(DON THOMPSON / iNFOnews.ca)

OPINION

Grab some popcorn, pull up a comfy seat and watch the coming reality show that network executives can only dream about. Nothing on Netflix or Prime or Hulu compares with the Republican Party’s offering for American viewers during the next two years.

If you look up “identity crisis” in Miriam-Webster’s online dictionary, it should simply read, “See Republican Party.” A crack team of psychiatrists couldn’t count the personalities among Republicans in Congress…indeed, many suffer from multiple-personality disorder.

And, of course, you have Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis…someone who thinks he’s God…and someone who thinks God put him here to save us.

Republicans are pointing fingers…looking to blame someone…anyone…for the biggest mis-read of voters in modern-day political history. Some once loyal sycophants now blame Donald Trump. The Denier-in-Chief sits in Mar-a-Lago blaming everyone but himself…including his current wife, Melania.

In winning the House by such a narrow margin…what Republican in their right mind would want to be Speaker of the House? Herding 1,000 cats from Texas to Montana looks easy compared to corralling politicians the likes of Marjorie Taylor “Soon-not-to-Be” Greene and Mitt Romney…and working with the likes of Josh Hawley and Mitch McConnell.

Of course, finding a Republican in their right mind…there’s the rub. Kevin McCarthy is so blindly desperate to be Speaker…and he appears to not be in his right mind. Make no mistake, Trump still holds the cards in this zero sum game and he’ll either garner the Republican nomination and lose again in a landslide in the 2024 election…or he’ll literally kill the chances of DeSanctimonious or any other Republican who might otherwise “steal” the nomination.

Did I say grab some popcorn? Hell, splurge…get some Milk Duds…Twizzlers…and a hot dog and spike that big Coke with 151-proof rum. This is going to be entertaining if nothing else. You don’t have to be a brilliant political analyst to divine the outcome…you simply have to know and understand Donald Trump…and I do.

I first met Donald Trump 42 years ago in New York. In a monologue (one doesn’t have a conversation with Donald) with three people - including me - in the lobby of The Plaza Hotel…Trump told us his favourite thing about business was “getting even.”

There you go…everything you need to know about this man to understand what he cares about. Nothing…not family…not making money…not doing good…nothing outweighs those two words…reduced to its lowest common denominator…revenge.

Most Republicans are slow learners…and if you don’t believe it…just watch. You can count on one hand the number of decent Republicans serving in Congress…the rest are splintered into self-serving groups like the so-called Freedom Caucus..that represent various extremist groups. There are Conservatives, Neo-Conservatives, the Religious Right, White Supremacists and simply crazies that - like a vin diagram - overlap factions.

It’s almost funny what Ted Cruz, Jim Jordan, Josh Hawley, Marjorie Taylor “Soon-not-to-be-Greene” and Louis Gohmert, as well as other extremist Republican gang members have done. They whipped the mob of villagers into a frenzy with lies…furnished pitchforks and torches…and pointed toward democracy.

Now, the town crazies have run past their erstwhile leaders…who are trying nonetheless to out-crazy the mob...not to govern but simply to have power. Seems it’s a lot harder to lead racists, Neo-Nazis, rednecks, survivalists, religious fanatics, immigrant-haters, Muslim-haters, Jew-haters than they thought. Who knew? Apparently, none of the Republican “Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight."

There will be a hundred…maybe more…twists and turns in this plot before the next election. But I guarantee you that Republicans will muck it up…making a zig every time a zag is needed. When you’re consumed by hate…by vengeance…by lies…by the un-doing of American Democracy…you have little appetite for doing what’s right or in the best interests of all Americans.

The ranks of reasonable Americans - those who voted against these Un-Americans this past election - are growing. That means it could be years before Republicans win control of the House, Senate and White House.

You can’t wipe the slate clean by simply claiming, “We’re different now…trust us.” Your actions really say, “Vote for us now…so your vote won’t ever count again.”

Credibility takes time…just ask the majority of voters this past election. Meanwhile, finish spiking your Coke and settle in with a tub of popcorn…the show’s starting.

— Don Thompson, an American awaiting Canadian citizenship, lives in Vernon and in Florida. In a career that spans more than 40 years, Don has been a working journalist, a speechwriter and the CEO of an advertising and public relations firm. A passionate and compassionate man, he loves the written word as much as fine dinners with great wines.

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