This isn’t ‘efficiency’ — it’s casual destruction

Has it felt to anyone else like we’ve gone through a year’s worth of chaos, disruption and uncertainty in less than a month?

That’s because we have.

And this dizzying strategy of “flooding the zone” — a term coined by the twice-convicted former White House Chief Strategist, Steve Bannon, which refers to blitzing the American people and media with a disorienting number of newsworthy and potentially chaotic decisions one after another, never giving any one event time to be adequately discussed, adjudicated or digested — is not likely to subside anytime soon.

Trump has clearly learned his lesson about trying to impose his will through the legitimate levers of power provided by our cherished Constitution. He has, instead, given full authority to the world’s wealthiest man to “audit” all of the federal government’s wasteful spending and set it right. Or, judging from the rhetoric we’ve seen thus far, set it all alight.

And since Elon Musk’s work in the “Department of Government Efficiency” is completely unchecked, unverifiable and opaque, we’re all going to have to take his word for the facts and figures he presents and live with the momentously impactful decisions he recommends to America’s chief executive.

The reality of this situation exceeds parody and cynicism. It is, frankly, unbelievable that any American could be OK with a brazenly corrupt and anti-democratic regime like the one unfolding in front of our eyes.

We would ask those who placed their vote for Trump in 2024 and continue to support him: Would you be OK with any of what is occurring right now if Kamala Harris or another Democrat sat in the Oval Office? Would you silently accept a president claiming ultimate authority above the law, ruling solely through executive action as if they were a king and demanding the removal of all dissidents in the cause of “saving the country?”

Auditing the efficiency of any business or organization takes time and careful consideration. An audit of massive federal government programs cannot be done adequately in the course of days by glancing through a budget spreadsheet and deeming certain expenses “wasteful” with no context.

What is happening right now is not an audit. It is the targeted elimination of departments that provide critical services to all Americans, including some of the most vulnerable populations, but also including veterans, children and, by the way, millions of people of all political stripes who rely on Medicaid and federal assistance programs.

Governing via chaos, disruption and uncertainty is not governing. It’s wanton, casual, destructive lawlessness, and any self-proclaimed patriot should be opposed to it.