The Damage

We know the following:

- Trump is very credibly accused of campaign finance crimes.
- Trump is very credibly accused of conspiring to cover up those campaign finance crimes.
- Trump is very credibly accused of conspiring to work with a foreign power to influence elections.
- Trump is very credibly accused of conspiring to cover up those crimes.

We also know the following:

- The Republicans will do absolutely nothing about it.

Back in the 1840s and 1850s, Northern abolitionists made the argument that slavery was a moral abomination.  It wasn't simply that slavery was incompatible with American ideals or disadvantaged white labor, it was that slave holding was a sin and slaveholders sinners.  In response, the slaveholding South made arguments that slavery was actually a morally positive institution, because slavery elevated the slaves. Take a moment to think about what you have to convince yourself of, if you want to prove that slavery was good for the slave.

That's where the modern GOP is. Trump will be credibly accused of a multitude of crimes, as will the people around him and his family.  The GOP - in order to defend the indefensible - will twist itself into knots to justify Trump's behavior.

The damage to our politics will last longer than Trump's hold on the Oval Office.