Can Anyone Resurrect The Grand Old Party?

One day, an over- achiever elephant with extreme narcissistic ills  and wrong-headed authority came into town and decided he was just what the rest of the herd needed.  He sat at the head of the table, gave all of the orders, demanded complete loyalty, and offered none.  The elephants cowered in obedience.  The rise of a revolt and the systemic actions of a coup began.  It was a takeover like no other in the history of the nation.  The first order was to take no prisoners.  There was to be only one further order:  Do as I say, not as I do.

Through four terror-plagued years, our nation lapsed into a period of disbelief and shock.  

Why couldn't the herd control him?  He was but one elephant and they were many.  Was he the Svengali of all pachyderms? 

But that was then.  January 21, 2021 is now.

Those elephants must decide what trail through the jungle they will follow now that he is gone.   They are awash in corruption from their behavior the past four years, and it may be a stain that will not wash off. They were warned - constantly - that they were wading too deeply into the swamp. It was changing their values, perhaps to the point of oblivion. Their national image was fading and the once-great name of the Grand Old Party was become ragged and tattered.  Once upon a time there were men named Hitler and Mussolini who were successful as the Svengalis of their countries as well.  People can be swayed by such disingenuous men with promises of something better. They eventually find out, however, that the "better" is only for those  false "leaders."

So, what do the elephants do now?  They have allowed themselves to become weaponized by the ragtag fringe groups who fly the flag of the Svengali.  Corrupt actions are being carried out in their name.  Bigots, racists, armed White Supremacists, and others are marching in the guise of elephants.  They will all be labeled of the same breed and the same side of the political spectrum.  They fall in with the same ilk and with scurrilous names such as right-wing radicals and far-right hate groups.  The elephants walked into this thicket with full knowledge of who - and what - they were joining.

Can they overcome the horrors of their collaboration with Svengali?  Will they be able to convince their voters of the grave mistakes they made?  Even more important, will their voters be able to disentangle themselves from the elephant herd that nearly took down our democracy, and resurrect the old Grand Old Party once again? 

Only time will tell.