words.
"It is gratifying to see the National Review mobilize against Trump, decrying his “free-floating populism” and disdain for the details of public policy. But where were the magazine’s editors when Sarah Palin put these same forces on full display eight years ago? Loudly cheering her on. National Review’s editor praised her for her “plain-spoken, combative way.” And he was more restrained than the editor of the Weekly Standard, William Kristol, who called Palin his “heartthrob.”
...It is courageous of dozens of Republican foreign policy leaders now to sign an open letter condemning Trump publicly and refusing to support his candidacy. But over the past decade, I can recall conversations with some of these individuals in which they refused to accept that there was any problem within the Republican Party, attributing such criticism to media bias.
...Republicans have fed the country ideas about decline, betrayal and treason. They have encouraged the forces of anti-intellectualism, obstructionism and populism. They have flirted with bigotry and racism. Trump merely chose to unashamedly embrace all of it, saying plainly what they were hinting at for years. In doing so, he hit a jackpot.
The problem is not that Republican leaders should have begun to condemn Trump last year. It is that they should have condemned the ideas and tactics that led to his rise when they began to flourish 20 years ago."
THE WASHINGTON POST: Where were Republican moderates 20 years ago?
SEE ALSO:
THE NEW YORKER: The Problem with the “Never Trump” Movement
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