If the American people wake up one morning and find the President gone and a new regime in power, they will immediately suspect foul play--and they will be right to do so! This suspicion will not be limited to Trump's supporters, even his bitterest opponents will fear a coup. I know I count myself in that camp. The problem with revolutions is that no matter how justified they may be, they almost invariably result in something worse than the evil they are meant to address. Not only that, organizing a conspiracy like this, a genuine coup d'etat, even by TB's demanding lexicography, would be impossible in today's environment. What do you propose, a junta of rogue military officers, police officials and intelligence agents, like in some sordid South American banana republic? Even if it were possible, no one would accept the result.

No, this has to be done open and above-board, strictly by the numbers. It must be by the book, constitutional and bi-partisan, and done in a way that everyone can see what is happening while its happening, and by whom. And there must be a proper paper trail, both an official record and an independent one conducted by academics and the press, so that future historians can revisit the affair and examine it critically.

I say this for perfectly practical reasons, not just out of respect for democratic norms and the rule of law. Anything less will risk, at worst, Civil War, and at best, Trump will be transformed into a martyr and his supporters will forever plague us with conspiracy theories and treachery forever.

We already have a precedent for this: Watergate. I'm aware that the present situation is not the same, and I am also aware of the very real risks you point out of moving deliberately and openly against a man like Trump and his deluded followers. But anything else will be simply unacceptable--and unmanageable.

Whether a constitutional change of power can still happen, considering the shameless brutality, self-serving corruption and cynicism of the Right, and the complacency hand-wringing indecision and cowardice on the Left, is another question altogether.