Washington Post (Editorial)
February 22, 2016
ON
SUNDAY, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Republican National Committee
Chairman Reince Priebus whether the party would back Donald Trump
should he win the GOP nomination.
“Yes, we will support the nominee,” the Republican chairman replied.
“To me, it’s a no-brainer.” Mr. Stephanopoulos asked if a Trump
nomination would split the party. “Winning is the antidote to a lot of
things,” Mr. Priebus responded.
Winning
can quiet many complaints, it is true. But it cannot and will not be an
antidote to the moral poison of Mr. Trump’s campaign. Party leaders who
support and celebrate
his victory will be accomplices to an attack on the fundamental values
of American democracy. Winning will not wash away the stain.
Mr.
Trump’s campaign is based on suspicion and unreason. He revels in
policy proposals that make no sense. He stirs bigotry against Muslims,
Hispanics, Jews, people with
disabilities and more. He demeans war heroes. His latest turn is
indirectly questioning Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) eligibility to be
president, a suspicion rooted in pure prejudice.
Mr.
Trump appears to have turned illogic into a virtue for his supporters,
asking his audiences, “Who’s going to pay for the wall?” The reply is as
enthusiastic as it
is bizarre: “Mexico!” How might that happen? The answer, or rather the
absence of one, is irrelevant to the candidate. How will he respond
when, having reached the Oval Office, his simplistic promises proved
unachievable, he encounters opposition in the form
of legitimate checks and balances from the courts and Congress? Which
ethnic group will he pick on to explain away his failures to deliver?
What actions would he take to distract people from his lack of
substance?
Like
many GOP leaders, Mr. Priebus has shown that he knows that Mr. Trump is
a problem. He condemned Mr. Trump’s plan to ban Muslims from entering
the United States. But,
also like many top Republicans, the party chairman has nevertheless
given Mr. Trump a wide berth to run a flamboyant insult of a campaign.
There
are several pretexts Republican officials might offer to avoid giving
Mr. Trump the public thrashing he deserves: condemnations from
“establishment” politicians
might only make him stronger; the results of the GOP nominating process
deserve some respect, and Republicans must abide by the rules; maybe
Mr. Trump would beat the Democrats in November.
None
of these excuse silence. Particularly not the third. The argument that
any Republican would be better than any Democrat is a depressing
reflection of irrational partisanship.
Mr. Priebus and everyone else “leading” the GOP are Americans before
they are Republicans. They should act like it.
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