THIS is the talking point being proffered by Republicans as their “pResident” incites violence, incarcerates innocent migrant children, encourages citizens to see each other as enemies, and steals from the working-class to give tax-cuts to the already wealthy: I don’t agree with ALL of his policies.

THIS is the answer given by elected Republicans when their constituents ask why they continue to enable a “pResident” who is destroying our democracy: I don’t agree with ALL of his policies.

THIS is the excuse offered by Republicans who continue to support the man who praises Putin and does his bidding: I don’t agree with ALL of his policies.

THIS is the reasoning of ass-kissing traitors willing to sell-out their country and betray their fellow citizens in support of Trump: I don’t agree with ALL of his policies.

What is happening in our country right now is no different than Germans declaring that their support of their Fuhrer sending six million Jews, gypsies, homosexuals and the mentally deranged to extermination camps shouldn’t be viewed as complicity – because they didn’t agree with ALL of his policies.

So let’s hear it, Republicans – exactly what policies of your “pResident” do you disagree with?

Do you disagree with the policy of demonizing immigrants? Do you disagree with suppressing the votes of citizens entitled to cast their ballots? Do you disagree with inciting violence at political rallies, and offering to pay the legal fees of those arrested for engaging in that violence?

Do you disagree with the policy of labeling Democrats as corrupt, and gays/lesbians as morally bankrupt? Do you disagree with the policy of insulting our allies and embracing our enemies? Do you disagree with the policy of enriching the obscenely wealthy at the expense of the hard-working middle-class?

I have heard the I don’t agree with ALL of his policies excuse from Republicans for almost two years now. I have yet to hear exactly what policies they purportedly disagree with – because they seem to agree with ALL of them.

When Trump goes down – as he inevitably will – it will be interesting to hear his Republican collaborators explain how they didn’t agree with ALL of his policies, but supported each and every one of them nonetheless.

… be a shame if something happened to it.”

It would be a shame if an incompetent, openly racist bigot wound up in the White House with the assistance of a foreign power that wants to see America destroyed from within.

Be a shame if that “pResident” insulted our allies, praised our enemies, and put inept and corrupt cronies in positions of power.

Be a shame if that incompetent, self-absorbed “pResident” incited his adherents to violence, and then continually pointed out the targets their anger should be directed at: Mexicans, Muslims, immigrants, political opponents, and pretty much everyone who ever uttered a word against him.

Be a shame if that lying buffoon of a “pResident” did everything in his power to pit citizens against their fellow citizens, and encouraged them to see each other as enemies.

Be a shame if a major American political party not only supported that “pResident’s” agenda of demonizing those he has labelled as enemies, but did everything they could do enable it.

Be a shame if the only way that major political party could even hope to win elections is to intimidate voters and suppress votes, while their “pResident” threatens that ”there will be violence” if the opposing political party gains any power.

Be a shame if a nation once recognized as a beacon of freedom started locking innocent children in cages because brown-skinned kids “don’t belong here” and should be treated as criminals.

Be a shame if that political party plunged the nation into debt in order to give tax-cuts to the wealthy, overturned regulations that protect the environment, did everything they could to take healthcare coverage away from those who need it, and refused to take any steps towards sensible gun control.

We had a nice country here – it would be a shame if any of the above happened – and yet all of it is happening right now.

We have a so-called “pResident” who is inciting violence. And when that violence manifests itself, he and his party deny any responsibility for the conflagration they have ignited and the consequences of their incendiary rhetoric.

We are being told that victims are to blame for their own misfortune – that rape survivors “asked for it”, that unarmed teachers are the cause of children being gunned-down in schools – and now that synagogues are at fault for not having armed guards at their places of worship.

The Republicans have gone from being mere enablers – they are now collaborators. They are no different than those who once collaborated with the Nazis by selling-out their countries and their countrymen in the hope of maintaining political power and personal wealth under a despicable new regime.

They are no different than those who cheered as their Fuhrer filled cattle-cars with “enemies of the people” destined for gas chambers. They are no different than those who went along to get along as Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, and the mentally ill were targeted by their Dear Leader as “undesirables” who had no right to legal protection – and, more to the point, had no right to live.

“Nice country you’ve got here – be a shame if something happened to it.”

Yeah, it would. Be a shame if we had a “pResident” who encourages his dumb-as-shit followers to take matters into their own hands and send pipe-bombs to his perceived enemies, and shoot down worshippers targeted as defenders of those perceived enemies.

We are in a very bad place as a nation – a place constructed by a traitor doing Putin’s bidding, a place of ginned-up animosity towards those who defy that traitor, a place where bigots and racists are encouraged to take up arms in order to purge the country of the “undesirables” who still believe in the rule of law, freedom of the press, and the principles of democracy.

Be a shame if something happened to our country – be a worse shame if we didn’t vote in November to rid ourselves of the collaborators who are working so hard to destroy it.

