Liliputin -1558

America has to choose between a deep state and a deep blue sea ... "
Gore Vidal

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In the United States the term "deep state" is used within political science to describe influential decision-making bodies believed to be within government who are relatively permanent and whose policies and long-term plans are unaffected by changing administrations. The term is often used in a critical sense vis-а-vis the general electorate to refer to the lack of influence popular democracy has on these institutions and the decisions they make as a shadow government. The term was originally coined in a somewhat pejorative sense to refer to similar relatively invisible state apparatus in Turkey and post-Soviet Russia. With respect to the United States, the concept has been discussed in numerous published works by Marc Ambinder, David W. Brown, Peter Dale Scott, Mike Lofgren, Kevin Shipp and Michael Wolff.
While definitions vary, the term gained popularity among various groups, primarily supporters of Donald Trump and conspiracy theorists, during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, in opposition to establishment Republican and Democratic candidates. Since Trump's inauguration, the term has been used by some commentators, who argue that a "deep state" is aiming to delegitimize the Trump presidency and thwart its policy goals.

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between the devil and the deep blue sea

phrase
 
If you say that you are between the devil and the deep blue sea, you mean that you are in a difficult situation where you have to choose between two equally unpleasant courses of action.

between the devil and the deep (blue) sea in American
 
between equally unpleasant alternatives
 devil
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

between the devil and the deep blue sea in British
between equally undesirable alternatives
devil
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

Nearby words of 'between the devil and the deep blue sea'
between a rock and a hard place
between Scylla and Charybdis