According to Trump, if Hillary Clinton “gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks”—except “maybe there is” because of “the Second Amendment people.”

If past is prologue, GOP leaders like Paul Ryan will condemn the comment, but not the candidate, because helping to elect Hillary Clinton, and giving up the dream of supply side tax cuts, would be worse than supporting a guy who makes jokes about armed revolt and presidential (or is it judicial?) assassination.

This isn’t a new problem for the GOP. Back in 2010, when then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was facing a tough reelection campaign, his Tea Party opponent Sharron Angle appeared on conservative talk radio and warned, “I’m hoping that we’re not getting to Second Amendment remedies. I hope the vote will be the cure for the Harry Reid problems.” Angle was widely condemned and went on to lose in a winnable race that embarrasses the party to this day. But for Republicans, the past six years haven’t been defined by learning from obvious mistakes.