Oh the places you’ll go when on a quest to stay in office! Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House and second in line to the presidency, who insists the Bible is his “worldview,” showed glimmers of true leadership when proposing aid for Ukraine, saying he “prayed” for guidance before proposing the aid. One hoped he had seen the bi-partisan Light and true need for this legislation. Alas, that brief spark proved to be a chimera, as that “guidance” came from a much more earthly source, Donald Trump, as witnessed by Johnson’s pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago for reassurance and approval from the former president’s shadow government. Johnson, this avowedly religious politician, is now clearly a disciple of Donald Trump, taking his guidance from the gospel of Donald as written in the eponymous Trump Bible (yours for only $59.99!). That Johnson is worshiping at Trump’s altar was further demonstrated by Johnson’s recent appearance in front of the New York city courthouse, site of Trump’s hush money case, calling the legal process a “sham.” Johnson (and Trump toadies) is obsequiously serving as Trump’s mouthpiece to vilify the system, thus getting around Trump’s oft-violated gag orders. This outlandish political theater is actually indicative of something much more dire. Johnson, a 2020 election denier, in his show of fealty to Trump, is systematically assailing the legal process and the rule of law, one Trump court case at a time. The questioning of the law’s legitimacy in this NY trial is but an initial step in questioning the legitimacy of any lawful proceeding that does not go Trump’s way, with the ultimate goal to de-legitimize any election result that does not declare Trump the victor. Johnson is aiding and abetting Trump in his quest to regain the presidency and to impose a “law and order” authoritarian administration - an administration that Trump has already signaled will have little regard for actual law and total focus on revenge on perceived adversaries and promoting only those who follow the Trump order. The places we will go as Johnson and his cronies choose loyalty to Trump over loyalty to our country in all of its splendid diversity are dark indeed. In order to keep his seat in the House and at the Trump table, Johnson is a willing figure in this DaVinci-like tableau, ready to betray democracy, justice, and the US Constitution for thirty pieces of Trump silver.