Founded in 1854 by remnants of the now defunct Whig and Free Soil Parties, the Republican Party, headed by Abraham Lincoln, carried a divided America through the Civil War. Preserving and giving birth a Union free of slavery. Since then, the Grand Old Party (the GOP) has fortified itself along with the Democrats as one of the most powerful and influential political organizations in the United States.

A champion of state rights, minimal taxation, and militarily aggressive foreign policy, The Republicans having taken pride in being staunch advocates for Conservative Policies at home and abroad on both a social and economic level.

Yet, when one fast forwards the clock from the mid-19nth century to the current day, and examines the individuals that comprise its membership, this begs the question of whether there is a clear line drawn in the sand to distinguish what qualifies as conservatism, and what views must be denounced as reactionary.

With the rise of the Tea Party and movements that identify with the alt-right, the GOP has witnessed a decline of its delegates that otherwise define themselves as moderate, or textbook conservative, in favour of candidates who harbour a more populist, and sectarian approach to politics.

As a result, rather than being able to adapt and move forward with the changing times, the Republican has become increasingly intolerant. Now dominated by a radical right wing ideology that has been hostile towards women, the LGBT community, and visible minorities, the GOP -- the party that abolished slavery -- has transformed into an organization that insinuates the very bigotry it once sought to eradicate. And if bigoted is too strong of a word, then it has certainly become insular on a level that is concerning.

In the United States Senate, here are five members who cast the darkest of shadows on the murky road the Republican Party has elected to go down:

5. Ted Cruz

Elected to the Senate in 2012 to replace the retiring Kay Bailey Hutchison, Ted Cruz is despised around America as he is amongst his colleagues on the Hill sitting on both sides of the aisle. A constitutional and devoted religious conservative, the Calgary born Texan has dedicated much of his career in America's struggle against radical Islam in the Middle East.

However, rather than focus his efforts abroad, Cruz veered his stance against ISIS towards American Muslims. In light of the bombing in Brussels, the Senator from Texas immediately called for the bolstering of police surveillance in Muslim Neighborhoods across the United States. This, along with his willingness to scapegoat the Orlando shootings on Allah worshipers, has proved to be a vital catalyst for the widespread Islamaphobia that continues to burgeon in the Trump era of American Politics.

4. David Perdue

Assuming in January of 2015 when the Republicans seized control of the Senate, like Ted Cruz, David Perdue was elected to replace the retiring Senator from Georgia Saxby Chambliss. A staunch ally of borderline Paleoconservatives Tom Cotton and Jeff Sessions, thus far in his tenure, Perdue is perhaps best known for delivering a speech to Faith and Freedom Coalition, where he called upon the audience to pray for Barack Obama's "days to be short". He is currently deemed to be one of Donald Trump's closest allies in the Senate.

3. Tom Cotton

The youngest sitting member of the Senate, there is no other individual that has justified growing concerns for the ethical, intellectual and ideological well-being of the GOP than the junior Senator from Arkansas. Assuming office in 2015 after defeating incumbent Mark Pryor, Tom Cotton is most infamous for penning a letter signed by 47 of his GOP Senatorial colleagues to Iran, stating that the nuclear deal was unlikely to last because the nest president would likely reverse it.

Deemed by lawmakers as a blatant attempt to undermine the White House, Cotton was condemned by then Secretary of State John Kerry and President Barack Obama, which many others calling for the Senator from Arkansas to be tried under the pre tense of violating the Logan Act.

However, the more disturbing attributes to Tom Cotton's approach to politics lie in his views concerning Guantanamo Bay. Unlike a majority of his colleagues in the Senate advocating for its closer, Cotton believes that the prison should remain open, believing there are too many empty beds.

As a former soldier who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, one has to wonder what type of shell shock Cotton endured that lead him to take such a foreign policy stance that is as shocking as it is psychopathic.

2. Jeff Sessions

Although he is no longer in the Senate, Jeff Sessions's tenure in the Upper House on Capitol Hill is what made him into the controversial figure he currently is. Named after two prominent Confederate Generals, Jeff Sessions is living proof that things have yet to change in the South since the Civil War.

Slavery and Jim Crow may be no more, but that doesn't mean policies advocating for the disenfranchisement of the African Community and minorities doesn't exist, and Sessions is one of the men you can thank for that.

Throughout his time in Washington, the former Senator from Alabama has established himself as a staunch opponent of illegal and legal immigration. While a case can be made for Sessions's claim that a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigration undermines the rule of law, there is little plausibility in his argument that lawful naturalization of foreign aliens depresses wages and erodes employment rates. Since being elected to office in 1997, Sessions has opposed every bill concerning immigration reform, including the most recent Border, Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 introduced by the 'Gang of 8' -- a bipartisan team of Senators lead by Chuck Schumer and Marco Rubio.

However, what is more puzzling than Sessions' position on immigration is his tainted past with race relations. When he was the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, he prosecuted three African American Community Organizers for Voter Fraud. And while Sessions' office successfully indicted two members of the KKK for the murder Michael Donald, Sessions himself did not prosecute the case.

Furthermore, now as the United States Attorney General, the Selma native is currently seeking to crack down on opioid users by reviving and constructing laws reminiscent of Nixon's 'War on Drugs'. While America may indeed have its issues with drug abuse, the immediate concern that arises with such a comparison is that the African American community will once again be targeted to be criminalized and incarcerated.

1. Mitch McConnell

Elected to the Senate in 1985, Mitch McConnell, a career statesman, has established himself as one of the most cunning and skilled tacticians of political intrigue on Capitol Hill. However, this hasn't come without making many enemies. The Senator from Kentucky currently boasts the lowest approval home-state approval ratings out of all his sitting colleagues.

Although he initially started off as a moderate, McConnell's views have gravitated very far to the right over the years, opposing the Paycheck Fairness Act -- a bill seeking to address the vast pay gap between men and women. But unlike his GOP colleagues, its not his views that are disturbing, but rather his willing complacency towards the circulation of such rhetoric throughout his party.

A man dedicated to self preservation like most politicians solely committed to maintain their grip on what influence they have, he allowed hearings for Donald Trump's cabinet nominees to commence before the Office of Government Ethics could finish processing their ethics forms.

This rush job approach lead to the confirmations of the controversial Betsy DeVos as the Secretary of Education -- a staunch opponent of Public Schools who condones the disenfranchisement of the LGBT community in every educational circle -- and Scott Pruitt as the Director of the EPA -- a fervent climate change denier who is currently facing an ethics investigation that may potentially result in him getting disbarred.

Furthermore, McConnell also lowered the 60 vote threshold to a simple majority to confirm Neil Gorsuch to fill Antonin Scalia's vacant seat on the Supreme Court -- a judge with a tendency to deliver legal verdicts in favour of corporations along with posing as a detriment to gay rights.

Currently attached to a failing GOP effort that will throw 22 million Americans off their health insurance, it seems the Senate Majority Leader's political workings are finally coming part at the seams. As is his party.