Chicken Coup

Tapper: "One doesn't have to be brilliant to attempt a coup."

Bolton: "I disagree with that. As somebody who has helped plan coups d'etat -- not here, but, you know, other places -- it takes a lot of work. And that's not what he did. It was just stumbling around from one idea to another. "

That was CNN's Jake Tapper talking last week with former National Security Administration chief John Bolton reflecting on Tuesday's testimony at the January 6th Committee Hearings. It is a bit of a mic-drop moment, potentially, for Mister Bolton. It is also the precise moment that every American who witnessed this moment should have felt a sharp pain in their temples. 

Break it down: The former National Security Administration advisor was not under oath for anything, and he just tossed out that he had experience planning coups d'etat. Not just one, but plural. He was criticizing his former boss for not being more efficient in his efforts to overturn democracy. Back that up again: Is this a brag on Bolton's part, or macho fabrication? Is he suggesting that if only the former game show host and twice impeached "president had solicited advice from this master of the coup d'etat that the results would have been much different? 

Shouldn't this guy be in jail? 

Then again, this is the question that rings throughout this entire process. Video and audio recordings of laws being broken, witnesses lining up to corroborate the circumstances, and hundreds of foot soldiers and window breakers have been arrested and sentenced, but the big fish continue to swim free. Because, like Quint and Hooper and Chief Brody, they're after that really big fish. Meanwhile, that really big fish is contemplating announcing his run for the presidency in 2024. 

How can this be? Isn't there a system in place somewhere that can just hold these people accountable for their actions and we can all move along with the messy business of putting the republic back together? Are we really going to give these idjits another shot at a coup d'tetat? 

Sleep tight, America.