Uh-oh. The Coup Klutz Clan is turning on itself. It’s not a surprise, to me. One of the characteristics of MAGA conservatism is pure, unadulterated selfishness. One does not find people willing to fall on their swords for loyalty among such a group. They worked together because they expected to benefit together. But when the situation became a more desperate “one for all and all for one” moment, they began bailing on one another. More like, “All for me and…um…who are you, again?”

One of Trump’s “lawyers,” Sydney Powell, has entered a guilty plea and a promise to testify in any future trials in return for a light sentence. $9,000 in fines and 6 years on probation for attempted treason is very light but it’s the way it works in these cases. Prosecutors work their way up the food chain until they get to the ringleader. They threaten to toss you in jail and lose the key if you don’t help or slap your wrist and give you tea and crumpets if you do. Even a MAGA eventually figures out that staying out of prison is better than going in…

Now Kenneth Chesebro has flipped, as well. Chesebro was one of the architects (allegedly working with John Eastman) of the plan to present fake electors and he’s the one who laid out the details in having Pence randomly choose to use other-than-official electors. Pence preferred the Constitution but how could Chesebro have know that in advance? Up until the moment in question, Pence had been a nearly perfect lap-dog for Donny so I’m pretty sure Chesebro thought he could count on Pence.

Chesebro’s punishment was less than Sydney Powell’s. He only has to pay $5,000 and do 5 years of probation. He also has to write a letter of apology to the people of Georgia. Of course, he has to turn over any and all evidence in his possession and agree to testify in future trials.

I had considered the possibility that Powell and Chesebro requesting early trial dates might be a ploy. It could have been a chance to let team trumpery see the case laid out in an early preview of what’s coming for them later. Instead, it was simply Powell and Chesebro distancing themselves from team trump so they could take their plea bargains and go home.

These seem like minor punishments but these two will likely lose their licenses to practice law, as well. So they might get a show in conservative media, but at this point, MAGA knows they took care of themselves and not 45. Powell and Chesebro may not be welcome in conservative circles, anymore, and I’m quite sure they’ve already been proclaimed RINOs. They’ll each write a book, mostly self-promoting and proclaiming their lack of guilt. It will be “remaindered” and stuck in some bargain bin within a week.

I’ll tell you this: We’ll hear a little more about them through the trials and then – gone! Forever, just a footnote in history of horrible people who did horrible things. Good riddance…

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The fun part of Republican dysfunction is over. Now? Concern is setting in. Personally, my latest concern is that the MAGA cons doing all the damage have no incentive to ever do the right thing. Their GOAL is the destruction of this once-great nation and they’re achieving it simply by doing nothing. Well, nothing except a spectacle. “Sure, we’re going to destroy the nation, but we’ll be fascinating while we do!”

This country has a political party called the Libertarians. They’re far-right and their “solutions” to problems are often unrealistic and unworkable. They have a couple of traits in common. They did not pay much attention in classes on science, history, or social studies and they ALL lack empathy. They were, rightfully, relegated off to the “crazy” end of the political scale, along with other, extremist parties, like the Greens. So, after some prompting by Charles Koch, they infiltrated the Republican Party in order to gain political credibility. It worked, too.

They kept their more extreme elements to themselves for awhile as they crept in, one by one, inexorably. But they eventually became a strong enough force in the Republican Party to actually take over and direct the narrative. Hell, these days, the “Grand Old Party” should be called the ‘New Libertarian Party.’

Libertarians have always hated formal government. They’re okay with some small group that can make treaties and such, they understand that part, but they don’t want anything big enough to do the job of governance. Their position seems very optimistic, “Oh, people will just do the right thing without government interference,” but it’s really very opportunistic, “Without government to protect the weaker, the strong are free to pillage.”

People are pretty much on to them now, but they’ve gained a foothold in the party and they’re going to be very difficult to remove. In the meantime, they can do a great deal of damage and that seems to be their intent. They say it takes two to destroy a relationship. That’s not true. It takes two to make it work. But only one can decimate the thing pretty easily and in this case, the ‘one’ is the Libertarian MAGA GOP…

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Trump comes out of the courtroom and starts his whiny shtick about, oh, poor him, he has to be in court. He’d rather be out campaigning but no, they FORCE him to be in the courtroom. Literally four minutes later, during the same rant, someone asks if he’ll be in court the next day. “Probably not,” he says, “I have a very big, professional golf tournament at Doral, so probably not.”

Okay, so…they FORCE him to be in court to keep him from campaigning but they let him take off for a “very big, professional golf tournament?” How does a judge issue THAT order? The truth is, this is a civil trial. Trump is welcome to be there, but not required to be there. He COULD be out campaigning if he chose to (or could afford to), in the same way he can get to the golf course. Suspicion is that Trump only showed up at this most recent sighting because he expected his old friend and “fixer” to be on the stand and he wanted to start menacingly at Michael Cohen.

MAGAs will believe his tale of woe, of course. They MUST. When he tells them the courts won’t let him campaign but the courts WILL let him golf, MAGAs won’t even blink an eye. Ignore the conflict, it must be the evil government. If Trump said it, it must be true so it’s the big ole’ meanie pants government. But it isn’t the government. Trump is still free to go where he wants to, within reason. He could campaign. He doesn’t want to (or can’t afford to). He wants to play golf, so that’s what he does.

I’ll tell you this: Every day, MAGAs seem more and more, to me, like an abused spouse… No, that’s not right. To me, they actually seem like hookers in the trump stable, doing as they’re told, when they’re told – fearful of abuse – and handing over every dollar they can earn…