Perhaps the single most shocking incident of conservative Trump Derangement Syndrome happened a few days ago.  Bill Kristol, the Trump-hating founding editor of The Weekly Standard (who recently stepped down to less demanding duties), tweeted this:

Obviously strongly prefer normal democratic and constitutional politics. But if it comes to it, prefer the deep state to the Trump state.

 –  Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 14, 2017

This is a shockingly irresponsible thing to say.  I believe I was among the first to point out (well before Kristol's tweet) that the Deep State acted illegally to oust a critic of CIA fiascos, taking us down the road to banana state status, with a secret police controlling our politics.  To aver that Trump's presidency is worse than a police state is deranged.

So over the top is this position that Kristol's own son-in-law (married to his daughter Anne Elizabeth Kristol), Matthew Continetti, penned a powerful response (although discreetly never mentioning Kristol's name).  It is, in fact, the read of the day.

From the Free Beacon:

[O]ver the last few weeks America has been in the throes of an unprecedented revolt. Not of the people against the government – that happened last year – but of the government against the people. What this says about the state of American democracy, and what it portends for the future, is incredibly disturbing.

There is, of course, the case of Michael Flynn. He made a lot of enemies inside the government during his career, suffice it to say. And when he exposed himself as vulnerable those enemies pounced. But consider the means: anonymous and possibly illegal leaks of private conversations. Yes, the conversation in question was with a foreign national. And no one doubts we spy on ambassadors. But we aren't supposed to spy on Americans without probable cause. And we most certainly are not supposed to disclose the results of our spying in the pages of the Washington Post because it suits a partisan or personal agenda.

Here was a case of current and former national security officials using their position, their sources, and their methods to crush a political enemy. And no one but supporters of the president seems to be disturbed. Why? Because we are meant to believe that the mysterious, elusive, nefarious, and to date unproven connection between Donald Trump and the Kremlin is more important than the norms of intelligence and the decisions of the voters.

But why should we believe that? And who elected these officials to make this judgment for us? (snip)

The last few weeks have confirmed that there are two systems of government in the United States. The first is the system of government outlined in the U.S. Constitution – its checks, its balances, its dispersion of power, its protection of individual rights. Donald Trump was elected to serve four years as the chief executive of this system. Whether you like it or not.

The second system is comprised of those elements not expressly addressed by the Founders. This is the permanent government, the so-called administrative state of bureaucracies, agencies, quasi-public organizations, and regulatory bodies and commissions, of rule-writers and the byzantine network of administrative law courts. This is the government of unelected judges with lifetime appointments who, far from comprising the "least dangerous branch," now presume to think they know more about America's national security interests than the man elected as commander in chief.

For some time, especially during Democratic presidencies, the second system of government was able to live with the first one. But that time has ended. The two systems are now in competition. And the contest is all the more vicious and frightening because more than offices are at stake. This fight is not about policy. It is about wealth, status, the privileges of an exclusive class.

Read the whole thing.

It was said that the Civil War divided families and saw brother fighting brother.  Apparently, we are on a similar path today.