For an hour driving to a luncheon in Cary then driving back to my office I listened to the impeachment debate in the House on the radio; one Congressman after another spoke and their voices all sounded the same: Angry and scared. Republicans stood up railing against Pelosi and, with equal heat, Democrats branded Trump a ruthless scumbag.

Every night CNN and Fox pour gas on the same white-hot fires of anger and fear; you can hear the scorn in the words Schiff snarls at Trump and the tweets Trump hurls at Schiff.

In years past Republicans had no doubt Democrats hell-bent-for-leather were charging in the wrong direction but, at the same time, they also knew there were Democrats, even in Washington, who in their hearts were decent men.

Those days are gone.

When Pelosi stares at Trump a voice whispers ‘Horns and a pitchfork’ while Trump staring at Schiff sees a pencil-necked hobgoblin and the moment each speaks or tweets the fire spreads then, in a heartbeat, the blind thirst for revenge sets in so defeating (not the awkward man or aging woman) but the devil they see standing in front of them is no longer enough; he or she has to be humiliated, torched to a crisp until all that’s left is ashes.