Lyin’ Ryan: Let’s Unite Behind Trump, Despite ‘Racist Comment’ (WITH VIDEO)

Paul Ryan on St. Patrick's Day (image courtesy Ryan's Facebook)
Paul Ryan on St. Patrick’s Day (image courtesy Ryan’s Facebook)

If there was any doubt that the Republican Party has sold its soul to Donald Trump, it was wiped away on Wednesday morning. Less than 24 hours after blasting Trump for his racist attacks on the judge presiding over the Trump University case, House Speaker Paul Ryan urged his caucus to unite behind their party’s presidential nominee.

Sadly, we should have seen this coming when Ryan denounced Trump’s suggestion that Judge Gonzalo Curiel has no business handling the case because of his Mexican ancestry. In case you missed Ryan’s comments, watch them here.

Notice that after Ryan denounced Trump’s attacks on Curiel as “the textbook definition of a racist comment,” he said that he still has “more common ground” with Trump than Hillary Clinton. That led the New York Daily News to shred him on Wednesday’s front page.

Still, it appeared he was just speaking for himself. Not anymore. On Wednesday meeting, Ryan called a closed-door meeting with his caucus, and asked his fellow House Republicans to unite behind Trump.

According to Tom Reed of New York, Ryan let it be known that he disagreed with Trump’s dog whistles. However, Reed said, Ryan stressed the need to respect the will of Republican voters “who have elected Donald Trump as our Republican nominee.”

So let’s see if we’ve got this right. Even though the Donald made “the textbook definition of a racist comment,” he still has Ryan’s endorsement because “common ground” trumps the need to condemn bigotry–and yes, the pun was intended. In Lyin’ Ryan’s world, basic decency doesn’t matter–all that matters is keeping the Democrats out of the White House. How craven can you get?

Apparently Ryan forgot that eight members of his own caucus are Hispanic. One of them, Bill Flores of Texas, said that while he still plans to vote for Trump, he has no intention of endorsing someone who trashes a judge “based on his ethnic heritage.”

Ryan is under the delusion that he can have it both ways. Either Trump’s comments are outrageous and racist, or they aren’t. By effectively saying that Trump is worthy of his support despite making “the textbook definition of a racist comment,” Ryan has effectively thumbed his nose at every nonwhite American, and Hispanics in particular.

In so doing, Lyin’ Ryan has proven himself unworthy of his gavel. Someone needs to grow a pair and introduce a motion to vacate the chair–that is, if Ryan doesn’t have the decency to resign himself. When a Speaker thinks that racist comments are anything less than a dealbreaker, it’s time for that Speaker to go. Sign this petition telling Ryan to give up his gavel.

You can also donate to one of the two Democrats seeking to dump Ryan from his seat in Wisconsin’s 1st district, both of whom seem to be credible–Tom Breu and Ryan Solen. Ryan represents an ultra-swingy district comprising Racine, Kenosha, and several outer Milwaukee and Madison suburbs. Even when his buddies in the state legislature tried to shore it up for him, the best they could do was a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+3–which puts it firmly on the list of seats that would be vulnerable in a Democratic wave. However, this may be only the third time that Ryan has had to do any heavy lifting since arriving in Washington in 1999.

Let’s make Lyin’ Ryan pay for his craven failure of leadership by making sure he loses his gavel–and his seat as well.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.