Starz and HBO have both done documentary series on NXIVM, a sex-cult pyramid scheme whose founder, Keith Raniere, a failed “business mogul” and self-described genius has just had his request for retrial denied.
The parallels to Donnie & the GOP are uncanny.

How does an obviously abusive crook, like a Raniere or a trump, suck people into their alternate reality and make them live it? Why are some people so susceptible to their con artistry? The answer may be that they do not do it alone. They have to have 2/

willing and gifted accomplices, people who echo and reinforce their lies and perfidy, and personalize them to make all the nonsense seem believable, and over time, even reasonable. Donnie has an entire “news” channel and a party to act as his echo chamber. 3/

And part of the reason the accomplices are dangerous is that, left unchecked, they will continue to spread the lies and divisiveness disguised as patriotism, or dedication, or even love, when they inevitably lose their leader.
So what do we do with them? 4/

After Nixon, the Republicans who supported him but recanted at the last minute were allowed to walk away, and we have seen what a cancer some of them (Manafort, Stone & Atwater) became. We cannot allow that to happen this time, or it will set the stage 5/

for future disaster.

Money and greed are the most obvious channels for corruption, so sources of wealth must be tracked and traced and taxed. We must insist on a new, more extensive ethics system to restore trust in government. We must unpack the courts.
We must win./end