House Speaker Paul Ryan issued a stinging rebuke today to Donald Trump for his failure to repudiate the support of former KKK leader David Duke:
I try to stay out of the ups and downs of the primary, but I’ve also said when I see something that runs counter to who we are as a party and a country, I will speak up. If a person wants to be the nominee of the party, there can be no evasion and no games. They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry.
This party does not prey on people’s prejudices. We appeal to their highest ideals. This is the party of Lincoln. We believe all people are created equal in the eyes of God and our government. This is fundamental, and if someone wants to be our nominee, they have to understand this.
I hope this is the last time I have to speak out on this race.
I have a very strong feeling that this won’t be the last time Paul Ryan speaks out about this race.
Donald Trump’s toxicity is such that if Ryan and other Republicans fail to repudiate Trump at every possible opportunity then, in the words of Edmund Burke, evil will have triumphed because good men did nothing. Or perhaps in this case, they didn’t do enough.