re: #4 MikeTheModerateDemocrat

Yes and no. It can also mean that they’re afraid to come out publicly to denounce it, lest they offend some of the “base.” Reminds me when a “compassionate conservative” / Dubya-style friend of mine attracted racist comments by his usual greek chorus on a facebook post. Rather than calling them out in the comments, he purposely chose to private message them, lest he show a crack in party unity.

THIS. The politicians in question didn’t bat an eye when it came to publicly condoning anti-Muslim bigotry, fear mongering with all the ridiculous anti-Sharia legislation, and in some cases flat out calling for American Muslims’ constitutional rights to be abrogated.

They want to apologize in private? Fine, that’s great, but I’m not believing anyone has had a sincere change of heart until they publicly proclaim that they were wrong and make a real effort to undo some of the damage they did.