In the view of the Republicans who cry foul at these actions, it’s the Democrats’ responsibility not to back Trump or oppose him — it’s to ignore him, as they try mightily to do the same, in hopes that it will cause him to disappear in favor of another stronger potential nominee. That is, Democrats are supposed to participate in their strategy to get DeSantis nominated in 2024 — it’s their duty, even if it entails giving Trump a pass on criminal acts, and even though it will make Democrats less likely to win the 2024 election.

Well, it’s fine to want things. But why on earth would Democrats do that, simply because Republicans want them to? That your party is led by an inept, impulsive, criminally inclined man, who is viewed negatively by most voters, who cares very little about whether your party wins elections or achieves policy goals, and who keeps causing the party to nominate his unappealing weirdo personal friends in otherwise-winnable Senate races, is your problem — one largely of your own making. No self-respecting set of political opponents would respond to this in any other way than by putting the screws to you as hard as is possible.

I just find it galling to watch a set of people who have failed so abjectly, both morally and strategically, as the Republican establishment — very much including the commentators at National Review and elsewhere, whose complete irrelevance in shaping the direction of the party was exposed by Trump’s rise and reign — stand up and demand that their opponents show them mercy and forbearance and assistance in their fight to ensure their party should win elections despite its association with Donald Trump. Who do you people think you are?