The Rapture and Rupture of Pompeo

The Rapture and Rupture of Pompeo

Mike Pompeo has been an enigma to me for a long time. I doubt I’m the only person who think his name immediately invokes the tragedy of Pompeii and the pillars of salt that resulted from the population after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. I first heard about him when he was announced for appointed by Trump to be the head of the CIA in late 2016. He was clearly earmarked for “greatness” by the Republican National Committee. I have no idea who pushed him for that role, but it seems like the speed of the announcement after the surprise election outcome would imply that he was on an RNC list of existing politicians who were Uber-loyal to the Republican mission (Trump or no Trump). He had been a Kansas congressman who had served on the intelligence and energy committees which seem like a logical fit for a guy with his background and connections. What I find so curious is what led this guy to where he is now, the Secretary of State, ostensibly one of the most prominent positions in the federal government and an historically meaningful power spot. I would have no interest in such an analysis of Rex Tillerson since the path (including his bumpy short ride on the moronic trail) seems so much more obvious, and the endgame more predictable. But seeing Pompeo implode while hearing repeatedly of his earnest ambitions for his own presidency makes this inquiry feel necessary.

I start with a disclaimer. I am not a Pompeo biographer and have not done extensive Pompeo research. Therefore, I will use what I know from the popular press to make up what I imagine might have been the real story behind this buffoon’s rise to prominence. I find his story both interesting and cartoonishly manipulated. If you remember the Game of Life when you were a kid, you needed to choose a mix of money, happiness and fame as your life goals. Well, I start by declaring that Pompeo clearly put all his chips on fame (which I think of as a decent proxy for power). I find everything he has done as a stepping-stone game of getting himself through the game board to the highest level in the land.

As a smart, good student in high school in Orange County, California, he graduated third in his class, but was the Valedictorian. That already shows you that his ambition was strong back in the mid-80’s as he got himself from the varsity basketball team into a Congressional nomination to West Point. Remember, Orange County back then was Republican-Central in the time of Ronald Regan. So he goes of to West Point and proceeds to graduate as the top scholastic cadet of that year (1986). At West Point he commanded 120 cadets and at graduation he got the second biggest applause. The top honor at West Point traditionally goes to what they call “the goat”, who is the bottom graduating member of the class (about one third of the class washes out between day one and graduation, so last man standing by the door is meaningful to the cadets). It’s interesting to note that of the eight commands, that year’s goat was a member of Pompeo’s command. That can be read as a failure or success of leadership, but its an interesting factoid.

Pompeo spent the minimum five years in the Army (his West Point education required that) and he did it at the dangerous post on “the wall” with East Germany. Oh yeah, those were the glasnost years just as the wall came down, so its fair to say sitting in a tank on that wall was perhaps soft duty relatively speaking. Off to Harvard Law School with a clear eye towards Washington, where he “practiced” law for two years, probably working to get his political network started. Clearly, like the Army, the law was a convenient stepping-stone.

Pompeo then found his way to Kansas to build a militaryesque business with a few West Point buddies (not Harvard buddies), one of whom was a venture capitalist. He spent a decade in Kansas making a living in business. While he sold his original business and was hired by the Koch’s to run one of their companies, it is not obvious that Pompeo was prized for his business acumen. His net worth shows as being $345,000, which is well below the median net worth of U.S. congressmen, which stands at $511,000. Maybe he just spends too lavishly and is less the millionaire next door than the aspiring politician next door. But that connection to the Koch brothers was not coincidental. This was the age of the creation of the Tea Party and Pompeo was right there in the heart of that movement. It got him elected for three terms in congress. So now we have the Army, the law and business in the rear view mirror and a political seat at the table just like he seems to have wanted. Now for the big maneuvers.

To begin let’s remember that the basis for the Tea Party was fiscal conservatism, the driving force of the millionaire next door with lower taxes and lower deficits and national debt. OK, so I guess we can add the Tea Party as yet another stepping-stone. The end ALWAYS justifies the means, right? As the 2016 election shapes up, I’ll bet Pompeo, a big Marco Rubio fan, kept his distance from Donald Trump, but was ready to rush in when appropriate. He probably worked the RNC program hard and having been a big Benghazi guy, not so obvious as Trey Gowdy, but nearby to jab and run as opportunity allowed he was in position. Somewhere along the way he decided that he had ridden the Congressional pony to its limits and it was time to find the next horse. The CIA was an obvious choice. It was a powerful position that played to his military background (not so much his tour in Germany or departing as a mere Captain, but that #1 West Point ranking was a great soundbite). And then, BINGO!, Trump wins and a quick call to Reince Priebus was probably all it took to position him for a job many others would worry might subject them to a career-ending tour at Langley.

But most guys who go to run the CIA are less nimble than they are ideologically committed to being spooks. Not so, Mr. Pompeo. The ability to be at the center of foreign policy while a slash and burn guy like Rex Tillerson, who had no love lost for Trump and no apparent political ambitions, but was doing the Secretary of State job as a novelty, seemed like a good gig. Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, all fun games to be played from the Top Spook spot. And then, the obvious happened, Rex got axed for calling the boss a moron. Who was best positioned for Foggy Bottom, Mikey. Stop for a moment and consider this path. Sports to West Point to Army to Harvard to DC to Kansas to business to Kochdom to Tea Party to Congress to Benghazi to CIA to Secretary of State (#4 in the line of Presidential succession…if you like watching Designated Survivor). Those stepping-stones are impressive and undeniably well-orchestrated to get the man into position A.

But now, here we are and I ask you whether you think Mike is out in the middle of the pond or near the far shore heading to a presidential bid? He has no money, so he and the Mrs. have to use the State Department budget to do the requisite schmoozing of bigwig donors and maybe the Russians and Saudis can help with illegal foreign contributions. But that pesky Inspector General Steve Linick seems to have gotten wind of all these improprieties. Doesn’t he understand the stepping-stone theory of life management? It requires you to curry favor at all costs from the powerful people above you…any West Point Top Cadet knows that.

When Pompeo was stumping for his congressional seat he was quoted as telling an evangelical group, “politics is a never-ending struggle…until the Rapture.” I’ll let you decide if this ladder-climbing, step-stone stepping, favor-currying, pseudo-military, pseudo-legal, pseudo-businessman, pseudo-legislator, pseudo-spook, pseudo-diplomatic, pseudo-religious cadet is positioned for Rapture or rupture.