November 5, 2019 --

Retired Navy admiral William H. McRaven organized and "oversaw" the 2011 raid that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and apparently worked with CIA Director John Brennan on the raid.  When the Trump administration revoked the former CIA director's security clearance, Admiral McRaven sent an open letter to President Trump to The Washington Post that was published August 16, 2018, praising Mr. Brennan.  He then wrote that "I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance, as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency."   The admiral sharply criticized the president:  "Through your actions, you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation."   He continued, "If you think for a moment that your McCarthy-era tactics will suppress the voices of criticism, you are sadly mistaken."

More recently, Admiral McRaven wrote an op-ed for The New York Times, October 17, 2019, "Our Republic Is Under Attack From the President."   This article cited  the comment to the admiral from a retired four star general: "'I don't like the Democrats, but Trump is destroying the Republic.'"   

The op-ed ended with the suggestion that "The fate of our Republic depends upon" a new president in the White House, "the sooner, the better."

If the past two years, ten months, have taught us any political lesson, it certainly is that under President Trump, vigorous, even over-the-top, dissent flourishes.

Indeed, as a September 5, 2018 op-ed indicated, members of the federal bureaucracy feel free not only to speak out against the president (if, at times,  anonymously) but "are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations." The title of this anonymous op-ed is:  "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration."   

Hints of McCarthyism have been cropping up only from the left side of the political spectrum and those are conservatives in the leftist cross-hairs.

What next: a call to remove President Trump not because he is authoritarian, but because the resistance shows him to be too weak?