Syndicated columnist Thomas Friedman has a column in the Op-Ed section of today’s (5/17/2017) Houston Chronicle titled, “Trump must be stopped; nothing else matters.” In the article he expresses his opinion that the President is not only dangerously psychotic but also guilty of malfeasance and treason.
I am not writing this to add support to Mr. Trump, he’s a big boy and can protect himself. My quarrel is with the mindset that the destruction at all costs of this president is all that matters to a large segment of our population and, it would seem, the entirety of the mainstream media.
This mania to overthrow the government of the United States of America, in the guise of saving it from the clutches of a madman, presents the single greatest threat to our national security that exists in the world today.
It is unconscionable that so many people within our government are willing to subvert our constitution in order to thwart someone who threatens their status quo. Never in the history of this nation have so many abandoned the process which has seen us through for over two hundred years in order to topple one individual.
Whether Donald Trump survives this onslaught is of little importance to me, I question whether our system of democracy can survive once the precedent of taking action just short of anarchy to gain one’s political goals has been set. Given a successful outcome in ousting this man will we ever be able to return to a peaceful political process or will the not so loyal opposition have a new method of dissent at its disposal going into the future, one that transcends the rule of law and the bounds of decency?
I’m not asking support for Trump, I am asking that we demand a return to the system that has been our bedrock throughout our nation’s history. If the aims and goals of those protesting this administration are good and proper then pursue them using the checks and balances to be found in our constitution.
Please, for the sake of our collective future, stop the madness.
rixlibris 
I knew this post would be interesting, and was not disappointed. Ironically enough, for some time now I have flippantly felt that it might come down to “The only way to improve our government would be anarchy, in which case we would/could start over.” My oddly prescient statement came out of my experience in working under government contracts, many of which are so bloated with extraneous unrelated, inefficient and ineffective requirements, most imposed solely from somebody or other’s political promises, as to be nearly incomprehensible and often unworkable.
In the end, though, now that I am retired and have had the time to learn more about the history of our government, it might be that out of the current near anarchy will rise a better reformed government. I can make this statement in light of the fact that I just attended a “protest” of an appearance by Paul Ryan at a nearly clandestine fundraiser in Knoxville, TN. The words I’d wanted to shout were “Ryan Go Home” since, other than filling his coffers with $ from (conservative i.e. regressive vs progressive) local business interests I could not understand why he was here, so far from his own district, where he should have been, serving the interests of his own electorate. An interesting fact about this visit is that it was sponsored by our governor, Bill Haslam, who, if my colleagues there are correct, is currently the wealthiest politician in the country. Could it be that he is in cahoots with the Koch Brothers, Ryan’s main and best known benefactors?
The protestors at this rally, which in fact was organized by a former (Democratic) State Rep, an educator who’d been ousted in the tea party tidal wave, by and large appeared to be law abiding citizens. One of the other chants was a call and respond: “What does democracy look like This is what democracy looks like! So I feel I can positively respond to one of your closing comments by confirming that “the aims and goals of those protesting this administration are good and proper ” and they will “then pursue them using the checks and balances to be found in our constitution.”
Thank you. I truly appreciate your insightful comments.
My first ever presidential vote was cast for JFK, absentee from my duty post in Bitburg, Germany. In those days I was a true believer, if my government said it I took it as gospel. Over the years that belief system has become nearly reversed.
Today I tend to ascribe to those words attributed to Watergate’s Deep Throat, “follow the money.” One has a difficult time resisting becoming a cynic when the movement to dump a sitting president is supported by four or the five living ex presidents, split evenly across party lines. If people with such opposing ideologies can unite against a single individual then you have to think that he threatens something other than their political views.
In my opinion Mr. Trump presents a threat to the system of crony capitalism that has made so many elected and appointed officials fabulously wealthy while they “served the people.”
I have no idea what actually motivates a Donald Trump but I am convinced that he is perceived to be dangerous to the establishment status quo and that folks will do far more to protect their power base and cash flow than they would to salvage a political ideology.