I’ve been hearing the bullshit all day – the “Trump isn’t responsible” bullshit, the “both sides do it” bullshit, the “let’s not point fingers” bullshit – and it’s time to shut it down.

To those spewing the “both sides are to blame” bullshit, I pose the following:

Name one Democrat who has called Mexicans rapists and drug-dealers, who has labelled people of colour as coming from “shithole countries”, or has tried to ban Muslims from entering the country because they’re terrorists.

Name one Democrat who has called KKK members and white supremacists “very fine people”.

Name one Democrat who has encouraged violence at a political event, with the promise of paying for the legal defence of anyone arrested for engaging in that violence.

Name one Democrat who has actually campaigned on the idea of divisiveness, and has instilled an us versus them mindset in their supporters.

Name one Democrat who has led cries of “lock ‘em up” when referring to their political opponents.

Name one Democrat who has physically assaulted a journalist – and then name one Democratic president who ever praised someone for doing so.

Name one Democratic president who has taunted, insulted, and belittled our nation’s allies.

Name one Democratic president who has not only praised, but embraced our nation’s true enemies – enemies responsible for violence against their own people, and threats against our country.

Name one Democratic president who has referred to his political opponents by demeaning nick-names, has repeatedly stated they have “low IQs” – or went so far as to question their citizenship.

So let’s stop the bullshit. There is no such thing as “both sides do it”, when one side is being continually encouraged to hate those who disagree with them, to hate those who look different than they do, to hate anyone and everyone who their “pResident” tells them to hate.

I’ve heard it said all day that Trump isn’t directly responsible for this act of violence against his political foes. Again, I call bullshit.

Every person who was targeted with a pipe-bomb today is someone who Trump has specifically pointed out as an “enemy” of himself and his followers. He has railed against them repeatedly, and has incited his supporters to see them as enemies as well.

Trump owns all of this. He owns the violence he has incited, and the hatred he has encouraged in order to fuel that violence. He owns every statement, every tweet, every rally cry that has demonized not only his fellow citizens, but the institutions that underpin our democracy – such as our intelligence and law enforcement agencies, and a free press.

To hear Trump continually rant against his “enemies” and then absolve him of any responsibility for those supposed enemies being targeted for violence – or even death – is to be complicit in his hateful rhetoric. It is to turn a blind eye to everything he has said and done that has led up to this day. It is to ignore the obvious – the constant encouragement to perceive political opponents as people deserving of violence and/or death.

I heard NY Governor Andrew Cuomo say today that there is “anger on both sides” – and that’s true. But there is only one side that is stoking that anger with lies, encouraging that anger with hateful rhetoric, and vilifying those they hope that anger will be directed at.

Any pretence that today’s events are not a direct result of the shit Donald Trump has been stirring up is an insult to the intelligence of those who have heard the vitriol, and knew that the consequences were inevitable.

If you’ve been shocked by Republican campaign ads that are deceitful, insulting, and just downright nasty, keep in mind that they no longer have any alternative.

They have to campaign on fear, because thanks to their own policies, they cannot offer voters a hopeful future.

They have to campaign on racism, misogyny, and xenophobia, because those are now the things their party stands for.

They have to campaign on lies, because the truth of their actions and agenda is something they need to deflect attention away from.

They have to campaign on false and misleading statements, because the only votes they can truly rely on are those of the ill-informed, and the pathetically dumb.

They have to campaign on insulting rhetoric, because they have shown themselves to be incapable of intelligent and respectful discourse.

They have to campaign on ridiculous conspiracy theories about Democrats, because they have no real Republican accomplishments to point to.

They have to campaign on us versus them, because a unified country threatens their power, and is detrimental to their goals.

They have to campaign on fake patriotism, fake Christian values, and fake morality, because when it comes to their party, there isn’t anything “real” left.

For all intents and purposes, the Republican party no longer exists. It has retained its once-honourable name, but it is now the Party of Trump.

It is the party that has elevated the corrupt, the immoral, and the incompetent to positions of power and influence.

It is the party that has abandoned everything it once stood for in order to appeal to those enthralled with a “pResident” who stands for nothing beyond his own self-aggrandizement.

It is the party that now defends the very things it once purported to abhor.

The Republicans have now backed themselves into a political corner. They can’t campaign on anything other than fear, hatred, lies, corruption, and a total disdain for decency, simply because that’s who they are – and they’ve made that so abundantly clear, they can’t possibly disown it. Instead, they are forced to embrace it.

There is literally nothing left of the Grand Ol’ Party. What stands in its place is a corrupt cabal whose only purpose is to defend and enable their corrupt “pResident”.

So don't be shocked by how low the Republicans are willing to stoop - the dank, slimy, bottom of a very filthy barrel has become their permanent home.