Ryan does not think that Trump is advocating for conservatism. And Ryan does not think that Trump represents what the Republican Party stands for. But Ryan would back Trump for president of the United States. That mixed message, criticism followed by a commitment to support a "not what this party stands for" nominee, aids and abets Trump.

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Reprinted from The Nation

It is Ryan who should be drawing a line and saying that Republicans are on one side and Donald Trump is on the other.

Yet, after Trump called for an indiscriminate "total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the United States -- in the latest expression of his xenophobia and bigotry -- Ryan sounded like an indulgent parent talking about a troublesome child.

"Normally, I do not comment on what's going on in the presidential election. I will take an exception today," Ryan said on Tuesday, as a firestorm rose regarding Trump's crude extremism.

Even if Trump is "not what the party stands for," Ryan says he'll back Trump if he is nominated.

"This is not conservatism. What was proposed yesterday is not what this party stands for. And, more importantly, it's not what this country stands for," Ryan told a Capitol Hill news conference. "Not only are there many Muslims serving in our armed forces dying for this country, there are Muslims serving right here in the House working every day to uphold and to defend the Constitution."

All true. And it was clear Ryan was talking about Trump -- even if the speaker lacked the wherewithal to call out the billionaire by name.

There is no question that millions of Muslims are proud Americans, that they serve honorably in the military and Congress. Nor is there any question that, as Ryan notes, "Some of our best and biggest allies in this struggle and fight against radical Islamic terror are Muslims -- the vast, vast, vast majority of whom are peaceful, who believe in pluralism, freedom, democracy, individual rights."

There is no question that Trump's religious-test bigotry is at odds with the basic premises of the US Constitution and what this country has stood for at its best.

There is also some question about whether Trump's extremism is at odds with what the Republican Party now stands for -- as a lot of the party's base seems to be rallying around Trump, and as the party's establishment continues to provide him with forums to promote discrimination against people based on their religion and national origin. But Ryan says it's "not what this party stands for," so that's good.

Unfortunately, Ryan does not believe what he says sufficiently to break with Trump.

Asked if he would support Trump if the billionaire was nominated by the party as its 2016 candidate, Ryan responded, "I'm going to support whoever the Republican nominee is and I'm going to stand up for what I believe in as I do that."

So, just to be clear, Ryan does not think that Trump is advocating for conservatism. And Ryan does not think that Trump represents what the Republican Party stands for.

But Ryan would back Trump for president of the United States.

That is not, as some headline writers suggest, "withering fire" directed at Donald Trump.

That is certainly not leadership.

At best, Ryan sends a mixed message.

And that mixed message, criticism followed by a commitment to support a "not what this party stands for" nominee, aids and abets Trump.

In effect, it says that, even if Trump does not represent what Republican elites stand for at this point, the party's supposedly sober and responsible leaders will stand for Trump if he is nominated.

Authors Bio:

John Nichols, a pioneering political blogger, has written the Online Beat since 1999. His posts have been circulated internationally, quoted in numerous books and mentioned in debates on the floor of Congress.


Nichols writes about politics for The Nation magazine as its Washington correspondent. He is a contributing writer for The Progressive and In These Times and the associate editor of the Capital Times, the daily newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune and dozens of other newspapers.


Nichols is a frequent guest on radio and television programs as a commentator on politics and media issues. He was featured in Robert Greenwald's documentary, "Outfoxed," and in the documentaries Joan Sekler's "Unprecedented," Matt Kohn's "Call It Democracy" and Robert Pappas' "Orwell Rolls in his Grave." The keynote speaker at the 2004 Congress of the International Federation of Journalists in Athens, Nichols has been a featured presenter at conventions, conferences and public forums on media issues sponsored by the Federal Communications Commission, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Consumers International, the Future of Music Coalition, the AFL-CIO, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the Newspaper Guild [CWA] and dozens of other organizations.


Nichols is the author of the upcoming book The Genius of Impeachment (The New Press), as well as a critically-acclaimed analysis of the Florida recount fight of 2000, Jews for Buchanan (The New Press) and a best-selling biography of Vice President Dick Cheney, Dick: The Man Who is President (The New Press), which has recently been published in French and Arabic. He edited Against the Beast: A Documentary History of American Opposition to Empire (Nation Books), of which historian Howard Zinn said: "At exactly the time when we need it most, John Nichols gives us a special gift--a collection of writings, speeches, poems, and songs from throughout American history--that reminds us that our revulsion to war and empire has a long and noble tradition in this country."


With Robert W. McChesney, Nichols has co-authored the books, It's the Media, Stupid! (Seven Stories), Our Media, Not Theirs (Seven Stories) and Tragedy and Farce: How the American Media Sell Wars, Spin Elections, and Destroy Democracy (The New Press). McChesney and Nichols are the co-founders of Free Press, the nation's media-reform network, which organized the 2003 and 2005 National Conferences on Media Reform.


Of Nichols, author Gore Vidal says: "Of all the giant slayers now afoot in the great American desert, John Nichols's sword is the sharpest."