The GOP establishment had the chance to refute or distance itself from this sort of rhetoric and polemical style a long time ago, but they were afraid of being shouted down at a town hall meeting by some goombah in a tricorne hat carrying a Gadsen flag.

By tolerating and even encouraging such behavior, they created a climate of debate that has resulted in this shamefully embarrassing situation, and one which is only going to get worse as the campaign heats up and the stakes grow higher