- We should recognize—if we were honest, we would say something that sounds utterly shocking and no doubt will be taken out of context and lead to hysteria on the part of the usual suspects, but the fact of the matter is that today’s Republican Party qualify as candidates for the most dangerous organization in human history. Literally. Just take their position on the two major issues that face us: climate change, nuclear war. On climate change, it’s not even debatable. They’re saying, "Let’s race to the precipice. Let’s make sure that our grandchildren have the worst possible life." On nuclear war, they’re calling for increased militarization. It’s already way too high, more than half the discretionary budget. "Let’s shoot it up." They cut back other resources by cutting back taxes on the rich, so there’s nothing left. There’s been nothing this—literally, this dangerous, if you think about it, to the species, really, ever. We should face that.
The republican party is what keeps the US unique from Europe. I realize they are very extreme, and their views are often incorrect and potentially harmful, but they represent the spirit in the US of individualism, freedom from government, and personal power that doesn't exist in most European nations. They are wrong on global warming, they are wrong on abortion, they are wrong on other things as well. However, it is the republican who will be willing to go nuclear to solve climate change. It is the republican who will be willing to use the power the US has to push other nations around, and while you may say that isn't needed, I should point to you what happened when the US withdrew, and the consistent policies of Hillary on the matter of US intervention. It is the republican who will continue to enforce the right to be free from regulations, to be able to own weapons, to not have a company like Uber end up cut open and gutted by regulation. Europeans don't have this strong force in their politics, not to my knowledge, and they suffer because of it. Yes republicans have a bad side, and that bad side has grown stronger as time has passed, but ultimately their core ideals hold strong, and the current time of extremism is going to pass, or a new party will replace the republicans (libertarian I hope). Ultimately this article(based on the quote you posted) is fear mongering, putting words into people's mouths and voicing a clearly one sided viewpoint. On the bare contexts, I agree, the republican party is shit. However, they aren't saying "lets make lives for our grandchildren as bad as possible". Instead, they see you saying "lets watch as the Chinese and Russians make our grandchildren's lives as bad as possible."
I agree with this perception of Republicans as watchdogs, and I didn't even realize how much until you put it into words. Their staunch skepticism on policy changes often gives legislators much needed time to mull things over. However, it also leads to things like the ACA, where special interests overtake the constituents' desires, and government shutdowns. Their potential for nationalistic radicalization can also get a bit too real sometimes for my tastes.