Ever since Donald Trump infamously descended that escalator and talked about Mexicans as rapists -- and became the Republican frontrunner as a result -- our country has moved more and more in the direction of bigotry, cruelty, and chaos. Now, as we say in the Midwest, the chickens are coming home to roost. Mail bombs, the cold-blooded execution of two black men, and the horrific shooting at the synagogue in Pittsburgh, all in the closing weeks of the midterms, sending us a signal of what is to come if we lose this election. It is time to put a stop to this madness, and the only way to do that is for Democrats to win.

President Trump denies responsibility, but he and his party are running hysterical ads attacking wealthy Jews as puppeteers, migrant armies marching on our border, and Democrats as assassins. The right-wing media, the same outlets lovingly quoted by Trump, are infested with one conspiracy theory after another -- that the “bomb” (quotation marks from Trump himself) and the synagogue shooting were hoaxes perpetrated by liberals; that George Soros is paying for the caravan; that Democrats will start killing ministers if they win control of Congress; and that the media publish fake news because they are the “true enemy of the people."

The Grand Old Party has become the party of the neo-Nazis and conspiracy theorists. It is no wonder that we have crazy Trump supporters killing people or trying to. It feels like our country is coming apart at the seams, and it is up to Democrats to bring us back together.

Last week I put out a video on how I think we ought to be framing immigration generally, and the caravan issue in particular, a message about solutions rather than stoking fear. In light of the violence and cruelty we have seen this week, I urge a closing message of steadiness and community. I break it down here:

I hope every single one of you who sees this blog post is out there knocking on doors and making calls this week. There are more Democrats and progressive-minded people who love their neighbors as themselves than there are fearful, hateful conspiracy theorists. But if they vote and we don’t, they win, and our country will face two more years with no check on Trump’s power. I am not certain our democracy can withstand that prospect. The stakes have literally never been bigger. VOTE, and get your friends and family and coworkers and everyone you know who shares your values to get out and vote. Our country’s future is in the balance.