Has Trump Made Even Cilizza See The Light?

There’s always a straw that breaks the camel’s back. For some, it takes a hell of a lot of straw. Case in point, Beltway Hack Supreme Chris Cilizza. 

It seems that Andy Harris’ (R-MD) response to Trump’s racism this weekend was even too much for Cilizza:

Congressional Republicans have spent the 24-ish hours since President Donald Trump issued a series of racist tweets hiding from the media. But judging from how Maryland GOP Rep. Andy Harris tried to explain away the President's tweets about a quartet of non-white, female Democratic members, silence might have been the better option.

Harris told WBAL's Bryan Nehman on Monday that Trump's comments were "clearly not racist," adding: "He could have meant go back to the district they came from -- to the neighborhood they came from."

So that’s where Cilizza starts from.  So he goes on “unwinding” Harris’“pretzel-logic” and reaches this conclusion:

You get the idea: Harris' defense is, literally, laughable. There is no way on God's green earth that you can read Trump's tweets on Sunday and conclude what Harris has apparently concluded about them unless you are willfully deluding yourself for political reasons. Which is, of course, exactly what Harris is doing.

Now here is where it gets interesting. Cilizza points out is that Harris’ district is a 61% Trump district. Meaning that Harris’ only competition is from someone who is more Trumpier than Harris. So if Harris points out “hey, this is some racist stuff here”, the voters get upset and vote him out. Which leads to:

And so, if you are a Republican member of Congress, you have two options:

1) Avoid the media at all costs when Trump says or tweets something like he did on Sunday

2) Contort yourself -- a la Harris -- to suggest that Trump meant something very different than what he said

Here's the problem with both of those responses: Neither one addresses the fact that you are prizing political survival over principle and, in so doing, have given the President of the United States a pass on what is clearly a series of racist tweets.

With me so far? Now here is where Cilizza begins to realize what the Republican Party has become. And if he’s beginning to realize it, the rest of the beltway media will begin to follow:

 If you aren't willing to take a stand for something, what, at root, do you believe in? Winning isn't a political philosophy -- and if that is all that undergirds your party, that party is in deep trouble.

We hope.