Bannon: Snake Eyes?

 

A scary man

Image source: White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon at CPAC 2017 February 24th 2017 by Michael Vadon 06.jpg, Created: 23 February 2017, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Steve_Bannon.jpg



Special Note: This posting originally appeared last month. However, I removed it because I wanted to submit as a possible op-ed piece to a certain publication. It didn’t get picked up, so I am free to repost it today. 


On the remote chance you could have missed it, Steven Bannon surrendered to authorities yesterday. He had defied a Congressional subpoena from the Jan. 6 Committee. After, it seems, some hesitation, the DOJ finally went after him, and the result was court time for the man yesterday. 


Two things strike me about this story. First, he was then released without bail. I wonder what would have happened if he had not been a white conservative with connections in high places. Suppose, instead, he’d been a black man accused of looting a color TV during a riot. I kinda think things would not have gone so gently.


Second, watching him leave the court, I had the feeling that he wasn’t particularly concerned. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying it all. It must have been nice to be back in the spotlight.


I’m guessing…and yes, this is only a guess…that he is actually looking forward to his time before the Jan 6 Committee. I suspect that he, and his Right-wing backers, feel that they have lured Congress and the Democrats into a trap. I suspect he, and they, plan to use the Committee hearings as a bully pulpit from which to denounce Democrats and Liberals, and play the victim of Woke culture before the cameras.


And let’s face it. Things might play out that way. Bannon is a bright guy, and he knows how to debate. More, he’s got some pretty strong support from Congressional Republicans. They are going to stand up for him.


That said…


There are some pretty tough cookies on the Jan 6 Committee, people who are also smart and also skilled at public debate. They are angry at Bannon for defying them in the first place, and, moreover, are fully aware that if they don’t succeed in making Bannon (and, by extension, Trump) look very bad in the hearings, then they will be humiliated in front of the whole country. In other words, they know the stakes are high and will play accordingly. 


Now, Bannon’s been a lucky gambler for a long time. Even when things have gone against him…as when he was removed from the White House…he’s managed to land on his feet most of the time.


But, eventually, every string of luck runs out.


I’m wondering if maybe, just maybe, now’s the time. And that Bannon, who has rolled seven so many times, won’t find himself considering…


Snake eyes. 



~mjt



Copyright©2021 Michael Jay Tucker

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