• This is the mission of The Babylon Bee, the conservative “fake news” publication I’ve been gradually running into the ground since 2018. We mock anyone and anything that deserves it—not just because it’s funny, but because it’s imperative. Bad ideas taken seriously can have catastrophic consequences.

• What comes next for the Republican Party after President Trump is gone?
• But Trump won’t live forever, and a much-fantasized-about third term is blessedly unlikely.
• Unfortunately, as conservatives position themselves for the post-Trump future, there are indications that what is coming is likely to be much worse: more conspiratorial, hostile to institutions, and beholden to a pinched and angry nationalism. If anything, Trump has been a moderating force against these tendencies. After him, the deluge.
• Consider that last month, the surgeon general of Florida, Dr. Joseph Lapado, and allied legislators announced a sweeping plan to eliminate all childhood vaccine mandates. Lapado declared that even long-established requirements for diseases like chickenpox, hepatitis B, and the like “drip with disdain and slavery.” Within days, the proposal began to collapse under political pressure, especially after Trump himself criticized the idea. This forced Sunshine State health authorities to backtrack, converting the plan into a more limited rollback of a few optional immunizations, while leaving core school-entry vaccines intact for now.
• The idea of Trump as a moderating force within the GOP might seem absurd at first glance.
• holding back some of the worst impulses and brainstorms pushed by figures who have now gained control over American conservatism.  

4 more annotations...