House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are trying to take on the role of Very Serious Defenders of the Republican Way against the Trumpian onslaught. They have to show that Trump does not speak for their party, blah blah blah, because, see, he speaks his racism and bigotry much louder than they’d like, and at a pitch everyone can hear rather than just the people who can hear into the dog whistle range. But at the same time, they can’t go too far in alienating their party’s presidential front-runner at this point. After all, they’ve said they’ll support Trump if he’s the Republican nominee.
But declining in real time to disavow white supremacists and threatening to undermine the First Amendment is a step too far, according to people familiar with the leaders’ thinking. And people close to both men vow they will continue to speak out if Trump gets out of line.
This is also about political survival. The two men are trying to protect their majorities on Capitol Hill.
So I guess all that other stuff that Trump has said isn’t a step too far and we’re going to learn a lot about what’s acceptable Republican discourse and what isn’t. Although it will be important to compare rhetoric with reality.
Ryan (R-Wis.) said, “This party does not prey on people’s prejudices.” McConnell (R-Ky.) said, “Let me make it clear: Senate Republicans condemn David Duke, the KKK and racism. That is not the view of Republicans that have been elected to the United States Senate."
Bear in mind that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, Ryan’s third in command, spoke to a David Duke-founded white supremacist group in 2002. So I guess it’s good Ryan wasn’t the one out there saying explicitly that “that is not the view of Republicans that have been elected” to his house of Congress, because it’s been made clear that it’s totally acceptable to have pandered to white supremacists as part of your path into House Republican leadership.
The same Senate Republicans who think it’s a big deal to condemn the KKK are the Senate Republicans standing in the way of anyone President Obama might nominate to the Supreme Court. Please give $3 to help turn the Senate blue.