As the Mueller machine grinds away at unraveling the international organized crime conspiracy whose most orange branch sits in the Oval Office, I have been pondering the psychology of how the crook-in-chief and all the other crooks hang in rather than flee by mass resignation as they watch it bearing down on them.
Narcissistic personality disorder is to me an obvious factor (and not just with Tiny). The instinctive sense of entitlement of the American pale male is another. And then — perhaps the most rational factor on their part — these traitorous scum have so far got away with all the crimes they’ve committed in their lives, so why not expect that to continue?
I’ve been triggered to write about it by the specifics of delusion addressed by Kochbusters’ interesting diary and the Vanity Fair story that triggered it.
On Monday, Trump hosted a 2020 strategy meeting with a group of advisers. Among the topics discussed was whether Mike Pence should remain on the ticket, given the hurricane-force political headwinds Trump will face, as demonstrated by the midterms, a source briefed on the session told me. “They’re beginning to think about whether Mike Pence should be running again,” the source said, adding that the advisers presented Trump with new polling that shows Pence doesn’t expand Trump’s coalition.
Does Trump handpick his advisers for stupidity? (I know… stupid question.) They’ve all jumped into la-la-land with him, imagining he gets to choose whether Pence is on his ticket. Pence has been measuring the White House drapes since January 20, 2017, or maybe even when he signed on as VP candidate.
“Last month,” VF continues, “The New York Times reported that Trump had been privately asking advisers if Pence could be trusted...” I was going to ask BIPM’s “One Word Answer Man” this question (“No”) but realized the answer would need a few more words: “Are you kidding? He’s an evangelical.” When they convince themselves that their egotistical ambitions are actually missions from God, everything else — law, loyalty, rationality, sanity — can be shoved aside, a la John Chau faithfully swimming to Sentinel Island. All Pence’s unctuous smiles and sycophantic words to his boss are part of God’s plan, see.
So that’s Individual One’s delusion. Now let’s go on to Pence’s own.
He actually may not be deluded about escaping the Mueller dragnet, even if he’s guilty of (at the very least) knowing about the plot to steal the election with Putin’s help and not reporting it. Because he could pull a Flynn: flip, do “covert law enforcement activities”, help nail the occupant, stay out of jail and make like he’s on the side of the angels. Maybe he’s been wearing a wire in all his conversations with Trump for a year and a half. Unlike blabbermouths Stone, Page, Corsi, etc., he’s kept his mouth firmly shut publicly.
What he’s deluded about is his electability. Yes, his fellow fundamentalist Christians will vote solidly for him. But Trump needed them plus the racist & sexist demographics (lots of overlap, I know, but lots of not-overlap too) plus the buy-any-hopeful-sounding-bullshit demographic plus Dem voter complacency/disaffection plus substantial foreign help to win, and still lost the popular vote. Furthermore, Trump is more charismatic than Pence. I know it’s hard to believe, but he is. Trump comes alive when campaigning, moving, gesturing, using his voice, playing with his audience, throwing them lines they love to hear, making them feel good about their deplorable selves. Pence looks and acts like a corpse held standing by a pole up its cold wazoo. Can you imagine him debating Beto O’Rourke or Elizabeth Warren? Thinking you’re central in God’s plan can lead to a John Chau-like fate.
Why don’t other GOP leaders who were at least complicit and at worst active in the conspiracy resign and flee? I think in part it’s herd delusion; they prop each other up by mutual delusion support-grouping, and cling to power by sheer habit (including their increasingly anti-democratic habits). And there are the aforementioned pale-male-entitlement and got-away-with-it-so-far factors, of course. Republicans are used to brazenly showing their smiling faces to Americans while legislatively stabbing them in the back.
None of this is going to stop Mueller for one second. Nor American voters; look not only at the mid-term results at every level, but the massive turnout.
Tough luck, fascists: America got woke. I think history will judge that this was the one silver lining of the long tRUmp nightmare.
—
I’m a SPWM (single parent with mortgage) who earns every dollar I earn by writing. If you’d like to help keep it economically feasible for me to write diaries like this one on DKos, please consider sending a donation my way. Suggested amount $3. THANK YOU to all who have helped already, not just helping me sustain my writing but averting short-term financial disasters, oh, about three times since I started making the ask. Your generosity always amazes me.