I'm old enough to remember that even the appearance of looking too cozy with the Russians was enough to end a person's career. Helen Gahagan Douglas found that out when Richard Nixon hung the "Pink Lady" moniker on her and beat her for his first election victory. Dozens of Hollywood writers and actors were blacklisted for years, unable to work or (in the case of writers) working under a pseudonym for far less than they had been. Even decades-old associations could be used to discredit a person.
The driving force behind this malevolence found a comfortable home in the Republican party. Even Republicans had to watch their step, lest they be perceived as fellow travelers with the Communists who threatened America's very existence.
Today? The Republicans have nominated a man who is in deep financial debt to Russian interests, civil and criminal. Donald Trump steadfastly refuses to release any financial information or his tax returns, probably the only position he has held consistently throughout the campaign. He is the beneficiary of an unprecedented meddling in American politics by the Russian president, who is also the former head of the KGB. Public expressions of concern from Republicans have ranged from sotto voce to mute.
Weird.
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