Should he win the Republican nomination, the Clinton machine will pile so much dirt on Donald Trump that it will take an archeologist to find him. Even if there is absolutely nothing dirty in Trump’s past, the Clintons will manipulate the Democrat propaganda arm -- i.e. the media -- to persuade a majority of voters that there is.

This is, after all, the machine that convinced a certain percentage of the American people during the 1992 campaign that George H.W. Bush, not Clinton, was the philandering womanizer. The crew that persuaded Ross Perot that Bush was somehow scheming to disrupt the wedding of Perot’s daughter, just to control the ’92 presidential race. The posse that manipulated an independent prosecutor’s office into a last-minute indictment of Caspar Weinberger that included Bush’s name, the timing of which even Clinton confidante Lanny Davis later called “bizarre” and which many observers believe sewed up the election for Clinton.

The list of Clinton dirty tricks is longer than my arm. Longer even than the arm of one of Mr. Trump’s padded-shoulder suit coats. Dirty political tricks have been around forever, but the Clintons seem to have perfected them. The Clintons are the politics of personal destruction.

Enter Donald Trump.

His slate might be perfectly clean. Maybe all the lawsuits in his past are the result of others being overly litigious. Maybe all the Page Six articles won’t result in what Betsey Wright, of the Clinton camp, termed “bimbo eruptions” over Bill’s use, and abuse, of women. Maybe Trump’s past bankruptcies didn’t produce wounded vendors and former employees eager to seek revenge on a person they feel left them high and dry. Maybe the Trump University lawsuits will amount to nothing.

And maybe Trump’s long career erecting buildings in New York and New Jersey didn’t involve any deals, with unions or others, that could be traced back to the mob, even though the construction industry in those locales has a history of being mobbed up.

Maybe. Maybe.

For the most part, the media has been largely silent about this last, potentially most politically damaging to Trump, possibility. They have a vested interest in keeping Trump in the race. He has boosted their ratings and circulation. Why kill the golden goose?

However, once Trump secures the nomination and debate ratings are no longer at stake, the media will, no doubt, be released by Sid (Vicious) Blumenthal, or Paul Begala, or whoever is in charge of kenneling the Clinton attack dogs these days. Then, eggs or no eggs, the goose gets chewed into foie gras.

Reportage on the potential ties between Trump projects and the mob has been left mainly to conservative outlets, and therefor has not been picked up by the mainstream press. Although a few outlets have given it brief attention, like this from CNN:

“The mob connections of Donald are extraordinarily extensive,’ New York investigative journalist Wayne Barrett told CNN in an interview. (snip) "There was a certain amount of mob association during which the father and he were building, which was very difficult to avoid in the New York construction world," Barrett said, adding, "He went out of his way not to avoid them, but to increase them.”

But the major media players, who can devote manpower and resources to investigative resources, have been mostly silent on the subject. Is there any doubt that will change between now and next fall if Trump is the Republican nominee? Or are they likely to pile on Trump with everything they’ve been holding back, once the choice gets down to him and Hillary?

These are, after all, the same people who painted Mitt Romney as a homophobe for an all-but-forgotten high school hazing incident, and as an animal abuser for unconventional transport of his family’s dog during a long-ago vacation, so that the dog wouldn’t be left at home.

But assuming the news reports are nothing more than rumor and innuendo, it’s still important that Trump be called to account for these matters before people go to the polls in Tuesday’s primaries. That’s why Rubio and Cruz are actually doing Trump, and the voters, a favor by finally, finally bringing up matters that could hurt Trump in a general election.

It’s important that the remaining Republican candidates present voters with the stark contrasts between the carefully-built Trump media image and what was going on in the shadows while he was building that mirage -- along with his towers. Because, if they don’t shine the light on those dark, dark places, the media will certainly do so after he wins the nomination.

It’s almost inexplicable that the other candidates didn’t do so earlier. But now it’s a necessity for both Cruz and Rubio. They had better hope they didn’t start too late.

Trump and his supporters like to talk about his standing in the polls. Indeed, he does lead in most states going into Tuesday’s primaries. But, Trump is losing in the one race that really matters: the November election.

As of this past weekend, Clinton led Trump by 2.8 points in the Real Clear Politics average. And that’s before the Clinton attack machine goes to work on Trump. But Clinton would lose to either Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio, according to the polls.

Hillary has vowed that her administration would be an extension of the Obama regime: an expansion, rather than dismantling, of Obamacare; more punitive regulations of business and their resulting drag on the economy and federal debt; inaction on border security; at least one, and possible three, liberal justice appointed to the Supreme Court….

The republic is strong. But is it that strong?

A vote for Trump in Tuesday’s primaries is a vote for helping Clinton accomplish her goal. So, it comes to this, my friends:

Friends don’t let friends vote Trump.