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Its hard to believe that, given majority control of both chambers of Congress, the presidency and the Supreme Court and all the statewide offices in Montana except two the Republican Party still cant enact its agenda. But the reality is theyre in total chaos characterized by savage in-fighting, crazy decisions, and being so distracted they appear incapable of even maintaining the state and nation, let alone making us great again.

President Trump is rattling the world with his threats of unleashing fire and fury on North Korea a move that would result in the deaths of millions of people throughout the region and radioactive poisoning of the air and water for the rest of the planet.

Apparently our science-challenged president cant comprehend that we all share and breathe the same atmosphere and there is no border wall that will keep radiation released by destroying North Koreas nuclear facilities from American shores and skies. Perhaps, cossetted in one of his towers, he never heard of the radiation that has already traveled to West Coast from Japans Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown. And that was just one reactor. If our unhinged president actually launches his threatened attack on North Korea, it will release so much radiation from destroyed nuclear reactors, bombs and stockpiles, it will dwarf the damage done by Fukushima.

Of course his locked and loaded military threats serve to provide a dramatic diversion from the ongoing Russia investigations of Trump, his family, friends and political appointees. But diversions are merely sideshows to the very real and serious business of running a nation with more than 325 million people, meeting their most pressing needs, and assuring a brighter future for them, their children and grandchildren.

But the Republicans will have their backs against the wall when Congress returns from its August recess, since it will face a daunting series of challenges including raising the debt ceiling and hammering out a budget in about two weeks before the nation risks default. If that wasnt bad enough, the U.S. Postal Service announced late last week it would not be able to come up with $6.9 billion less than four days worth of military spending by October to pay for future retiree health and pension benefits as required by law and may have to disrupt day-to-day mail delivery. But apparently while Trump is busy whacking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell about the head and shoulders and suggesting he retire, issues like delivering the mail take a back seat to the ever more heated rhetoric pouring out of the White House these days.

Closer to home, Montana has its own unhinged Republican in Secretary of State Corey Stapleton, who continues to insist theres massive voter fraud here. Meanwhile, hes also claiming theres some threatening connection between states that have legalized recreational marijuana and mail-in ballots, saying in February: If you look at the three states that have done it, you can see that populism and direct democracy at its best, all three states, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado, they do all mail-in ballots and theyre all-marijuana-all-the-time states too. Is that what you want? Because thats what youre going to get. Really? And here we thought we were just mailing in our votes.

If this is the best Republicans can do, theyre going to have a very tough time come mid-term elections next year. Reckless threats, fantasy voter fraud and a complete lack of achievement isnt governance its incompetence, plain and simple, and to their peril a majority of Americans now recognize it for exactly that.

George Ochenski's column appears each Monday on the Missoulian's Opinion page. He can be reached by email at oped@missoulian.com.

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Republican chaos escalates - The Missoulian