Pieces of Silver - by Paul Krugman

It’s obvious to everyone with open eyes that Trump "is an ignorant, wildly dishonest, erratic, immature, bullying egomaniac... and a terrible person. But most senior figures in the Republican Partyincluding Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House, and Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader — are still supporting him, threats of violence and all. Why? One answer is that these were never men and women of principle. I know that many in the news media are still determined to portray Mr. Ryan, in particular, as an honest man serious about policy but his actual policy proposals have always been transparent con jobs. Another answer is that, the greatest risk facing the GOP isn't losing the election, it’s that of losing to an extremist primary challenger. This makes them afraid to cross Mr. Trump, whose ugliness channels the true feelings of the party’s base."