An Open Letter to the Republican Party

Dear Republicans,

I see that you're trying to distance yourselves from Donald Trump. You've realized, no doubt, that he's a bumbling buffoon of a man who will forever tarnish the proud legacy of the Grand Old Party.

But here's the thing: you created this guy. He is the living embodiment of all the hate you've spewed out into the world over the past 40 or so years. As much as you may be trying to backpedal now, the simple fact is that you created this monster.

You may not like the way he says things, but he's just taken your game to the inevitable next level. All those years of dog-whistle politics have finally culminated in this man. He's not saying anything new. He's just saying the things you've been saying for years without the thin veneer of civility that you think you're so good at hiding behind.

People like him because he says out loud the things you've been saying behind closed doors for years. He doesn't hide his hatred behind the talking points that Frank Luntz has been giving you. He makes plain what you think deep down inside. He gives people permission to be open about their darkest, ugliest feelings. He gives them permission to say the things they've been wanting to say this whole time; that black people are innately worse than white people, that immigrants are criminals who want to steal all of our nice stuff, that poor people just aren't trying hard enough, and that America was better when women knew their place and men (well, the white ones anyway) were free to take what was theirs.

And I'm glad that he scares you. Because now you see how scared the rest of us have been all of this time.

You can't spend years pushing policies that hurt minorities, women, and immigrants, and then pretend to be shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, when someone says all of that disgusting shit out loud.

You may not like him, but you own him. He's yours. Now you can try to find a way to deal with him. Before it's too late for everyone.