No Means Get on Hannity

When the most important legacy one can imagine for his time in office as POTUS is a wall to keep the tired and hungry out, nothing should come as a shock or seem too ridiculous. That Trump’s minions appear comfortable expanding on the boss’ preoccupation with what color his monumental achievement should be painted, and whether spikes should adorn the top of of the structure, speaks with volume about our Chief Executive’s priorities. After all, as Sarah Sanders noted… “the President is one of the country’s most successful builders….. and wants to make sure we get the job done under budget and ahead of schedule.” Of course, ask any great builder, sweating the details is what counts…. get the small stuff right and the big strokes, like actual funding for the project, or tangible returns on monies already allotted, will surely fall in line. Thus far, $1.57 billion has produced almost four miles of wall, but let’s not digress.

If there is a non-profit, 501-C3 equivalent to the dark web it would surely be We Build The Wall, whose advisory board includes such odious right-wing extremists as Steve Bannon, former Colorado congressman and OG immigration bundist Tom Tancredo, Blackwater USA founder Erik Prince, and voter suppression fraudster Kris Kobach. The organization’s website is a self-parody, awash in racist memes and white national nastiness. The latest excitement centers around a raffle drawing that will soon be held. The grand prize? …. Two lucky patriots will get to attend the ceremony for the first completed stretch of Trump’s everlasting glory, and, hold on to your MAGA hats, actually get their names engraved into the structure!! Who could make that up?

Any good sales professional remembers those first few weeks at the entry level, when their employer provided the training necessary for a career as an account executive. The word no is simply a request for more information, a failure of the prospect to understand the benefits he’s yet to embrace. It’s not an obstacle but an invitation to highlight the pluses your product or service brings to the table. If hearing “no” discourages you, better look for other work.

Tommy Fisher, CEO of North Dakota-based Fisher Industries, has taken that mantra to a whole new level in his efforts to gain the $billion plus contract to construct Trump’s signature obsession. Eliminated from consideration by the Army Corp of Engineers, who rejected Fisher Industries’ bid, citing a failure to meet established requirements and garner necessary approvals, Fisher filed suit last month against the US Government. A conservative gadfly and major GOP donor, Fisher has appeared often on Fox News to rail against immigrants and tout his company’s patent-pending construction system that gets the job done “faster than any contractor using common construction methods.”

Like most everyone else lobbying this Administration on most any issue, Fisher figures only one person needs to be convinced, the entire established vendor selection process and Homeland Security procedures be damned. Not only is Fisher refusing to take no for an answer, like our President’s approach to governance, he’s simply going to fake it til he makes it…. act like it’s a done deal. Whether it’s his repeated appearances on Trump’s favorite Fox shows, a more than cozy relationship with We Build The Wall, or the efforts of ND-Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer, who Fisher has fully bought and paid for, the President has become a fan, and is now pushing for Fisher Industries to get the wall contract in his typically shameless and inappropriate way.

Despite being told in no uncertain terms by both Corp of Engineers and DHS officials the Fisher Industries process “does not meet the operational requirements of US Custom and Border Protection,” Trump is making known he wants Fisher to get the nod. That’s more than enough for Fisher, who has actually moved forward to construct a section of wall in El Paso on private land owned by….. you guessed it, We Build The Wall! It’s anybody’s guess how deep that slimy group’s financial ties and potential rewards go with Fisher Industries – another investigation for a future date – but they are all in pushing for Fisher to get the contract. Fisher has invited Trumpie lawmakers to El Paso to join Fox/AM A-Listers and the We Build The Wall crew for the “unveiling” of the section his builders have completed…. Fisher has trumpeted the event as a game changer. Meanwhile, his law suit alleging improprieties with the border wall procurement process awaits a hearing on its dubious merits.

So, let’s add all of this up. A company’s bid for a monster government contract is rejected out of hand by those authorized to oversee the procurement competition. What to do? Get a team of lawyers to sue, while ignoring the decision and making an end run around the process with full assistance from shady right wing non-governmental influence peddlers, all the while taking to Fox/AM air waves to denounce the swamp of corrupt bureaucrats responsible for denying patriots the blessings of your wonderful building techniques. Sound familiar?!

Two and half years in and the signature accomplishment Trump seeks for his Presidency fully illustrates how incompetently autocratic our first Fox/AM Administration has become. As Democratic contenders for the White House sort out their differences and present their varied styles to primary audiences, they would do well to take a collective inventory of what is at stake. It’s impossible to imagine how the US government will withstand Trump unleashed with the “mandate” he will surely howl to the heavens a second term bequeaths to him. Right now the President faces impeachment and as equally an unfathomable route to 270 electoral votes as 2016, against an opponent who will surely generate more excitement and participation than HRC…. and this is how business is conducted. Imagine another four years begun with him already ensconced and flush with re-election bravado! All or nothing. Survival or ruin. A going democratic concern or Fisher Industries. BC