A trophy of ashes

At a pivotal moment in the film "The Bounty",  when the mutineers under Fletcher Christian (Mel Gibson) are about to put Captain William Bligh (Anthony Hopkins) and the crew loyal to him into the ship's boat and set them adrift in the Pacific, Bligh asks his former second in command if he thinks he can command the mutineers, "this rabble". Bligh reminds Christian he failed, and Bligh had the law behind him. 

What on Earth do Donald Trump and his enablers think they can accomplish? Assume for a moment they do disrupt the democratic process in the United States, what then? Do they, does anyone seriously think Donald Trump can seize power; do they believe they can seize power illegally and then exercise it? 

The "stop the steal" chanters may believe President-Elect Biden, four state governments (some Republican), and fifty federal justices, including a generous proportion of Trump appointees, somehow "stole" the election. Do they not grasp the simple corollary: if the disorder of this day succeeded, by some arcane political legerdemain, in installing Donald Trump as president for another four years, Americans who voted against Trump would perceive their votes as having been stolen. Unlike Donald Trump's fans, cheated Democrats would have the backing of the law, the courts, and the United States federal legislature. I don't know of anyone with the political skills to govern effectively in those circumstances; on the evidence so far, it looks pretty clear the task far exceeds the abilities Donald Trump brings to the table.

If Mr. Trump and his cronies, enablers and supporters somehow "win", they will achieve nothing but division, conflict, paralysis at best and very widespread violent conflict at worst. They can achieve no victory except a trophy of ashes.