Steve Bannon, Trump's Top Guy, Told Me He Was 'A Leninist' Who Wants To ‘Destroy the State’

I met Steve Bannon—the executive director of Breitbart.com who’s now become the chief executive of the Trump campaign, replacing the newly resigned Paul Manafort—at a book party held in his Capitol Hill townhouse in early 2014. We were standing next to a picture of his daughter, a West Point graduate, who at the time was a lieutenant in the 101 Airborne Division serving in Iraq. The picture was notable because she was sitting on what was once Saddam Hussein’s gold throne with a machine gun on her lap. “I’m very proud of her,” Bannon said.

Then we had a long talk about his approach to politics. He never called himself a “populist” or an “American nationalist,” as so many think of him today. “I’m a Leninist,” Bannon proudly proclaimed.

Shocked, I asked him what he meant.

“Lenin,” he answered, “wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.” Bannon was employing Lenin’s strategy for Tea Party populist goals. He included in that group the Republican and Democratic Parties, as well as the traditional conservative press.

I emailed Bannon last week recalling our conversation, telling him that I planned to write about it and asking him if he wanted to comment on or correct my account of it. He responded:

“I don’t remember meeting you and don’t remember the conversation. And as u can tell from the past few days I am not doing media.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/22/steve-bannon-trump-s-top-guy-told-me-he-was-a-leninist.html

Have the Tea Party hijacked the Republican's and used Trump to get there?

Irn Bru wrote:I met Steve Bannon—the executive director of Breitbart.com who’s now become the chief executive of the Trump campaign, replacing the newly resigned Paul Manafort—at a book party held in his Capitol Hill townhouse in early 2014. We were standing next to a picture of his daughter, a West Point graduate, who at the time was a lieutenant in the 101 Airborne Division serving in Iraq. The picture was notable because she was sitting on what was once Saddam Hussein’s gold throne with a machine gun on her lap. “I’m very proud of her,” Bannon said.

Then we had a long talk about his approach to politics. He never called himself a “populist” or an “American nationalist,” as so many think of him today. “I’m a Leninist,” Bannon proudly proclaimed.

Shocked, I asked him what he meant.

“Lenin,” he answered, “wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.” Bannon was employing Lenin’s strategy for Tea Party populist goals. He included in that group the Republican and Democratic Parties, as well as the traditional conservative press.

I emailed Bannon last week recalling our conversation, telling him that I planned to write about it and asking him if he wanted to comment on or correct my account of it. He responded:

“I don’t remember meeting you and don’t remember the conversation. And as u can tell from the past few days I am not doing media.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/22/steve-bannon-trump-s-top-guy-told-me-he-was-a-leninist.html

Have the Tea Party hijacked the Republican's and used Trump to get there?

I've heard this reference to the Tea Party too often with respect to Trump. The Tea Party is the right wing of the Republican Party. Trumpsterism is a new party altogether. Trump is as antagonistic toward the Tea Party as he is toward the Democrats.

If you want a comparison, try Hooliganism. Imagine a motorcycle gang, a meth house and the Manson family rolled up into one. That's Trumpsterism for you.

Quill, Salon.com agrees with you: http://www.salon.com/2016/08/05/donald-trump-and-the-tea-party-myth-why-the-gop-is-now-an-identity-movement-not-a-political-party/

It's simple and an old story -- aging people who are afraid of the changes happening in their country.

Xlnt article. Mr. Illing is intuitive.

TRUMP'S new Repub' party faction is actually more like the "new boys (or broom ?)" over there on the "left wing" of the GOP --  just look at much of the protectionist, isolationist, higher tariff, more regulation rhetoric from the Trump campaign team --  especially when you look at how far that party has moved to the Right in general over recent decades...

Those "Tea bagger" types are probably going to be the major internal opponents of the Trumpsters as they move forward next year..

I wouldn't be surprised to see the "Tea Party" largely disappear up its own rectum over the next four years --  because, as Quill suggested above, they are the "right wing" of the GOP -- and as such, they represent the 'old (grey haired) white men' living in the past, and dying off fast.

As some political observers have pointed out in recent days,  Trump himself is actually to the left of Hillary Clinton, when they are both positioned on the Political Spectrum..        

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

TRUMP'S new Repub' party faction is actually more like the "new boys (or broom ?)" over there on the "left wing" of the GOP --  just look at much of the protectionist, isolationist, higher tariff, more regulation rhetoric from the Trump campaign team --  especially when you look at how far that party has moved to the Right in general over recent decades...

Those "Tea bagger" types are probably going to be the major internal opponents of the Trumpsters as they move forward next year..

I wouldn't be surprised to see the "Tea Party" largely disappear up its own rectum over the next four years --  because, as Quill suggested above, they are the "right wing" of the GOP -- and as such, they represent the 'old (grey haired) white men' living in the past, and dying off fast.

As some political observers have pointed out in recent days,  Trump himself is actually to the left of Hillary Clinton, when they are both positioned on the Political Spectrum..        

You know what says it all? Clinton campaigned on spending $275 million on job-creating infrastructure projects. Trump countered with $800 million. Back in Obama's early days, he did the same thing and the right responded with Tea Party protests. Now his supporters are all for it, because it's a white guy proposing it.

Now if only he can convince the hill shepherd that they wanted better public education.

veya_victaous wrote:Now if only he can convince the hill shepherd that they wanted better public education.

Trump doesn't even know what that is. Of the two tiers of the right, Trump and his supporters are among the non-elite.

which is why they need better Public Education

the elites are keeping it all to themselves, keeping the middle class down. all those mexicans are coming to steal it, so they better get their share of public education first. Obama hates it blah blah blah.
Trump could pull it off in the greatest bait and switch of all time 

veya_victaous wrote:which is why they need better Public Education

the elites are keeping it all to themselves, keeping the middle class down. all those mexicans are coming to steal it, so they better get their share of public education first. Obama hates it blah blah blah.
Trump could pull it off in the greatest bait and switch of all time 

It ain't gonna happen.  As with Obama, Trump has no legislative power as President.  Both the House and Senate are in Republican, not Trumpster hands.  Congress will pour all the money into the military and Trump will work hard for tax cuts for those making over $1-million/annually...in other words, it's trickle down thinking all over again for him.

There will be cut-backs in education, infrastructure and healthcare.  Obamacare will be reversed, and Social Security may be eliminated as early as 2017, and with it medicare.

for the sake of the USA i hope your wrong Quill

you may be right but that is not going to be 'good'

veya_victaous wrote:for the sake of the USA i hope your wrong Quill

you may be right but that is not going to be 'good'

That's what I'm reading...in non-partisan periodicals.

If the Repub's are allowed to dismantle healthcare, keep pushing down education standards, then abolish social security, then what exactly will the USA have left  ???

That's certainly one way to bring on that Civil War that nealy everyone has been wanting to avoid for the last 30 years..

And there would go the "united" states.
For good..