They don't get it

I don't support Donald Trump, because I believe there are better candidates for president available. Having said that, it's now blindingly obvious that the energy behind the Trump campaign is causing the Republican establishment to have a meltdown. The latest example? The response to the Republican response to the State of the Union address, as delivered by Nikki Haley, governor of South Carolina:

The celebration by Republican elites was instant, and so was the backlash on the far right.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the youthful daughter of Indian immigrants, had delivered a sunny and inclusive Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union address that stood as an unmistakable counter to her party’s two presidential front-runners.

But Haley’s moment and its aftermath revealed an uncomfortable reality for GOP leaders. Even as they praised their chosen representative for condemning the polarizing politics fueling the rise of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, the currents of the 2016 race still churn against the establishment.

Haley might have intended to be sunny and inclusive, but it doesn't work that way when there's an insurrection going on. Compromise and getting along and playing nice? Screw that!

Speaking Tuesday night from Columbia, S.C., Haley urged Americans to resist the temptation “to follow the siren call of the angriest voices” and to make everyone in the country feel welcome. The remarks were widely viewed as a clear reference to Trump’s immigration-related proposals, which include a massive wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country.

Haley also said Democrats were not solely responsible for the failures in Washington. “There is more than enough blame to go around,” she said. “We, as Republicans, need to own that truth.”

Haley is right, but not for the reasons she thinks. If you actually listen to what the primary electorate is saying, you'll see that the anger isn't directed at the Republican leadership isn't for its divisiveness; rather, it's the sense that, on one initiative after another, the leadership has caved instead of fighting.

The smarter observers see that:

There doesn’t seem to be a plan for how to deal with Trump. They’re afraid,” said William J. Bennett, a top official in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. “Instead of taking him on directly, they’re making vague, diffuse references.

“What’s worse,” he continued, “is that this leaves them in a position to be thumped by Trump. This is not the way he talks or campaigns, and he’ll hit them right back as fuzzy and weak.”

And he will. The party leadership wants harmony and good governance. I do, too. You can't really have both in an environment where the other side of the aisle is willing to offer goodies and will always outbid you. Trump is leading an insurrection because he understands the moment better than his competitors.

Paul Ryan doesn't get it:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) selected Haley to deliver the party’s nationally televised response. Haley embodies the kind of party Ryan in particular is trying to build: even-tempered, reform-minded, pro-business and open to minorities.

You grow up and you calm down
You're working for the clampdown
You start wearing the blue and brown 
You're working for the clampdown

Issuing white papers on how you will reform something is one thing. Paul Ryan has a million plans. Do you suppose that, by being reasonable and even-tempered, you can actually change the behavior of the hive in Washington?

The people supporting Trump, and to a lesser extent his Menshevik frenemy Ted Cruz, don't buy it. The current path is filled undersecretaries to the undersecretary of the deputy undersecretary of the Ministry of Love. You can try to rearrange the furniture and put some fresh paint on the rotting structure -- that's the essence of Ryan's million plans. Have fun with that.

Let fury have the hour
Anger can be power
D'you know that you can use it?

They are coming to tear the playhouse down. It's going to be ugly.