Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) appeared on CNN with Jake Tapper on Sunday, and Tapper confronted Ryan about the hate crimes being reported around the country. Ryan, unsurprisingly, had little to say.
No, You’re NOT The ‘Party Of Lincoln’
Tapper asked Ryan what his response was to the hate crimes we’ve seen all over the nation since last Tuesday. His response was first the typical non-apology of “I’m sorry people feel that way” before pivoting to the ways President-elect Trump and the Republicans will “fix” the country.
Sorry, Speaker Ryan, but I’m not buying it.
Why the non-apology? Why not just come right out and immediately say “This is wrong and we condemn it wholeheartedly”? Sure, the Speaker of the House eventually got there, after more prodding from Tapper, but it was evident that he had to be pushed to that point.
Ryan eventually said:
“That’s terrible. By the way, that’s not Republicans. We are the party of Lincoln. People who espouse those views, they’re not Republicans. We don’t want them in our party even if they’re thinking about it.
And I’m confident Donald Trump feels the same way.”
That whole “party of Lincoln” thing is so disingenuous. Lincoln was progressive for his time. He was in favor of a strong central government. Those opposed to him went to war for their “states’ rights” (read: slavery). The Republicans of today love talking about states’ rights. How many times have you heard Republicans say things like, “It should be left up to the states”?
The Republicans of 1860 are the Democrats of today.
Just Own It, Already
I would love to see President-elect Trump make a statement about the hate crimes. I’m not holding my breath, though. To make a statement about it would be to acknowledge the fact that the attackers are using his name. That they’re attributing their hateful acts directly to him.
Forget the fact that his own rhetoric is what stirred them up. Forget the fact that he was speaking directly to them, and that his welcoming of people like Stephen Bannon into his fold amplified it.
Pay no attention to the Trump behind the curtain, eh?
Watch Jake Tapper and the Speaker of the House butt heads here:
Featured Image via sreenshot from YouTube video
