The depth of the damage Trump has done to the Republican Party, conservatism and America continues to become more clear by the day

 This move is an excellent step:

Prosecutors in Georgia have launched an investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the state's 2020 election results, including a phone call with the state's top elections official in which the former president asked to "find" enough votes to declare he won Georgia.

Driving the news: The Fulton County District Attorney's office on Wednesday sent letters to a number of state officials — including Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was on the other end of the call — asking them to preserve any documents related to Trump's efforts, DA spokesperson Jeff DiSantis confirmed. 

• The letters indicated the office is conducting a criminal investigation.

Details: "This investigation includes, but is not limited to, potential violations of Georgia law prohibiting the solicitation of election fraud, the making of false statements to state and local governmental bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office and any involvement in violence or threats related to the election's administration," the letters read.

• The letters state the DA's office will seek subpoenas when the grand jury next convenes in March. 
• Other recipients of the letters include Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Attorney General Chris Carr.

You have listened to the audio of the call, haven't you? You, and every American citizen needs to. It's tough to get through all 62 minutes, because it becomes clear early on that you're witnessing a spiritual-level breakdown of a man who can't face the reality of being a loser. 

And then carve out another 14 minutes to watch the video montage of Trump's Ellipse speech interspersed with scenes from the Capitol siege that was shown yesterday at the Senate impeachment trial. It likewise will disgust and enrage you. There's absolutely nothing pleasant about it, but it's your duty as an engaged American to sit through it. 

The number of people who don't acknowledge that the entire Stop the Steal effort was based on lies has dwindled to a pathetic remnant of zombie-eyed cult-worshippers. 

Whether Trump knows he's been lying since 2:30 AM on November 4 or not is an interesting question. I think a good case can be made that he has convinced himself of that s--- about having won by a landslide. He's deluded himself about a great many things in his dismal life.

In any case, no one else needs to buy into it. 

It has to be said again that the ruination of the Republican Party began in the summer of 2015. Talk-show carnival barkers like Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity instantly dropped any consideration of any other presidential candidate and went all in with their worship of this charlatan. Those plying that trade a tier or two down, such as Wayne Allyn Root and Bill Mitchell, made undying devotion the core of what their shows existed for. Turning Point USA and American Greatness were established to try to impart the appearance of a coherent intellectual movement. The Schlapps turned CPAC into an exercise in lining up to all but publicly fellate the Very Stable Genius. OANN found its raison d'être. 

What left me aghast and still breaks my heart is the spectacle of some of conservatism's most towering intellects, such as Victor Davis Hanson, Roger Kimball and Bill Bennett signing on to this fast train to the abyss. I suppose we'll have to wait for historians and biographers to bring the perspective of a little passing of time for us to even begin to understand how that happened. 

As the 2016 election grew close, some who had signed on at the level of taking administration positions were faced with a grim choice. 

It meant damage to Mike Pence's marriage:

Karen Pence, wife of Vice President Mike Pence, was reportedly “livid” about that infamous “Access Hollywood” tape that surfaced a month before the 2016 presidential election. 

Reporter Tom LoBianco, who covered Pence for The Associated Press and Indianapolis Star, reveals in his new book “Piety & Power: Mike Pence and the Taking of the White House” that Karen Pence was very unhappy with the recording. The notorious tape featured Donald Trump in 2005 bragging about grabbing women “by the pussy” without their consent.

“Karen ... ‘was livid’ at Trump’s prurient comments in the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape,” The New York Times wrote in a Friday morning article covering LoBianco’s book. “But her husband concluded it was too late to drop off the ticket.”

On election night, LoBianco reports in his book, Karen Pence refused to kiss her husband.

“‘You got what you wanted, Mike,’ she told him. ‘Leave me alone,’” The New York Times reported. 

Larry Kudlow nearly bailed:

After a tape surfaced before the election featuring Trump boasting about grabbing women by the genitals, Kudlow, a devout Catholic, reportedly saidhe was “furious” and threatened to vote for Mike Pence as a write-in candidate.

The argument can be made that they were in too deep by then. It's not a great argument, but these men no doubt weighted their disgust against the historic opportunity to exert conservative influence on the direction of public policy.

What's Ted Cruz's excuse?

He was still standing strong at the 2016 GOP convention, using his time at the podium to tell the crowd to vote its conscience. Nothing less would be expected from a guy whose father had maligned as having been involved in JFK's assassination, and whose wife's looks had been disparaged, by the party's nominee. 

But by election night, his integrity was crumbling.

And now, he's the damn spearhead of the effort on Capitol Hill to perpetuate these lies.

The Senate is all but certain to acquit Donald Trump in this impeachment trial. 

Think your state-level apparatus is the key to pulling out a resuscitation? The signs are not good for that happening:

• In Texas, the state GOP adopted a QAnon slogan and the party chairman is actively talking about secession.
• The chair of the Wyoming GOP is talking about seceding from the Union, too. Also: The state party censured Liz Cheney for voting for the article of impeachment.
• The Arizona state GOP voted to censure Republican governor Doug Ducey, Cindy McCain, and former senator Jeff Flake for general enemy-of-the-people stuff.
• The Nebraska state Republicans are pursuing censure against Ben Sasse for the specific charge of having voted that it was constitutional to conduct an impeachment trial.
• The Hawaiian Republican party is openly sympathetic to QAnon.
• The Oregon Republican party published a resolution claiming that the January 6 Capitol attack was a “false flag” operation designed to hurt Donald Trump.

What chills the bones is that these people are so in thrall to what they've convinced themselves is a matter of principle that they are defiling their party in the eyes of the country:

Americans' opinions of the Republican Party have worsened in recent months, with 37% now saying they have a favorable view of the party, down from 43% in November. This decline, along with a slight increase in the Democratic Party's positive ratings, to 48%, gives the Democrats a rare double-digit advantage in favorability.

The Jan. 21-Feb. 2 poll was conducted in the weeks after the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by people seeking to disrupt the counting of the 2020 presidential election electoral votes. Former president Donald Trump is on trial this week in the U.S. Senate after the House of Representatives filed impeachment charges against him for his actions leading up to those riots. Most Republicans in the House voted against impeaching Trump, and most Republican senators objected to the trial proceeding in a Jan. 26 vote on the constitutionality of convicting a former president of impeachment charges.

Since November, the GOP's image has suffered the most among Republican Party identifiers, from 90% favorable to 78%. Independents' and Democrats' opinions are essentially unchanged.

A Republican Party whose Senators cannot uniformly vote to convict the most unquestionably unfit president in history is too rotted by cowardice and sycophancy to be rescued from its flatlined state. 

There is no more egregious political mistake in our nation's history. 

Repair of the damage will not be quick or easy and a whole lot of people must not be allowed anywhere near the process.