, we can always do better - that’s why when we elect our register of deeds or sheriff or congressional representatives, it is generally a referendum on the job they have done and the vision they project for doing an even better job in the future, or we choose a new direction and candidate.
If you think about it, it only makes sense.
In societies where consumers have increasing expectations of the services they receive, and where those consumers have control over the outcomes, each succeeding generation of employees advances in their ability to provide quality services as well as the depth of their knowledge. Time and experience have the effect of creating a virtuous cycle of improvement: mistakes are identified and fixed, and service improves.
There are risks, of course, from this growing level of expertise and competence: Arrogance, administrative capture of agencies by powerful economic interests, self-serving bureaucrats, but these can all be corrected with vigilant oversight from elected officials and - most important - from voters who take their responsibilities seriously.
In societies where jobs are doled out based on who you know, mistakes are not rectified but compounded, and the only beneficiaries are those at the top of the pyramid to whom the employees owe their jobs. More often than not, this system actually results in exceedingly poor service - with no incentive for employees to provide service based on anything more than political loyalty.
So, in short, here are the options:
Professional services that respond to the demands of “customers” with faster service, better products, greater expertise and management that is always seeking to do better and to improve service.
Political service based only on loyalty to a party, an ideology, or an individual; Service that reflect the whims of whoever is in charge. Changing on a dime depending on who is in charge but thoroughly unresponsive to “we the people” the customers of those services.
Or, well, perhaps just no service at all.
In the progressive era “we the people” made a conscious decision that merit and expertise mattered. Congress, largely Republicans by the way, under intense pressure from citizen advocates, adopted rules and guidelines for agencies after glaring and fearless journalism by muckrakers like Ida May Tarbell and Upton Sinclair exposed the dangers of employees and agencies whose only loyalty was to supporting the status quo of corrupt administrators and politicians.
Most important among the political infrastructure developed during the progressive era was “The Administrative Procedures Act”, adopted in 1924.
The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) is a foundational piece of US administrative law that governs the process by which federal agencies develop and issue regulations. It also outlines procedures for agency rulemaking and adjudications, and it grants federal courts oversight over agency actions. Essentially, the APA ensures transparency, accountability, and fairness in how federal agencies operate. . . thus, giving “We the People” the power to provide oversight within our own government agencies.
Project 2025 seeks to reverse the progress we have made over the past 100 years; to deconstruct the gains we have made as a society toward a system we can rely on - where calls to Social Security, or the DMV, or even 911 receive a timely response. It seeks to return us to the grift and corruption of the Spoils system.
If it seems that I am coming late to this party, perhaps you will forgive me for taking the time to talk this through and explore a bit more about the nuance behind it.
It is far too simplistic to end by pointing out that the term “Deep State” is intended to be a pejorative that is useful in turning the public against public employees. This is consistent with the MAGA double-speak that would make George Orwell blush with envy. Where every lie is intended to provide cover for the next stage of fabrication to come.
Already they are on to other aspects of “flooding the zone with shit” as Steve Bannon puts it. It is masterful sleight of hand intended to both lure and thoroughly deceive, it’s handcrafted misdirection woven so masterfully by Donald Trump and Elon Musk, his puppeteer.
The moves by Doge, masked in claims that all this chaos and unconstitutional behavior is about cutting waste and inefficiency and combating anti-semitism, are but more misdirections. The reality is that it is about one thing, and one thing only . . . control and power.
Stopping them is the only hope for saving the free and pluralistic country we deserve.
When you boil down so many of the issues that seem to divide Americans, it all comes back to the dreams of our founders of a country defined by freedom and privacy, burnished by pluralism: Freedom of religion, conscience, speech, travel, the great freedoms that allowed us to remain true to the commitment to pluralism that is a daily reminder that we are all a part of a great and beautiful tapestry, made more beautiful by our differences as much as our similarities.
Now, there is no doubt that our founders probably could not have imagined how broadly pluralism would flourish in America. Many Americans surely feel the same even today. But the vast majority of Americans reconcile themselves to the changes because, in their hearts, they know that America is a place of BECOMING. From my grandfather’s Native people, who’s history on this continent we are only beginning to discover, to the immigrant who lands on our shores, to the everyday person striving to build a better life.
We have never been a nation content with the present, we believe it is in our DNA to strive, to seek, to push the boundaries of the present into a future that continues to make our homeland a great tapestry of diversity and inclusion.
As for our founders . . . well, like all of us, they had feet of clay. They knew enough, though, and they were not afraid to dream, even in the face of certain death if the revolution had failed. They often dreamed themselves better. In fact, if there is a hopeful thread that runs through our history, pushing aside our failings, our mistakes, missteps, and procrastination, it is this part of our character.
Don’t give them the power to take this away from us. Resist.
About Wayne King and Anamaki Chronicles Substack
Author, podcaster, artist, activist, social entrepreneur and recovering politician. A three-term State Senator, 1994 Democratic nominee for Governor. His art (WayneDKing.com) is exhibited nationally in galleries and he has published five books of his images, most recently, "New Hampshire - a Love Story”. His novel "Sacred Trust" - a vicarious, high-voltage adventure to stop a private power line - as well as the photographic books are available at most local bookstores or on Amazon.
Anamaki Chronicles Substack has no paywall, we exist through the generosity of subscribers and the purchase of art , books and merch from the Anamaki.com website and from Wayne’s gallery of images.
Wayne lives on the “Narrows” in Bath, NH at the confluence of the Connecticut and Ammonoosuc Rivers and proudly flies the American, Iroquois and Abenaki Flags, attesting to both his ancestry and his spiritual ties. Anamaki is a derivative of an Algonquin word meaning “abiding hope”, crafted by Alice Vartanian King his wife of 35 years who died in 2018. Fittingly, the term also has roots in both the Armenian and Persian languages of her own familial heritage.
Art, Columns and Podcasts are produced at Anamaki Productions, Winter Warrior Studios in Bath, NH.
Land Acknowledgement
This land lies in N’dakinna, the traditional ancestral homeland of the Abenaki, Sokoki, Koasek, Pemigewasset, Pennacook and Wabanaki Peoples past and present. We acknowledge and honor with gratitude those who have stewarded N’dakinna throughout the generations.
Flying into a Gathering Storm
A Marine's Pride
Signed Prints
Umbrellas in a Cloudscape
For a signed original of this image, click here.
For an unsigned open-edition print of this image, click here.