The Party's Over

   Watch for signs that the Republican Party in America is falling apart and may soon disappear.
   Already, many GOP officeholders have decided to abandon any bid for re-election, and some incumbents are increasingly saying they oppose many of the actions of their party leader, President Donald Trump. In addition, government officials, including those appointed by Trump, are resigning their positions rather than continue to serve their volatile leader.
   The catch in the problem, however, is the strong loyalty shown by Trump's ever-loyal base of support.
   As he proclaimed during the election campaign, "I could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose any voters."
   This high confidence in the loyalty of his supporters, combined with a deep-seated sense of his own invincibility, combine to reinforce his conviction that he can do what he likes without consequences.
   Complicating the issue is the possibility that he is somehow beholden to the Russian government and to Vladimir Putin, perhaps related to his financial dealings with government owned and controlled Russian banks. There have been solid reports that many Western banks stopped doing business with the Trump Organization after numerous defaults on construction loans. As a result, the company began taking out loans from other banks, allegedly benefitting from Moscow's need to find a way to launder money it acquired in other ways.
   It has been suggested that this is one of the things that Putin is using to keep Trump in his pocket, forcing the American president to bend to the Russian leader's wishes.
   In turn, this would explain why the normally boisterous Trump is overwhelmingly courteous in his comments about Putin, even as he boots his criticism of America's allies in Canada, Britain, France and Germany.
   Details of Trump's financial dealings and allegations of money laundering won't fully be known until the president releases his tax returns, something he has steadfastly refused to do.
   It remains possible, moreover, that investigators led by special counsel Robert Mueller will subpoena Trump's tax returns, thus harvesting the evidence to prove the president's involvement with foreign entities.
   In turn, this could lead to criminal and/or impeachment proceedings, based on the constitutional ban on elected officials benefiting in any way from doing business with foreign companies or governments.
   It's called the emoluments clause in the Constitution.
   In addition, there is the Constitutional ban on "treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors," which is grounds for impeachment.
   Already, numerous publications in America are using the T-word in their headlines about Trump's dealings with Putin.
   Meanwhile, the Mueller probe obtained indictments of a dozen Russian intelligence officers charging them with working to invade the American voting system to help elect Trump.
   The next question is, what American citizens did they work with in attempting to push the election to Trump's advantage?
   Stay tuned.
   While waiting, try reading "The Plot to Seize the White House," by Jules Archer; "The Plot Against America," by Philip Roth; and a new volume titled "The Plot to Destroy America," by Malcolm Vance.
   Not to worry, some may say, because such a thing can't happen here.
   Oh, right, that's another book title: "It Can't Happen Here," by Sinclair Lewis.
   The reality is that it very nearly did, and if Americans are not vigilant, it may just happen.
   Fortunately, the nation still has a vigilant and free press to continue warning of the danger, regardless of anyone's bombastic rantings about "fake news" perpetrated by journalists and news media that are labeled "the enemy of the people."