Swamp fever has taken a toll on a number of DC-dwelling conservative pundits and driven them mad.  They seem to be competing with each other to see who can bark at the moon loudest. There’s Jennifer Rubin, who has excoriated Trump for taking positions that she previously advocated.  There’s George Will, who wished for a 50 state sweep for corrupt Hillary Clinton. But making a strong move to capture leadership of this cohort is Bill Kristol, who still fancies himself a kingmaker, despite the ignominious defeat of his second-choice Trump challenger Evan McMullin after first choice David French bowed out.

Paging Dr. Freud: Kristol's chosen picture for his Twitter account looks like someone shooting himself in the head with his finger-gun

Recall that Kristol’s deep-think strategy was to have McMullin win the votes of (presumably straight-laced) Utah voters who shared McMullin’s Mormon faith, and thereby deny the "short-fingered vulgarian" Trump the electoral votes of the Beehive State, which Kristol theorized might swing the election to Hillary.

Undeterred by playing the fool in 2016, Kristol is, in the memorable words of Lieutenant General Honore, “stuck on stupid” and looking for a new patsy candidate to mobilize the inevitable defeat of Trump in the GOP nomination contest. Like cargo cultists building a model of a runway in New Guinea for the airplanes air dropping supplies, Kristol thinks he can create a ‘war machine’ that will prevail over a sitting president with 90% approval from Republicans.

Joe Concha of The Hill manages to report this announced effort without even using the expressing ”LOL.”

Conservative commentator and outspoken "Never Trump" critic Bill Kristol says he is building a "war machine" within the Republican party to challenge President Trump's 2020 reelection campaign, according to CNBC.

Kristol told the network that he's preparing "for a primary run against Trump," adding that Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) is on his shortlist of possible candidates.

Kasich was unsuccessful in his 2016 bid for the Republican presidential nomination, only managing to beat Trump in his home state.

Kristol also said Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and outgoing Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) are also being considered.

“We are thinking of and doing preliminary work to prepare for a primary run against Trump,” Kristol told CNBC on Thursday. “People aren’t going to say they will run against Trump unless they have the infrastructure, but I’ve been trying to persuade people that it may not be that difficult.”

Flake has already bowed-out of seeking re-election in Arizona because he knows he would lose. Sasse does not deny that he has been in touch with Kristol. He’s not up for re-election to the Senate until 2022, and might be tempted. Stay tuned. He would not be the first to sacrifice his political future on the ravings of Kristol.

  Correction: John Kasich was was re-elected governor in 2014 by a margin of 64-33%.