I hope we look back on last Tuesday as the day the 2016 election finally ended. The Democrats had been embroiled in a wrenching internal debate on whether to pursue "economic populism" or more of the same. But now that President Donald Trump has sacked James Comey, the man principally responsible for investigating his campaign's connections to Russia, the Democrats need not be as vexed as they once were. The way forward is hard but clear.

In firing the now-former head of the FBI, Trump is doing enormous harm not only to civil institutions but to the public trust's in the federal government's ability to do what's right and needed. At the same time, however, the president has revived forces that have long lay dormant. It's unclear whether the Republicans recognize the gathering storm threatening to consume them if they don't change course soon.

In this, I am speaking only about elections. As I have argued, Trump is unlikely to face impeachment as long as the Republicans control Congress. But even if the Democrats seize control of Congress in 2018 – and so far, that seems unlikely – impeachment proceedings must satisfy a high constitutional standard. It's one thing to indict the president with a majority of the House. It's another to remove him from office with more than two-thirds of the Senate.

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Even if the Democrats were to meet that constitutional standard, impeachment comes with a titanic risk. Politics is like physics. Every action has an equal and opposition reaction. The Democrats must think hard before removing a democratically elected president, even one who lost the popular vote, even one who received aid from Russia. In this we should let history be our guide. Historian Rick Perlstein argued in "The Invisible Bridge" that Richard Nixon's disgrace lay the groundwork for Ronald Reagan's ultimate ascent. In other words, reactionary politics tends to beget reactionary politics.

Apart from that, the Democrats should make the Republicans pay handsomely for standing by a president who flouts the rule of law and dares us to cry foul. Indeed, they appear ready to do that.

Over the weekend, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told CNN that the Republicans, in remaining almost totally silent on Comey's firing, are choosing party over country. He said: "Foreign manipulation of our elections, no matter who did it, is a very, very serious issue. It damages people's faith in our government."

Rep. Maxine Waters, a popular anti-Trump die-hard, went much farther, telling MSNBC: "Patriotism means you are going to defend this democracy, that you're not going to allow this president to wrap his arms around Putin and the Kremlin and be in collusion with them, because you love this country more."

The Republicans are not known for being receptive to the views of black women and liberal New York Jews. But this view – that the president is operating outside the contours that define the United States, and that the Republican Party, in standing by a president who is operating outside the contours that define the United States, is forfeiting its claim to patriotism – is becoming a consensus.

Max Boot, a former Republican who opposed Barack Obama's policies, wrote in The New York Times that he cares about tax cuts and spending like any conservative. "But I care even more about the rule of law, the only thing that prevents our country from going the way of Venezuela, Russia or Zimbabwe." He concluded: "Are there even three principled Republicans left who will put their devotion to the Republic above their fealty to the Republican Party?"

You might say the Republican Party will be fine, because most Republican voters stand by Trump. Polls suggest that is the case. That might change, however, given Trump's insistence on replacing the Affordable Care Act with an inferior product. Republican voters support a Republican president on reflex, but that support is going to be tested now that the GOP's plan to replace and replace Obamacare eliminates the previous prohibition against pre-existing conditions.

That is enraging voters.

In a video that went viral Sunday, a father of two with pre-existing conditions and husband to a women recovering from cancer raged against New Jersey Rep. Tom MacArthur, saying he was "the single greatest threat to my family in the entire world. You are the reason I stay up at night." If Comey's firing does not persuade voters that the Republicans put party above country, the Republicans' health care bill might. Their silence on Comey and their indifference to health care are giving people who'd normally oppose each other good reason to unite against them. That's the gathering storm.

We have a long way to go, but if we arrive at a moment when the Democrats have the power to impeach the president, that doesn't mean they should. More vital is restoring public trust in the government's ability to do what's right and what's needed. If impeachment serves that purpose, then so be it. If not, I hope the Democrats choose to secure our elections, impose more sanctions on Russia, bring health care to all, restore faith in civil life and force the Republicans to rediscover the reasons they are Republicans.