The Spineless GOP Hopefuls

Sept 24th, 2011

We've now heard Republican audiences cheer for the death of the uninsured and boo a soldier serving in Iraq because he's gay. Ryan Lizza is aghast at the unwillingness on the part of the hopeful GOP candidates during the last two debates to show leadership and condemn these outbursts on the spot:

"These debates have exposed a strain of conservatism that usually only exists in liberal caricatures. My experience covering Republican politics for years is that these sentiments don’t represent the majority of G.O.P. voters, and everyone knows that political events attract some exotic characters. But I don’t recall a field of Presidential candidates—ostensibly, the top political leaders of their party—so fearful to speak out when these eruptions do occur. It’s been shameful."

It is not merely shameful, it is also inexplicable. Do these candidates actually think a plurality in America wants a President and Commander in Chief who is afraid of confronting ugly, rabble-rousing outliers in a dark room?