"People have got to know whether their President is a crook"

I know a Trump supporter who used Nixon's favorite phrase, "the silent majority," to describe those who put #45 in office. I wonder if she knew how prescient she was.

The Trump Presidency is not even a month old, and I'm already exhausted. Everyone knows about the ugly spectacle of our Commander in Chief picking fights with federal judges over his immigration ban. As an animal lover, I'm disgusted that Trump's USDA has removed public access to information about puppy mills and research labs. As the HSUS says, “This action benefits no one, except facilities who have harmed animals and don’t want anyone to know.”

But worst of all is Michael Flynn. You remember Flynn. He participated in the appalling, "Lock her up!" chant at the Convention this summer. Well, since as National Security Advisor, he may have lied to the FBI, guess who could be looking at prosecution.

It's not Flynn himself who bothers me. Yes, he has a hair-trigger temper and had indulged in some dubious behavior that should have tipped someone (anyone!) off that he might not have been the best choice for the position. But it's what he may reveal about the Trump Administration and Russia that is most disturbing.

Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and Donald Trump have all benefited "bigly" from investing in Russia. As Donald Trump, Jr., said at a real estate conference, “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.”

Russians hacked the DNC and leaked their findings, much to Trump's advantage. As pissed as I am at Bernie Bros for naively taking the bait, I'm even angrier that every American isn't horrified by Russia meddling in our elections.

It's not hard to imagine Trump's campaign being privy to the election tampering in real time. After all, the POTUS who decries leaks today was once the candidate who entertained rallies with, "I love Wikileaks!" and called for the Russians to find Hillary's missing emails.

Nor is it impossible to believe that Trump keeps praising Putin because he's afraid of Russian blackmail, that he doesn't want his loans and other financial dealings revealed.

This brings us back to Nixon. I deserve to see Trump's tax returns because I have a right to know whether my President is a crook.



I fear that Trump's Presidency will end as Nixon's did. And what a painful era that was. Since I don't believe for a moment that Trump has Nixon's loftier, laudable patriotic impulses and consequently will never step down, I'm afraid we're on the verge of a long, very ugly nightmare.

No wonder my stomach hurts!