He’s crazy. Meaning Putin. And, actually yes, that is a new development. Sure, he’s always been Pure Evil. But there has heretofore been method to his madness, and he has done a KGB professional job of “disguising his coverage.”

I told you all about this last week. Putin is going through a Mortality Crisis. (Similar to the one LBJ went through, if you’ve been watching that documentary.)

“I don’t have unlimited time. I’d better get busy.”

Putin has always been obsessed with getting the USSR Band back together. He patiently waited for the opportunity. And we, meaning the United States, contributed to creating that opportunity.

What do you think this bizarre bromance between Putin and his Mango Useful Idiot has always been about?

Divide and conquer. Meddle in our elections. Poison our social media and political discourse. Pit Americans against Americans. Openly promote American racial tension and class warfare.  And all he had to do was pretend to nibble on Trump’s earlobe.

Uh, yes, let me get out in front of the Cultists. I am aware that LeGrande L’Orange is no longer president. But I am also aware of how we got here.

Trump abandoned and attempted to fragment NATO. Typical of his presidency, he routinely betrayed our allies and gave comfort to our enemies. We used to call that the “T-word.”

Turns out NATO was more resilient than Putin thought, despite Trump’s best efforts to undermine the alliance.

Putin miscalculated in that respect. But as a practical matter, it doesn’t matter. He thought the damage Trump had done to NATO would survive Trump’s presidency. So he felt emboldened to finally do the thing he’s has always been obsessed with doing.

So, Putin has now crossed the line into True Crazy. His off-the-rails speech a few nights ago was a prequel to the world’s largest invasion and territory grab since WWII. And Vlad may be just warming up.

The United States has faced Crazy before. And our lifetime batting average v. Crazy is pretty good. Mainly because we weren’t  crazy. We were the antidote for crazy.

But here’s the change in the calculus. For the first time, we’re Crazy, too. Or at least half our country is.

Think about it. Within the past 48 hours, a former American president has called Putin a “genius,” a “peacekeeper, and “savvy.” He has described Putin’s actions as “wonderful.”

Gee, I’m old enough to remember when the GOP seemed not to like Russian authoritarians, and seemed to take objection to their actions and aspirations.

But that was then and this is now.

Now, we have gaslighters like Tucker Carlson asking “What’s the big deal?” and telling us that events like brazen and brutal invasions of a sovereign country, Cultists here at home attempting to overthrow the government of the United States, trying to simply overturn the results of an election, and stealing and destroying classified documents are just “speedbumps.”

And the Cultists, aka “Mikey,” eat it up.

Mikey will eat anything.

This is worse than simply turning a blind eye to evil. I’m hearing GOP SUPPORT for that evil. This is the United States? Yes, it is. And that’s the real crisis. While we have always before been able to defeat Crazy, we are now contributors to the Crazy.

“What’s the difference between supporting Russia and supporting Ukraine?”

What?

“Who cares? What does this have to do with us? How does this affect us?

You’re about to find out, if you haven’t already.

“Useful Idiots.”