Maybe, maybe, maybe

    “We are very very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I             truly can’t wait.”

    “I hate him passionately, . . .I can’t handle much more of this.”

For the record, those memorable lines belong to the man who, for the last two nights, has been passing off the January 6th events at the capital as little more than an ordinary tourism, in defense of the man he claims--hear him?-- to hate passionately. He's a blistering liar, as well as the most listened-to talking-head on TV. People love him because they love Trump. Thusly, if Trump loses, so does Tucker Carlson, and  he knows it, so he'll fabricate the truth to keep his ratings up, keep cash flowing in, and the country at odds with itself.

Ever since Trump announced right here, years ago, that he could gun down people in cold blood and not lose admirers, he's done just that. "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?" Trump remarked at a campaign stop at Dordt. "It's, like, incredible."

Yes, it is--and demonic is another word for it. He's cast a spell. 

The BIG LIE has further fractured this country, our culture, our families, our churches. No single idea in our recent past has done so much injury to the nation or its common good. Not socialism, or wokism or CRT, whatever the heck they are.

For those of us who've been wary of Donald Trump from those early days, waiting for his forces to have some Damascus-road experience has been wearying. Maybe it'll happen when he claims John McCain was not a patriot; or maybe when he says he trusts Putin more than anybody on his team; or how about this?--maybe when he blackmails Ukraine in order to get some mud on Hunter Biden; for sure when he deliberately fosters anger sufficient to create an insurrection.

Maybe, maybe, maybe. Nope, nope, nope. Drip after drip, his numbers are decreasing, but the devotion among those who stay in his orbit seems indomitable--and they've got an all-time best cheerleader in Tucker. 

But I was thrilled to hear, yesterday, that Mitch McConnell came out against Carlson's treatment of the January 6th riot. Made no bones about it because to anyone who was there, he (and several other Republican legislators) said, January 6 was not a normal tourist day.

Behind McConnell stood two senators who seconded his criticism of Tucker "I-hate-him-passionately" Carlson. One was Iowa's own Joni Ernst, the Iowa senator I've always believed was made of better stuff than she shows when she jumps up on the Trump bandwagon; also behind McConnell was South Dakota's John Thune. I've always wanted to think he was made of the right stuff too. Maybe those three--and others--will deconstruct the Trump madness.

Unlikely, I suppose. Trump's 30 percent-sized disciples may well pack more AK-47s than any other political faction, but they cannot and will not EVER win his reelection. Too many American voters know him for the demented nihilist he is. Too many people understand Trump wouldn't know truth if it shaved his orange hair. Too many people know how he led people to violence at the nation's capital because he lost the election. Too many people have known for a long time that he has a narcissistic personality disorder.

In an article in the Reformed Journal, Keith Mannes, who left his pastorate in the CRC, detailed the changes in his life and the life of the denomination to which he once belonged. "Donald Trump awakened something deeply wrong in the soul of the CRC," Mannes wrote, and he's right.

Have a look for yourself.

See that deep maroon in the far northwest corner. It designates the region most Trumpian of any area of the state--90 to 100 per cent voting for Donald of Orange. No part of the state has a higher percentage of residents of Dutch and Reformed ancestry. What's the link, really? I honestly don't know.

Maybe now--maybe with McConnell, Ernst, and Thune--maybe Tucker's false flag will break the log jam. 

Maybe, maybe, maybe.

The Des Moines Register's lead story this morning declares that Trump's chances for re-election may well hinge on what he does in the Iowa caucuses. Color me joyfully doubtful on that one. 

But you can bet the whole bunch will be streaming through here with all those dedicated Republican votes to be gathered. It'll be interesting, very interesting, to see if Trump continues to sweep up the neighborhood.