As I watched the impeachment hearings, I kept thinking that there must be some Republicans left in Congress who understand the threat the Trump administration poses to American democracy, but alas, all those who spoke just repeated lies from the conservative echo chamber, accusing Democrats of everything Trump does daily.

Freelance journalist Edgar Allen Beem lives in Brunswick. The Universal Notebook is his personal, weekly look at the world around him.

Jeb Bush got trashed. John McCain is dead. Now Republicans either kiss the president’s butt or they are gone. Lindsay Graham understood during the 2016 campaign that Trump was a “kook,” “crazy,” “unfit for office” and a “jackass,” but these days he’s down on his hands and knees licking Trump’s boots.

As a lifelong, unapologetic progressive, I expect to disagree on politics and policies with conservatives, but I did not expect them to all become racists, xenophobes and nutcakes who believe in all sorts of nonsense like the Deep State and Trump being the Chosen One.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz released his report that finds the FBI had ample justification for launching its investigation into Russian meddling with U.S. elections, but Attorney General William Barr, who lied to the American people about the Mueller Report, disagreed with the straight-shooting Horowitz.

Barr told the Federalist Society that progressives’ “holy mission is to use the coercive power of the State to remake man and society in their own image, according to an abstract ideal of perfection … Conservatives, on the other hand, do not seek an earthly paradise. We are interested in preserving over the long run the proper balance of freedom and order necessary for healthy development of natural civil society and individual human flourishing.”

All Barr was saying is the political truth that progressives work to improve society and conservatives work to preserve the status quo. Barr’s subsequent suggestion that conservatives have scruples is belied when Republicans look at a transcript in which Trump clearly demands the investigation of a political rival by a foreign government in exchange for the release of military aid, a quid pro quo.

Trump flunky Mick Mulvaney admitted to and told us we should just get over it, and see nothing at all wrong with that.

The reason so many Trump supporters will forgive all the president’s sins is that many of them actually believe the big bully is the Chosen One, ordained by God to lead the United States back to greatness. A recent poll found that 42% of Republicans said there was nothing Trump could do to lose their support. For those whose primary news source is Fox News, the percentage of blind allegiance jumped to 55%.

Anyone who believes Trump is the Chosen One is certifiable. And if, as Energy Secretary Rick Perry, one such evangelical empty head, has said, God selected Trump to lead this country, then these divine right right-wingers might also want to consider that God also selected Barack Obama.

Maine was once a Republican state. My parents and all four of my grandparents were Republicans. And the Republicans Maine sent to Washington – Margaret Chase Smith, Bill Cohen, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins – had reputations for being reasoned and moderate. Now Susan Collins has lost that standing by virtue of towing the Trump line 77% of the time. Collins could have staked her claim to greatness by voting for women and against accused molester Brett Kavanaugh, but she caved.

Now Sen. Collins would be wise to join the parade of Republicans leaving the party or deciding not to run for re-election. I believe what we are witnessing in this Republican exodus is the death of the GOP.

R.I.P., GOP.