By John Q. Hosedrinker 
The recent leak of a racist Telegram chat among young GOP operatives, including references to gas chambers and hateful slurs, has sparked condemnation from former Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt. Schmidt, a long-time Republican strategist, argues that the chat reveals a deeply troubling trend within the GOP’s youth pipeline, suggesting a significant portion of the young MAGA base is “absolutely irredeemable.” The chat, which included over 250 slurs and derogatory comments, was primarily created to strategize the campaign of Peter Giunta, who was running to lead the national Young Republicans organization. Following the revelations, both Giunta and William Hendrix, the vice chair of the Kansas Young Republicans, have lost their positions.
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It’s not just the future of the GOP; it’s what the party is right now. The leaked chat, dripping with racism, isn’t some horrifying glimpse into a distant tomorrow. It’s a stark reflection of the party’s current reality. The people in those chats, however old, are a symptom, not a prophecy. The rot has been festering, and now it’s breaking through.
The idea that this is a Gen Z problem is a misdirection, perhaps even a convenient excuse. While it’s true that the youngest in the chat were in their twenties, framing it as a generational issue obscures the deeper problem. This isn’t just about young people being “marinated in the stew of a sick society,” as the conservative noted. It’s about a party that has, for decades, courted and normalized the very ideologies that fueled those toxic chats. The Republican party has been strategically cultivating a base that is susceptible to, and often celebrates, bigotry.
The roots of this problem run deep, far deeper than the present generation. The “stew” they’re supposedly swimming in was simmering long before today’s young adults entered the scene. The seeds of this type of thinking were planted with the rise of the New Right, nurtured with dog-whistle politics and, ultimately, blossomed in the era of Trump. This isn’t just a matter of individual bad actors; it’s a systemic issue, a poisoned culture that rewards hate and division.
The claim that these are just “kids” who are simply expressing themselves is a dangerous deflection. These weren’t kids; they were adults, many with positions of influence. They were making decisions, holding power, and likely shaping the world around them. The fact that they thought these vile pronouncements were acceptable, even in a private setting, is chilling. It exposes a moral vacuum and a lack of basic empathy. The excuse that these were just kids is so fucking weak. If these were old chats from when they were 13 on a COD server thats one thing, but these guys were well into their 20’s and 30’s holding positions of power in their organizations.
The problem isn’t the future; it’s the present. It’s the normalization of extremism within the GOP. It’s the embrace of conspiracy theories, the demonization of “the other,” and the willingness to sacrifice democratic principles for political gain. It’s the denial of basic facts and the relentless assault on truth.
This isn’t about some sudden surge of evil. It’s about an ideology that has been allowed to fester, unchecked and often actively encouraged. The Republican Party has been steadily moving in this direction for decades. It’s been happening in the open for anyone to see. The focus on “Gen Z” and how they are is a scapegoat. The common denominator is being republican.
The party needs to do some serious soul-searching and start cleaning house, and that won’t happen. It’s hard to believe this is the end. It’s happening. And to continue to be a Republican is to become a Nazi.
The solution isn’t to wring our hands and lament the decline of “norms,” as though that’s the root of the problem. The solution is to confront this reality head-on. The solution is to fight back against the forces of hate and division. It’s to hold those who espouse such views accountable. And it’s to build a more just and equitable society where these views are no longer tolerated. We need to fast track the inevitable split of gop and maga. They’re very intertwined today but there’s a fracture and it’s widening. MAGA is the real third party. We need to bring back actual conservative gop.