Three years ago, several hundred MAGA conservatives followed a man wearing a buffalo skull on his head into the Capitol.

Oh, I know there’s more to it – and we’ll get to that – but that will do for shorthand.  Jacob Chansley, AKA QAnon Shaman. Yellowstone Wolf, etc., a professional activist of somewhat eclectic convictions and eccentric sartorial tastes, led the MAGA election fraud protestors up the steps and into the Capitol on Jan. 6, and they went straight in, without any hesitation or sign of second thoughts. Yes, there were others, but the Shaman pretty much became the avatar of the whole affair. The majority of those people, who did no harm and committed no felonies, have, in one of the most vindictive actions in recent political history, spent the last few years in prison under rough conditions, some of them in solitary, some denied counsel, most either overcharged or mischarged, and many of them still awaiting trial. That is wrong, and I am not suggesting that it isn’t wrong, or that it should not be corrected. But at the same time, it’s awfully difficult to generate any passion over people who act this stupid.

Conservatives like to accuse others of being sheep. But many of them say it while baaing.

The Jan. 6 “insurrection” was clearly a setup -- Nancy Pelosi refusing to bring in the National Guard, the doors opened by welcoming Capitol staffers and Capitol Police, unidentified masked figures racing around shouting “Let’s take the place!” This kind of thing doesn’t happen by itself. It is made to happen. The D.C. elites were desperate for their own personal Reichstag fire.  When none was forthcoming, they lit it themselves.

It's not likely that Chansley was actually in on any of this. But he is part of the problem, along with  QAnon, the Oath Keepers, and the attempt by the Wicked Papist Guy Fawkes and company to Seize upon and commit a Mischief upon the Person of the Ladye Governour of the state of Michigan – just in time to pull Whitmer’s fading poll numbers out of their nosedive.

One of the major failings of conservatism, and populist conservatism in particular, is something that could be termed “malignant naivete.” It’s a tendency toward hero worship, toward faddism, toward leaping onto the next flashy bandwagon without looking first. We see it all the time, with political campaigns, with books, with radio, and particularly with personalities.

What we also see is large-scale disappointment.  Ross Perot turns out to be as crazy as a rat in a sack. Ann Coulter the golden girl turns into Ann Coulter the NeverTrumper. The rebel Nikki Haley turns out to be a closet elitist. Ron DeSantis has a staff packed with WEF alumni.

Too many populist conservatives (the old movement conservatives are no more pertinent here than they are regarding anything else) are simply too gullible, too eager for easy solutions, and too content to settle for a handful of magic beans. It is a serious failing, one of several, but as bad as some of the others are, this one could turn out to be fatal.

The Left knows this, and has learned how to take advantage of it. That’s what we saw on January 6. We will see it again this year. Leftists on all levels from your local supervisor of elections to the upper reaches of the WEF have learned how to manipulate the conservative yearning for quick and easy answers and turn to it to their benefit. It has worked superbly. Jan. 6 alone has caused serious problems for Trump and the MAGA movement that continue to this very day. Of course they’ll try it again.

Current anti-Trump campaigns are in a state of collapse. The Republican bullpen is irrelevant. Efforts by the media to destroy the Orange Godzilla have generated backlash after backlash. NeverTrumpers don’t even create an echo at this point. The lawfare campaign against Trump is circling the drain.  The New York fraud “trial” is deep into mistrial territory, with Judge Arthur Engoron channeling his inner Vyshinsky in his eagerness to muzzle and insult Donald Trump. Jack “Manson Lamps” Smith’s end-run involving the Supreme Court crashed and burned in a classic case of the conniver outconniving himself. Both the Colorado Supreme Court and Maine’s secretary of State have scuttled back into their holes after a brief turn enacting Macbeth’s Act 5 soliloquy.  

They have once again been exposed to the truth that one does not underestimate Donald Trump. But will the lesson be learned? There’s no reason to believe so, considering the number of Hillarys, Muellers, Cheneys, and Kinzingers littering the landscape like crashed zeppelins. So what’s a smart left-wing elitist to do?

There exist a number of alternatives, which we will cover at various dates to come. But for now, we want to concentrate on the Jan. 6 template.

Sometime this year, we will see another “insurrection,” kidnapping, or conspiracy. Even now, some fine agent of the elites may be sitting across from a few sincere but deluded MAGA hat wearers saying, “This is straight from the Big Man, I tell ya… It can’t fail… Don’t worry, he’ll protect ya…”

Many in our corner don’t appear to have learned anything at all from these disasters.  So here are the lessons:

If it Sounds too Good, it is too Good. If somebody approaches you with what amounts to wish fulfillment daydreams of overcoming the wokies with one sharp blow, turn around and run. Nothing is ever that simple, however much we might want it to be. Don’t be conned.

Learn About False-Flag Operations. There's nothing at all new about any of this. The Soviets pulled off this kind of thing repeatedly, and with great success, going back to the 1920s. The CIA, FBI, MI6, Mossad, and numerous domestic law-enforcement outfits have done the same. Familiarize yourself with this history, to help you recognize the methods and techniques. 

They Do Know more than You Do. The left-wing rank and file come across as complete halfwits, dull-witted, uneducated, and badly informed, largely because they are all these things. But the hierarchs are something else altogether: capable, intelligent, experienced, and utterly ruthless. Don’t think “goofy teen with blue hair and nose ring” or “college kid convinced he’s female.” Think Carville, Axelrod, Jarrett, or Rice, and proceed accordingly.

A Crime is a Crime. If someone suggests committing a crime for “the good of the cause,” it’s time to leap out that fifth-story window. No legitimate political operative would suggest this. Nothing conceivably useful would be accomplished, and you will get caught. Dinesh D’Souza can tell you all about this.

Don’t be a Media Puppet. There is nothing that media lefties enjoy more than destroying an unwary grassroots conservative on the air. This can range from trick questions in on-the-spot interviews up to reportage on the exact type of scam event that we’re discussing here. Ask yourself: has a single legacy media source reported honestly concerning Jan. 6? Don’t let them make a fool of you.

Don’t Assume that Nothing is Being Done. We constantly hear complaints of this type. We seldom hear people admitting when they were wrong. These are assumptions, and we all know what’s wrong with assumptions. Ask yourself, why would Trump, his people, or the MAGA movement itself go out of their way to inform the Left about their countermeasures? There are movements in the deep dark night, and they will be revealed in due time.

The Authorities are Not on Your Side. Don’t think for a minute that the cops – whether local, state, or whatever – will be in your corner and will understand your point of view.  Nearly half the ”conspirators” who set out to "kidnap" the Witch of Lansing were undercover FBI operatives. In a sane world, that case would have been dismissed immediately on grounds of entrapment, but we don’t live in one of those.  There will be no cavalry riding to the rescue.

Redirect Your Energies. There are plenty of legit methods of assisting the cause, from demonstrating to rallying to working on elections themselves to keeping a close watch on lefty activities to canvassing. Concentrate on those.

Whatever the temptation, don’t get involved in any can’t-miss save-the-country schemes. Nothing will be accomplished, and the price will be more than you will ever be willing to pay. If you already are involved, God forbid, put as much distance as you can between yourself and the perps, whoever they may be. It might be worth blowing the whole thing wide open to media, if you can see your way to it, though that can be tricky. I can’t advise you on the legal aspects, but you certainly might want to look into representation if you want to protect yourself.

Things are looking very good for Donald Trump and the movement he created. Don’t allow yourself to be used by his enemies.  

Image: TapTheForwardAssist