FTA:

And what they want is very clear: to take full control of the federal government. Not in the way that typifies every change of administration but in a more extreme way designed to eradicate opposition, disempower federal authority, and cause federal bureaucrats to cower. It is an assault on basic governance.

A great deal of thought has gone into this effort already. The executive orders and sundry administrative directives and guidance that have been issued reflect a profound understanding of the federal government and exactly where the weak spots within the bureaucracy might lie. . . .

Were it not so dangerous to democratic norms, the efficiency of these early days would almost be admirable, in the same way that one might admire a well-run play by an opposing football team. But politics is not a game, and this nation's basic security and functioning are at risk. Those who oppose Trump's actions do not have an incompetent opponent; Trump's team is savvy and has been planning for this for years. They came ready.

"Lost me right there. Politics is a game. Governing, however, shouldn't be so much."

The sentence you object to is the next to the last one in the article. Did you read the article or just my quoted blurb? The article itself is about the ways the Trump administration is deftly manipulating the levers of power to both control and remake the way the governmnet operates. IOW, it's about how the Trump administration is governing.

This won't backfire at all.
Nope, no intended consequences to see here, folks. These people are all geniuses.
#3 | Posted by LegallyYourDead

Trump is just the front man. The people behind his adminstration are the Heritage Foundation/Project 2025 authors. I wouldn't say they are geniuses, but they are have been planning this for a very long time, are very knowledgeable about how the government operates:

"A great deal of thought has gone into this effort already. The executive orders and sundry administrative directives and guidance that have been issued reflect a profound understanding of the federal government and exactly where the weak spots within the bureaucracy might lie."

They have the backing of both Houses of Congress as well as the Supreme Court, and they are ruthless. IMO, that makes them dangerous and not to be dismissed lightly.

And of course I meant unintended consequences.
You know, like when your "base" figures out they've been swindled.
#7 | Posted by LegallyYourDead

I meant that they have the backing of the Republicans in both Houses of Congress. I agree with you that I don't think they have the backing of the majority of the American people, including some who voted for Trump once his/their policies start to come to fruition. Project 2025 is not popular, which is why Trump had to lie about it:

Joyce White Vance
@joycewhitevance.bsky.social
1/ Virtually all of this activity is happening before there are Senate confirmed leaders in place in executive branch agencies, including at DOJ, HHS, and other places where major transformation is underway. That's unusual. New cabinet secretaries like to take a look at and understand...

2/ ...the operation before they make major changes. The changes we are seeing are not coming from new agency heads based on specific evaluation. They aren't Trump's ideas. We are watching the wholesale adoption of Project 2025, after Trump lied to the American people & distanced himself from it.