Can you feel it? This “Trump thing with Trump and Russia” is accelerating. And for good reason: While the vast majority of big conspiracies turn out to be bullshit, Trump-Russia is — upon all evidence — very, very real. There are no black helicopters, no grassy knolls, but everywhere you look, every stone unturned leads back to the Kremlin. Connections abound — and the circle of those connections gets ever wider.
The Quickening means that the pattern of “this is nothing” but “look at this fake thing Hillary didn’t do” is not distracting enough.
The Quickening means that Robert Mueller is closing in, finding more facts, connecting the connections, storing the evidence, and leaning on those all too human — who don’t want to take the fall for the whole thing.
The Quickening means that information about these connections — and the investigation — will continue to find its way into the public square, because conspiracies like this are so rarely real, and so terrible, fans of the general polity feel the need to get them out there.
The Quickening means that supporters of the Orange One, the Trumpites at Fox and the loony right in the House of Representatives change from the distraction tactic to tactics meant to neuter the special prosecutor.
Finally, the Quickening leads to the big moment: All is revealed, the prosecutions are handed down and the long road to trial and impeachment is traveled. Or Robert Mueller gets fired (or potentially legislatively neutered) and we have a massive constitution crisis.
My bet is on the former. Trump and his ilk are short-term planners. For them it’s all about surviving to the next crisis. But the rest of the Republicans think more about long-term, and they want to win in 2018 (and beyond).
How long? My guess is months versus years. But one thing is for sure — we win back control of the House and even the Senate in 2018, and there is no road but the one where the criminals pay their penalties. And that’s what should happen.