title:  Former George W. Bush Speechwriter Epically Blasts Republicans For Supporting Trump
text: This is a HUGE condemnation of the Republican Party.Ever since Donald Trump kicked off his campaign for the presidency, Republicans have cowered before him endorsing him one by one even after saying that they disagree with him and despise the divisive and hateful rhetoric he spews.But former George W. Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson put his writing skills to use on Thursday to pen an epic rebuke of Donald Trump and the Republicans who support him. Trump pretty much represents the negation of everything I ve argued about politics and ideology for the last 30 years,  Gerson wrote on Facebook.What he is attacking is not just  the establishment.  He is attacking a way of doing politics based on persuasion, consensus, compassion and inclusion. Those who argue that conservatism is fundamentally at odds with these values know nothing of conservatism. But Trump represents the confirmation of the worse conservative and Republican caricatures   a belief that cultural and religious minorities are threats, a belief that America should abandon its deepest values in the conduct of global affairs, a belief that the values and institutions of our government have failed, and that the times require a strong hand.Gerson continued ripping Trump for wanting to tear down what makes America great.At its best (and, God knows, it has not always been at its best) America shows a welcoming spirit, an example of how a great nation can be united by ideals instead of bloodlines, a place, as George Washington said, where  there shall be none to make him afraid.  We should love American traditions and institutions enough to repair them, not hand them over to an authoritarian wannabe, who is too ignorant to even understand the inheritance he is casting away.And then he really let Trump have it.Trump s magical policy thinking, setting goals with no serious thought of how they might be achieved; his menacing encouragement of political violence; his disdain for ethnic and religious minorities, which has unleashed and emboldened racists and anti-Semites of every sort; his penchant for conspiracy theories, including a very dangerous vaccine denialism; his promises to conduct the war on terrorism by ordering war crimes, which would set up a constitutional crisis when the US military honorably refuses; his cynical manipulation of gullible religious leaders with tactics that border on blasphemy; his casual use of lies, which he defends even when exposed.Gerson then turned his focus toward the GOP and slammed them for supporting Trump even though he represents the destruction of all the progress America had made since gaining independence from Great Britain and damned them to regret it for all of time.How does any of this return lost greatness to our nation? Sometimes I want to shake people (intellectually,not physically) who favor political  disruption  and ask: Disruption in favor of what? Look at what you are doing! Look at what you have done! The Republican Party is now firmly harnessed to the wild, uncontrollable horses of fear and exclusion. It has already sustained damage with Latino voters that may take a generation to undo. And now many Republicans will find rationalizations to support Trump. That is natural   the reality of politics in every time. Many people simply go with the winner. But this isn t a normal time. I believe that the decision to support Trump, like an embarrassing tattoo, will follow them the rest of their lives. Republicans are not merely making a choice; they are looking into the abyss.Here s the full post via Facebook.// < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&#038;version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); // ]]&gt;I feel bad, on one hand, to be so focused on (some would say, obsessed by) the Trump phenomenon. And it is my intention Posted by Michael J. Gerson on Thursday, March 17, 2016Gerson ended his post by leaving a link to an op-ed he wrote for the Washington Post in which he says Republicans are staining themselves by supporting Trump and that perhaps one of the only honorable option left to save themselves from being forever remembered as the party that destroyed America is to vote for Hillary Clinton.Seriously, Republicans. Listen to Michael Gerson. His advice may just save your party from killing itself.Featured image: Cagle