The Party's Over

Life is a series of if-then statements.

   The fun and games of political sniping ended as the Senate began the impeachment trial of the current president of the United States, Donald Trump.
   The larger question, however, is whether this will see the end of his presidency if he is convicted and removed from office, or whether -- if he is cleared by the GOP dominated Senate -- this will mean the end of the Republican Party.
   As early as October 2016, a month before the presidential election, this blog noted the storm warnings that the party was heading for disaster, and spoke of "the kind of political retaliation common to dictatorships around the world, but not found in America."
   The question posed then was whether "a demagogue can somehow take the low road to the White House and then wreak vengeance on his opponents."
   Monday will mark exactly three years since Trump was inaugurated, and Tuesday will see the active beginning of his impeachment trial in the Senate.
   This is an historic time, and the next few weeks will reveal whether the system works, or whether a demagogue can succeed in dominating the government for his own benefit.
   If Trump is convicted and removed from office -- assuming he actually does leave or must be physically forced out -- we will know the system works. But if the Senate fails to convict, despite all the evidence pointing to guilt, we may well face turmoil never before seen in America. And that is likely to mean the end of the Republican Party.
   It can't happen here, you say?
   But it very nearly did, several times, as written about in the actual attempt to oust President Franklin D. Roosevelt, documented by Jules Archer in his book, "The Plot to Seize the White House," published in 1973. And there is the novel "It Can't Happen Here," by Sinclair Lewis, a fictionalized version of the same attempt, as well as "The Plot Against America," by Philip Roth. More recently, there is Madeline Albright's book warning of the danger of "Fascism" encroaching in America.
   All this can be avoided if the Senate, currently dominated by Republicans who support the president, decides to convict him of the charges leveled against him and orders him removed from office.
   If they do not, then we may see the end of the Republican Party.
   Life is a series of if-then statements.