Robert Reich is one of the most respected voices in politics. He also has many friends who are current and former elected officials. He recently posted a most disturbing conversation he had with a friend who just happens to be a former GOP congressman on Facebook, and it exposes just how crazy the Donald Trump phenomenon is, and how much control Trump and his crazy supporters have over the Republican Party. Here is the transcript of that post:Yesterday I spoke with a former Republican member of Congress whom I ve known for years.Me: What do you think of your party s nominee for president?He: Trump is a maniac. He s a clear and present danger to America.Me: Have you said publicly that you won t vote for him?He (sheepishly): No.Me: Why not?He: I m a coward.Me: What do you mean?He: I live in a state with a lot of Trump voters. Most Republican officials do.Me: But you re a former official. You re not running for Congress again. What are you afraid of?He: I hate to admit it, but I m afraid of them. Some of those Trumpistas are out of their fu*king minds.Me: You mean you re afraid for your own physical safety?He: All it takes is one of them, you know.Me: Wait a minute. Isn t this how dictators and fascists have come to power in other nations? Respected leaders don t dare take a stand.He: At least I m no Giuliani or Gingrich or Pence. I m not a Trump enabler.Me: I ll give you that.He: Let me tell you something. Most current and former Republican members of Congress are exactly like me. I talk with them. They think Trump is deplorable. And they think Giuliani and Gingrich are almost as bad. But they re not gonna speak out. Some don t want to end their political careers. Most don t want to risk their lives. The Trump crowd is just too dangerous. Trump has whipped them up into a g*ddamn frenzy.And here is the embed:This is what has happened to one of America s two major political parties. They have propped up a literal fascist and are currently doing all they can to put him in the Oval Office and give him control of the most dangerous nuclear arsenal in the world. That is frighteningly, chillingly irresponsible. If we all die, you know who to thank.These people are cowards, and you cannot be a leader and a coward at the same time. They have no leadership skills. Part of being a good leader is doing the right thing when it counts, and it s clear that the current GOP leadership is incapable of doing that.All I can hope is that the entire GOP is just like Reich s friend   and when they enter the privacy of the voting booth, they vote to save the world from that lunatic that somehow rose to the top of the GOP presidential ticket, rather than voting to save their own political hides.Featured image via Joe Raedle/Getty Images