Where does this idea come from that Republicans (including elected Republican leaders) should just fall in line and get behind someone because they are the party's nominee? If someone like Speaker Ryan thinks that Mr. Trump does not, currently, represent what the Republican Party should be about - e.g. that he's too extreme on certain issues or too liberal on others, that he doesn't respect the Constitution - then he should speak out about that and try to help shape the positions and agendas of the party. He shouldn't just endorse someone because they're the party nominee. I thought we were against that kind of blind partisanship? There are a lot of really good reasons to be opposed to Mr. Trump, even as a Republican. Frankly, we've needed more internal awareness like this - more being critical of other Republicans and criticizing them (or at least not just endorsing them) when they've been wrong-headed about things. Speaker Boehner should have been more willing to call out members of his own party who were pushing agendas or engaging in rhetoric that was both bad for the nation and bad for the party. If Speaker Ryan has legitimate disagreements with Mr. Trump, and he has serious enough concerns, then he shouldn't endorse Mr. Trump unless and until Mr. Trump sufficiently assuages his concerns - which might be never.
Of course, this probably doesn't hurt Mr. Trump electorally. He's been playing this kind of stuff to his advantage. But Speaker Ryan is doing what he should be doing, trying to help the Republican Party both be about things that are good for the nation and remain politically viable for the future - so that the Democratic Party won't be left to run free with nearly unchecked power to determine public policy over the next decade. Speaker Ryan should no more unquestioningly get on board with Mr. Trump because he's won the nomination than Mr. Trump should unquestioningly get on board with Speaker Ryan because he's been elected to Congress and chosen as the Speaker of the House.
If Mr. Cruz had won the nomination, should we all - as Republicans - have just gotten behind him? Would it have somehow been wrong for some Republican leaders to say - no, I don't think so, I'm not ready to get behind him and many of the things he says yet, he's gonna have to show me something - some changes, some reasonableness - first? I sure as hell would not have, he doesn't represent what I think the Republican Party should be about - and that would have been true whether 40% or 60% or 80% of Republican primary voters had voted for him. We should all judge the candidates based on who they are, what they say, what they've done in the past, what they supposedly intend to do in the future - not just based on their being our own party's nominee. It appears to me that Speaker Ryan is doing that. Good on him for having the courage to.
