Fools on a Fool's Errand. . .

The frightening details of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021 have been seared into our minds for eternity. That day will be remembered as the moment America's democracy teetered on the brink of disaster by a ruthless mob and its leader as they tried to overturn a national election and bring our entire government to its knees.  Even worse, that leader was none other than the President of the United States. The coup d'état was when forty-three of his Republican supporters in the U. S. Senate voted to acquit him!

That was then, this is now.

In Greek mythology, just as Phoenix rose from the ashes, will this Republican buzzard rise from the battlefield of political scorn to become an eagle once again?  Or, will they continue their descent into total oblivion?  

The answer is not so easy.  Even if there was a party official who could speak for the group, it would mean little.  The gifted spokesperson today may very well be the party's punching bag tomorrow.  Fame and political credentials are most fleeting in this group of rag-tag miscreants.  It's a reminder of the child's game I used to play called "King of the Mountain." All you needed was a good-sized mound of dirt and someone to climb to the top.  From there, the challenge was to push him off and take his place.  Shortly, however, another was ready to do the same.  That is the essence of GOP politics right now.  

If someone showed a lack of favor for the former president, they are being branded a Republican heretic and excommunicated from the "Church of Trump."  The family members of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) have taken things a giant step further and overtly pummeled  him with nastiness because he took a stand against the former president.  There are many such examples as the Republicans try to bring their once-faithful brothers and sisters back into the fold.  The stories are like something from the dark days of burning witches at the stake in Salem.  It is beyond belief that it is happening at a time when we like to pride ourselves in the mental magnificence we think we have achieved.

In order to point a finer point to this episode the GOP finds themselves in, think about such mental midgets as Senators Graham, Cruz, Lee, Hawley, Johnson, and McCarthy as they sit upon their trusty steeds and charge the windmills of La Mancha as Don Quixote did.  They, like the man from La Mancha, have lost their minds and have set out to right the wrongs they have done without one single idea of what to do about it.  They are as fools on a fool's errand.

With any luck at all, the windmills will win this time.

An Opinion by

John Watson