Last week in the U.S. House, a priest attempted to drive evil spirits back to where they came from. The Republicans are still there. The Democrats are all out running for president. Make of that what you will.

Hey, I love God as much as the next hypocrite, but I’m uncertain of Her political affiliation. Jesus was a Socialist, but with God, who knows, and there are two things you don’t discuss with God — politics and religion. Three, actually. I forgot Fight Club.

You’d think if God were politically engaged, Rep. Kevin McCarthy would’ve been struck down when he claimed Trump’s invectives about Rep. Ilhan Omar weren’t intended to ‘inspire’ frothing deplorables. Trump, the most misunderstood man in America, was apparently focused on Omar’s policies. Some of them, I assume, are good policies.

If you’re a low information voter, Omar, an North Dakota State University graduate, is a Somali-born, duly-elected representative from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Trump’s a suspected Moscovian plant from the Land of 10,000 Lies. He’s claimed, with no evidence, that Omar praised al-Qaeda. Meanwhile, his fan-boy praise of Putin, his campaign’s 100 documented Russian contacts, related lies, repeated cover-up attempts, and multiple convictions, add up to no collusion. It’s the New Math in the Betsy DeVos Era. The New Patriotism in the Post-Reagan GOP.

McCarthy insisted that even though Trump preened like Mussolini during the “Send Her Back!” chant, he was actually disheartened by such intolerance. Then McCarthy’s nose grew an inch, so maybe God was weighing in after all — or at least Walt Disney.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, who’s sworn to support and defend Trump, for better or worse, in sickness and health, and now, in bigotry and division, explained the bilious tweets that kicked off White Nationalism Week to Joel Heitkamp: “He’s not a literalist.” Translation: “He lies a lot.” Furthermore, Cramer was unfazed by Trump’s self-styled Nuremburg Rally. “So what?” he said. Exactly. It’s not like they’re rounding up non-Aryans or having tank parades.

Rep. Kelly Armstrong, who married an immigrant, did rebuke Trump’s tweets, but folded like soggy cardboard when it came to actually condemning Trump’s xenophobic slurs in a House vote. That’s what passes for Profiles in Courage in North Dakota these days. And the last time anyone saw Sen. John Hoeven, it was on a milk carton. Isn’t it time for an Amber Alert?

It’s a slippery slope for apologists, assuring white supremacists that Trump’s still one of them, while telling marginally-decent obtuse people that he doesn’t hate brown people — just folks who hate America. So basically, brown people. And libtards.

Well, racist is as racist does, and that includes doing nothing. If Republican invertebrates ever rebuked Trump’s racism en masse, things would change. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. The second step is loving your country more than your elitist job. The third step is figuring out what ‘en masse’ means.

Despite the apparent ineffectiveness of the House prayer, I’d support one in the Senate just to see if Mitch McConnell melts like a Nazi in an Indiana Jones movie. I’d like to see an exorcism in the White House, too, but there’s only one sure-fire way to drive evil spirits out of Washington. It’s called an election.