Written in response to Jennifer Rubin's Washington Post op-ed: "Just How Bad Are Republicans?"

Many have argued that the lowest point of modern day Republicans was the election of Donald Trump, whose inclusion into the Republican Party had more to do with exclusion from the Democratic Party than actual alignment with Republican ideals. However, since Trump's election, Republicans are evidently showing their true colors.

Look at the decisions made by the GOP a la Trump: a health care plan which eliminates every good thing about Obamacare, while exaggerating its negatives. Their plan was to remove millions (yes, millions) from healthcare while continuing to give tax cuts to the super-rich, who are the last people in our current economy who need tax cuts. This was barely supported by the rest of the party (famously, John McCain made several speeches about how inhumane and unethical this plan was), and certainly wasn't supported by the Democrats.

After the massive failure of TrumpCare, the GOP a la Trump continued to make decisions based on what would benefit themselves, rather than the mass percentage of the American population. Their new tax plan is the same as their healthcare plan, but with added tax cuts for corporations. So, to summarize: still fucking over millions of people in the lower and middle class who would actively benefit from tax breaks, and giving the majority of the benefit to Trump himself and his friends.

Even environmentally, this administration is royally screwing up. The head of the EPA is an avid climate change denier, Trump recently lifted the ban on importing hunting trophies (shocker: his sons are all avid big game hunters), and the GOP is trying desperately to revive the coal industry. The coal industry, might I add, is dying because we have realized the massive and awful impact burning coal has on our environment.

What is especially concerning about Trump's GOP is the power and admiration they have for foreign leaders. Calling them leaders is putting it diplomatically, and frankly, I'm sick of being diplomatic. Trump has an obsession with glorified dictators like Vladimir Putin of Russia and the Turkish president who literally stole an election. How is that not a giant red flag about the state of our "Grand Ole Party"?

This is all without even discussing the morons he is putting into his administration, like the federal court appointee who has never tried a case, or the lifetime federal judge nominee in Alabama who did not realize that his wife being one of Trump's lawyers was a conflict of interest. These are all just the most recent "What the fuck" moments from the Trump administration, but it feels as though they are multiplying the longer Trump adjusts to his time in the White House.

Even without Trump's obvious lack of compassion for the people who is he now makes decisions for, this behavior is concerning. It's especially concerning because the Republican party was once based on strict interpretation of laws, whereas they now seem to be based on whatever comes out of Trump's misogynistic, bigoted asshole.

The most telling quote from Rubin's op-ed was:

The Trump GOP does not believe in fiscal responsibility nor in federalism (as evidenced by its attack on localities that don’t do the feds’ bidding on immigration enforcement) nor in legal immigration. It does, however, believe in mass deportation of “dreamers,” who came here illegally as children.

The GOP president believes 3 million to 5 million people voted illegally based on no evidence whatsoever but doesn’t think the Russians meddled in our election despite the unanimous findings of our intelligence services.

The GOP president does not believe the media should be able to write whatever it wants nor that a sheriff found in contempt of court for abusing the rights of suspected illegal immigrants should be convicted and punished.

The GOP-led Congress is content to tolerate Trump's nepotism, massive conflicts of interest and possible receipt of foreign emoluments. It looks the other way as a president monetizes the office, hawking his properties at every opportunity.

I'm not sure what's worse: the idea that the Grand Ole Party has been reduced to a group of racist, misogynist, elitist bigots, or that it has been reduced to a group of spineless jellyfish who blindly follow their leader rather than stand up for the principles upon which their party is based. I cannot claim that I agree with Republicans all the time or even the majority of the time, but before the election of Donald Trump, I could at least understand their point of view.

Now all I see is a group of old white men who are terrified of the "other" taking something from them that we haven't had in awhile. We have been reduced to a group of elected officials who are so terrified of giving up the power that was arbitrarily given to them, that we forget what this country was based on in the first place.

And frankly, I don't know how much longer I can bear to be a part of it.