Oh, you didn’t seriously think disgraced former (?*) state senator Sam Douglass would learn something from his mistakes? Nah, that’s not how today’s crop of neo-Nazis roll.

*Douglass announced Friday afternoon that he would resign on Monday. But VTDigger has reported** that as of 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, no resignation letter had been received. And as of 12:00 noon Wednesday, Douglass is still listed as a senator on the Legislature’s website.

** Digger also brings us the darkly humorous aspect of this sad affair: Douglass apparently remains chair of the Orleans County Republicans, which means he is in charge of the first steps in the process of filling his vacant (???*) seat in the Senate.

Indeed, Douglass has doubled down on the notion that he is the real victim here, a popular idea in far-right circles. He has taken to GiveSendGo, the Evangelical crowdfunding alternative to GoFundMe, to beg for money from the gullible. And maybe he’ll cash in; he’s counting on the old H.L. Mencken axiom, which is usually a safe bet. But it’s sad that he hasn’t learned a damn thing from the self-induced implosion of his political career.

The above image is taken from Douglass’ GiveSendGo webpage, where he seeks to raise at least $30,000 to “Support the Douglass Family.” Nice use of their newborn baby as a prop. As of noon Wednesday, donations totaled $1,626, so he and the gullible have some work to do.

And if you thought his Friday newsdump statement was an ick-inducing exercise in self-pity, well, just wait till you get a load of his GiveSendGo pitch. Just reading it is enough to make you fill a bathtub with Purell and dive in for a frenzied scrub.

Here, take a look. Or avert your eyes and bounce down to the next paragraph.

…my wife and I were targeted by a coordinated media and political barrage that purposefully took my words out of context and colluded to remove me from all my positions, fire us both from our jobs, and slander our reputations. My family is collateral damage in a much larger story, and it’s proven that guilt by association is very much alive in this country.

Oh, where do I even start? “Coordinated media,” meaning that POLITICO, VTDigger, Seven Days, Vermont Public, Yours Truly et al. got together and planned this thing? Why? To take out a rookie senator who barely made a splash in his first year at the Statehouse?

“Political barrage” coming from the entire Vermont political landscape from the Progressives to the Democrats to the Republicans, up to and including the very Trumpy VTGOP Executive Committee, which undercut party chair Paul Dame in order to call for Douglass’ resignation? Yeah, they’re well-known for effective collusion. You should see the secret meetings — oops, I wasn’t supposed to tell. Where’s my Go Bag?

One thing worth focusing on: Have Douglass and his antisemitic wife Brianna been fired from their non-political jobs? I don’t know. If true, it’s a huge blow to their family. That’s sad, but maybe their employers didn’t want to be tied to people comfortable with deeply offensive chat threads. Actions have consequences. Life comes at you fast.

Douglass then diagnoses the real cause of his plight: “The establishment… doesn’t like it when young people get elected themselves and start challenging the status quo.”

Oh, is that what he was doing? Funny, I don’t recall our corridors of power trembling upon Sam Douglass’ arrival under the Golden Dome. Did he stride manfully into the Statehouse, pull out his shootin’ iron, and tell “the establishment” to “Make my day”?

God. Self-aggrandizement on top of self-pity. Quite the combo platter.

There’s more, much, much more, but you get the point. I’ll skip to the end:

Here’s where we stand now: our reputations are destroyed, our dreams shattered, our own mental health damaged, the Vermont Republican movement in tatters, and our physical safety in jeopardy – all over political and media dogpiling and backstabbing that never needed to happen. …The only things we have left are our faith, our family, and you, and we need your help.

Uhhh, Sam? The Vermont Republican movement is decidedly not “in tatters.” It might have been if it had tolerated your Nazi-adjacency. But instead, it quickly engaged in a bit of political surgery, excising a tumor named Sam Douglass before he could spread his toxicity further. “The Vermont Republican movement” is just fine, more’s the pity.

Also, I’d like to know if Douglass has filed a complaint with the authorities, complete with proof of the threats he has described. If he and his wife are being threatened, that’s the first thing he ought to do. But considering that he’s prioritized launching a fundraiser over submitting his promised resignation, maybe the thought of a police report hasn’t occurred to him yet.

I didn’t expect to be writing about this guy again, and at some point it becomes an exercise in punching down — even from my perch far away from the seats of power. But the Douglass GoFundMe campaign illustrates some very dangerous traits of today’s conservative movement: Its incapacity for self-reflection or consideration of other worldviews, and its seemingly endless capacity for self-pity.