EEE,

No one expresses the side of pessimism better than you do. I admit I am hit by waves of it once in a while.

Biden must get the federal election bill passed before the next election.  It's going to be messy anyway, but Democrats need to know they can vote and that that vote will be counted in the end.

As I infer, I really can't blame Trump for his behavior, it's programmed.  Bit the other Republicans disgust me.

They are so far from "country first", they should all be impeached.  What a collection of mealy mouthed, copy cats to Trump, not realizing that his lies are his protective coat of ego-saving armor, nothing more, no basis, whatsoever, in fact. A hundred  years ago, if we heard someone ranting so detached from reality as these Republican sickophants are doing every day of the year, they would have been committed to the booby hatch.

Jan 6 is a prime example as you point out.  The man who described it as a typical tourist event would have been carried away in a strait-jacket.

Your comments about Covid are right on.  Governors like DeSantis and the asshole from Texas embarrass the United States to the rest of the world.  Idiots in idiot's clothing are committing murder just as sure as the most heinous serial killer.

In the end, my optimism remains based on those institutions Trump tried to destroy, such as the FBI and Justice Department. The people manning them are loyal to Democracy, and will act accordingly. The military, although containing many loyal to Trump, will obey their Democracy loving commanders, notwithstanding a few renegades.

They may try to incite a civil war, but it would be bloody and short lived.

It is a discussion worth having.  And be continued.