America Becomes a Stan - Paul Krugman

"Everything we know suggests that we’re entering an era of epic corruption and contempt for the rule of law, with no restraint whatsoever. How could this happen in a nation that has long prided itself as a role model for democracies everywhere? But this debacle didn’t come out of nowhere. We’ve been on the road to stan-ism for a long time: an increasingly radical G.O.P., willing to do anything to gain and hold power, has been undermining our political culture for decades.  In a direct sense, Mr. Trump’s elevation was made possible by the F.B.I.’s blatant intervention in the election, Russian subversion, and the supine news media that obligingly played up fake scandals while burying real ones on the back pages. The only question now is whether the rot has gone so deep that nothing can stop America’s transformation into Trumpistan."