Ronald Reagan tried to sell weapons to Islamic terrorists in Iran to raise money to conduct a war in Nicaragua against a legally elected government in direct violation of a direct order from Congress not to do so.

American Presidents have always felt they had a right to do treasonable acts if it meant fighting Communism. Of course, the Russians aren’t Communist now, but…what the hell. Business is business, right?

My guess is that Trump was gradually caught up in an elaborate Russian blackmail scheme that eventually entangled him in a money laundering quid pro quo–financial favors for Russian oligarchs in return for silence from them on the extent of his collusion. It didn’t seem like treason at first, it was just “business”, but once the Russian spymasters got a firm grip on him they simply upped the ante and escalated to diplomatic and military policy. Trump probably never saw it as espionage and treason, he probably has even convinced himself that it still hasn’t gone to that level. After all, he is a simple man and one who has demonstrated he is capable of talking himself into anything. But his followers do not have that excuse.

What I find really astonishing about this is not the nature or severity of the crime, people have been betraying their countries for money for centuries. The real eye-opener here is that so many Trump partisans, who ostensibly had nothing to do with it, are so desperate to sweep it all under the rug so they can get their tax cuts and to hamstring all regulation on business that threaten to interrupt their accumulation of profit. These criminals are perfectly ready to fabricate trumped up charges of sedition and espionage against their political opponents, and to exploit patriotic sentiment by accusing their ideological rivals of betrayal and disloyalty. But when its money out of their pocket they’ll sell out their country to its foreign enemies in a heartbeat. And they have no shortage of noble free market justifications for their entrepreneurial crimes.

I submit that this is not just the result of criminal activity by evil men. This goes much deeper. This is what is inevitable when men feel their right to promote their own prosperity trumps their obligation to their nation. These men embrace an ideology that leads to contempt for country, disguised as a suspicion of government. It is a philosophy that recognizes no community of equals except that of their own bitter rivals. This is the very definition of “sociopath”.

I don’t blame Trump. He’s a silly, stupid, greedy little man who is in way over his head. I blame those who insist on supporting him, knowing full well what a total pathetic failure he is, because they feel they might have something to lose.