The Democrats are on the precipice of nominating an avowed socialist as their presidential candidate this year. The rest of their candidates are also socialists, but not openly so. Has the country eroded to the point where the Republic could actually be lost? Could Americans be foolish enough to throw away the greatest and most successful political experiment in human history in 2020? Let us explore that possibility in detail.

Founding Father Ben Franklin was asked at the close of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, “Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?” To which he replied, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” He well knew that the Constitution was expressly written to bind the hands of those in government in order to keep the potential for tyranny out of the hands of a few and carefully controlled by an informed citizenry. He and the other Founders also well understood Lord Acton’s famous remark, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” They witnessed the consequences directly in English King George III’s tyranny. To prevent the rise of a tyrannical government, the Founders created the Constitution whose primary underlying principle is “separation of powers.” The Constitution contains numerous checks and balances among the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary branches of the federal government because the Founders understood the dangers of concentrating too much power in any single branch, especially in the head of state.

The Left in America have been focused on undermining the Constitution almost from the beginning of the Republic because they believe in the power of the government to right all perceived wrongs and deliver the goods, the services, and the equality that they think they deserve by virtue of simply being born. Their actions have become even more pronounced since the Communist Manifesto was written by Marx and Engels in 1848. The class struggle they have promoted has warped into the modern “soft socialism” of today, with its primary instrument of implementation being federal government everywhere. Just look at the Left’s current attacks on the First and Second Amendments in recent years. They are the first two amendments because of their critical importance in preserving the Republic. Without free speech, there can be no criticism of the federal government and tyranny. Without the right to bear arms, there can be no free speech and no defense against a tyrannical government. It is just that simple.

I would argue that American citizenry began ceding power and authority to a new political class beginning in the late 19th century. As the federal government grew in size and complexity, particularly after the so-called “progressive reforms” of the early 20th century and the passage of “progressive amendments” – especially the 16th which implemented the federal income tax – citizens began to leave the running of the country’s affairs to a “professional political class.” And that class over time has become essentially a permanent fixture in Washington, DC, as described in the book, “American Oligarchy: The Permanent Political Class.”

Most Americans concentrate on living their lives as best they can, raising their children, advancing their careers, and pursuing private interests in God’s greatest country on earth – just as the Founders envisioned through expansive personal and economic freedom unlike anything the world had previously seen. Except for the permanent political class, including elected officials, the bureaucracy, activists, media, and others, the rest of us have essentially ignored Franklin’s warning over 230 years ago. We have let them virtually bankrupt the country (over $24 trillion in national debt and growing) while enriching themselves, their families, and their donor-supporters.

We have been fighting foreign wars (the foreign entanglements warned against by the Founders) virtually non-stop for decades. And for what purpose other than to enrich the well-connected members of the political class who profit from these overseas ventures? What are the mission success and exit criteria for any of these wars? The political class obfuscates these criteria purposely to prolong these “small wars” for self-serving reasons.

Thanks to patriot President Donald J. Trump, we have been finding out about the depths of corruption in the political class – also known as The Deep State. Just think about what we have learned since November 2016. Let us review some of the grifting, bribery, perjury, sedition, political corruption, and treachery of our political class. Here is some of it:

Hillary Clinton’s email server investigation was a complete cover-up. Justice was obstructed through unauthorized destruction of evidence by Clinton and illegal exoneration by FBI Director Comey.

The FBI/DoJ spiked the NYPD’s investigation of Weiner’s laptop which contained highly incriminating emails on Hillary Clinton and others.

Obama’s Attorney General met with Bill Clinton in that infamous tarmac meeting before Comey exonerated Hillary – a clear conflict of interest and likely obstruction of justice. What was the quid pro quo? A US Supreme Court seat for Loretta Lynch?

The Clinton Foundation was used as a front for pay-for-play purposes (money laundering and corruption) while Hillary was a serving Secretary of State. For example, the Clinton Foundation received millions from Russia during the Uranium One travesty; how much of that money greased the hands of CFIUS members who voted to approve the deal. Note that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is an interagency committee authorized to review certain transactions involving foreign investment in the United States (“covered transactions”), in order to determine the effect of such transactions on the national security of the United States. How is giving Russia control of some percent of US uranium in the national interest? Besides, that uranium probably made its way to Iran, too.

The Clinton campaign violated FEC laws by laundering money through state Democrat Party organizations.

House Democrats permitted the Awan brothers (Pakistani nationals) to run the House IT servers, compromising who knows what information over many months. Those servers were accessed from Pakistan!

