Hell is Other Republicans

We must admit, we were surprised on Saturday. We were expecting others to join the Texas GOP’s call for secession — that being the logical next step in the Republican Passion Play — perhaps even a series of tweets from the top suggesting that the faithful take matters into their own hands.

Instead, they started turning on each other.

Nothing new there, as such. Trump’s been roasting Georgia’s elected Republicans awhile now for their perfidy. But with nowhere else to turn — secession curiously being unthinkable — blame still needed to be cast where it could go.

The election was still stolen. But it was stolen from the inside. The traitors are in the house.

The pleasure in this — and lord, is there a lot of pleasure — is that we’re not talking about already suspicious RINOs like Mitt Romney. We’re talking about fellow true believers whose fealty was formerly unquestionable. We’re talking about musical chairs, but with buses, and the game is not to get thrown under one.

Fox News? The Supreme Court? William Barr? State Republican election officials who wouldn’t play along with blatant disenfranchisement? Come on down! Your Greyhound is waiting.

They’re getting so good at Recrimination & Punishment, you’d think they were Leftists.

So the Republic is safe, for now, while Republicans play Survivor amongst themselves. All states have certified their votes, the Electoral College will perform what used to be its mundane task on Monday, and while we’ll get a show when Congress counts those votes in a few weeks, it takes both houses to sustain a challenge, and Democrats aren’t that stupid.

Which leaves 2024.

We were among those who thought Trump never wanted to be President in the first place, that the real endgame, after the fun was over, was to start his own network or something. And we still think that, really. He’s never shown interest in the job itself, just the perks.

But golly, what perks! Who would give that up?

So yeah, we’re hearing network chatter again, but what what we’re really hearing is campaign chatter, perhaps a kickoff event to upstage the Inauguration. And all the opportunistic airheads who sold their souls to position themselves as Keeper of the Flame, well, good luck with that when the Flamethrower-in-Chief decides he’s not done yet, not with 74 million votes at his back.

But things may also get unpleasant for the rest of us.

Imagine four years from now, same circumstances: Crushing defeat in the popular vote and Electoral College — but Republicans still hold the Senate, and managed to win back the House. (Guess who’s controlling redistricting again next year?) Congress counts electoral votes, but it doesn’t have to accept them — that show we’re getting in a few weeks might be frighteningly real next time.

We already knew that this wouldn’t be the end of it, that there will be practical consequences to the political psychosis that has gripped white Americans. Democracy may have won the battle this time, but the war ain’t over.

Which doesn’t stop us from enjoying the spectacle of righteous cannibalism. We just know our violent delights have violent ends.