The Republican Party is no longer republican or a party. Discuss.

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a faction of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Republicans are [playing a dangerous game indulging Trump](. - State and local [relief should be automatic](. - Janet Yellen could [help 9 million expats](. - Disney has a [plan for world domination](. Republicans Seem Unsure About ‘Republic’ Thing When President Donald Trump first lost the election, he was reported to be in disbelief, and Republicans said they’d give him a couple of weeks to work through his feelings and file whatever lawsuits he needed to file in order to accept reality. More than a month later, Trump’s legal effort has racked up one (1) win, 53 losses, one visit to Four Seasons Total Landscaping, one melting Rudy Giuliani and several coronavirus cases. Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden keeps being certified and re-certified as the winner. But rather than accept this reality, Trump keeps calling for somebody, anybody, to #OVERTURN the election. And rather than abandon him, Republicans keep pushing his impossible conspiracy theories. Seventeen attorneys general and 126 congresspeople back a frivolous [lawsuit]( by Texas’s attorney general asking the Supreme Court to play deus ex machina for Trump. But what they seek would mean [the end of small-r republicanism in America](, warns Robert George. Even asking for it goes far beyond normal political-party behavior and into the wild territory of what James Madison called dangerous factionism. There are still enough honest Republicans on the Supreme Court and elsewhere to keep Trump’s anti-democratic fever dream from becoming a reality. But it’s already spreading through the land, a destructive force whose full toll we have yet to learn. Good Stimulus Ideas Meanwhile, that other pandemic, the Covid-19 one, is also still raging, leading to fresh shutdowns of businesses, soon to include [indoor dining]( in New York. The economy will need fresh relief, but talks appear to have [stalled]( in Congress. One big sticking point has long been a Democratic request for aid to state and local governments. Unlike Uncle Sam, these governments must keep balanced budgets and so often end up enacting brutal austerity measures in the middle of recessions. This is self-defeating for the whole country, writes Jonathan Bernstein. [Congress should make relief to these governments automatic]( whenever there’s a recession. If some relief must be sacrificed to get a deal done, Karl Smith suggests it be [the $1,200 stimulus checks that were so popular]( and helpful in March. They’re not as necessary right now, Karl argues, while enhanced unemployment benefits for the people who can’t work due to shutdowns still are. Yellin’ for Yellen If you’re thinking about fleeing the U.S. for some place a little less Covid-ridden and fractious — oh, say, [New Zealand]( — then you should know you may face a taxation nightmare. Though expats are excused from paying taxes in two countries, [they do have to jump through various annoying bureaucratic hoops]( with the IRS in order to avoid legal trouble, writes Andreas Kluth. With simple changes to pointless tax rules, Biden’s incoming Treasury secretary, who will probably be Janet Yellen, could make lives easier for some 9 million expatriate Americans. Disney’s Secret Weapon Walt Disney Co. buried the internet in new-content announcements last night, thrilling a nation just about to spend another three to six months watching TV in lockdown. Apparently every space whatzit and costumed crimefighter in the Star Wars and Marvel cinematic universes will get their own Disney+ show or movie between now and the Rapture. This may seem like overkill, but then you can only watch “[Mr. Boogedy](” so many times. While normies were distracted by the shiny objects, experts such as Tara Lachapelle noticed a big signal Disney sent by featuring the India-based Star network prominently in its presentation. [Star will be Disney’s launching pad for world domination](, Tara writes, helping the already fast-growing Disney+ in its quest to overtake Netflix. Telltale Charts Just because stocks are massively overpriced and due for terrible returns [doesn’t mean they can’t still outdo bonds](, which are also massively overpriced and offer little reward and big risks, writes John Authers. The pandemic has hastened the transition to e-commerce, but it has also shown that [well-deployed brick and mortar can still help retailers, too](, writes Sarah Halzack. Further Reading Lloyd Austin’s military service [shouldn’t disqualify him as defense secretary](, but we need to know more about how he’d do the job. — Bloomberg’s editorial board Industries are wrestling with [whether their workers are essential enough]( for first crack at vaccines. — Brooke Sutherland [Vaccine regulators not working together]( raises public mistrust in vaccines. — Lionel Laurent Trump’s [Israel-Morocco deal creates yet another mess]( for Biden. — Bobby Ghosh [Ferrari’s next CEO will have his work]( cut out for him. — Chris Bryant After suffering decades of unfair practices, [Black farmers could finally catch a break]( soon. — Adam Minter ICYMI Trump [threatened to fire the FDA chief]( if he didn’t quickly approve the Pfizer vaccine. Maybe everything [we’ve learned about economics is wrong](. How a homeless [high school dropout became CEO]( of a $1 billion company. Kickers Some [AIs could hallucinate without sleep](, just like humans do. Some [corals can survive relentless heat](. Who [Americans spend their time with](, by age. Welcome to the [Museum of Bad Album Covers](. Note: Please send bad album covers and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Twitter]( and [Facebook](.  Like Bloomberg Opinion Today? [Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access and get much, much more](. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](.  You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. 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