While claiming that their servers were “hacked by Russians” (as conveniently determined by Crowdstrike, founded by Russian expat Dmitri Alperovich), the Democrat National Committee refused to allow FBI forensics experts to examine those the “hacked” servers. Cover-up?

The Obama regime implemented illegal surveillance and unmasking of US citizens, including journalists and elected representatives opposed to Obama policies.

In the waning days of the Obama regime, Obama approved the transfer of Russian uranium to Iran as part of the JCPOA kabuki. Bribery and corruption were almost certainly involved in JCPOA, as that cash sent by Obama was likely disbursed to EU diplomats and others to seal the deal. Who got a cut in the US? Likely someone in the Obama State Department for starters.

A fake “Russian dossier” used by the FBI and DoJ to concoct a false rationale for FISA surveillance in order to spy on the Trump campaign (“Spygate”), and the DoJ IG detailed that FISA abuse in an official report. The FISA court has admitted that at least two of the FISA warrant applications on Carter Page were fraudulent.

Obama’s CIA director Brennan convened a “small group” in the Intelligence Community (IC) with off-books foreign intelligence agency participation to coordinate getting the dossier into the mainstream as the basis for having a special counsel appointed.

The Deep State – through corrupt senior FBI and DoJ officials – orchestrated the appointment of Special Counsel Mueller and his team of fanatical Democrat lawyers under false pretenses.

And the capstone, a seditious conspiracy among the IC and DoJ/FBI small groups, the Obama White House and State Department, and complicit media was directed against a sitting US president. A criminal investigation into the origins of the Crossfire Hurricane counterintelligence investigation is underway.

This is the tip of the iceberg. Would we have ever found out about these Deep State shenanigans with Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office? That is laughable. The stage is being set for massive indictments and prosecutions of the aforementioned perps by the Trump Administration.

I have been on the fence for some time about whether anyone in the upper echelons of DoJ/FBI and indeed Hillary and Obama themselves would ever face legal jeopardy for their crimes. President Trump’s actions since the Mueller report exonerated him on Russia collusion and Attorney General Barr determined the President did not commit obstruction of justice, as well as his public statements since then, have convinced me that harsh accountability is coming for these people. US Attorney John Durham’s ongoing criminal investigation into the predicate for the Crossfire Hurricane counter-intelligence investigation into the Trump campaign appears to be the real deal, too. And then there are the recent actions by the President in cleaning out the National Security Council of Obama holdovers and the appointment of Ambassador Ric Grenell as the acting Director of National Intelligence to start doing the same on the DNI staff and in the intelligence community. All good signs!

Now recall Franklin’s admonition. We live in a constitutional Republic, at least for the time being. Prosecutions on the scale that I am suggesting cannot occur in America without significant public support. Accountability for these people requires educating the public on the crimes committed and preparing them for the prosecutions to come. This is the phase of the “Deep State take-down” in which we have been involved for the past three years. It is akin to the military phrase of “battlespace preparation” prior to the start of hostilities – in this case, the indictments and prosecutions to come. President Trump is a political master at moving public opinion in his direction, and that is exactly what he has been doing since he declared for the presidency in 2015. The Democrat base will probably never be convinced of the crimes of the Obama-era DoJ and FBI, but the rest of the country has learned the truth from independent journalists and the official reports of inspectors general.

This is where we the people come in if we want to help him save the Republic and restore equal justice for all under the law throughout the land – as I believe is his intention. Complacency at this juncture must be replaced by activism by Make America Great Again patriots, particularly in this most important election in the last 100 years. That includes putting maximum pressure on our elected representatives by demanding that harsh justice be served to all of the perps, and that the evidence be followed wherever it leads, including to the highest levels of the political class, including to Hillary and Obama.

That also means communicating continuously with Democrats in Congress, too, as they need to feel public pressure as well. And then persuade your friends, relatives, colleagues, and strangers to do the same. And tweet, blog, email, and write letters to the editors of all media demanding truthful reporting and correcting their errors and propaganda.

Either we do these things, or we will have failed Franklin and the rest of the Founders, not to mention our children and grandchildren. For it is only possible for an informed and moral people to preserve the Republic, just as Franklin said 233 years ago. Are we up to the task?

The end.

Stu Cvrk served 30 years in the US Navy in a variety of active and reserve capacities, with considerable operational experience in the Middle East and the Western Pacific. An oceanographer and systems analyst through education and experience, Stu is a graduate of the US Naval Academy where he received a classical liberal education which serves as the key foundation for his political commentary. He threads daily on Twitter on a wide range of political, military, foreign policy, government, economics, and world affairs topics. Read more by Stu Cvrk