If you want to use disgusting race-baiting attacks on Jeb Bush, prepare for the fiscal soundness of your domestic-policy platform to be questioned. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Donald Trump created an ad on his Instagram account that attacks Jeb Bush for not hating undocumented immigrants. “Yes, they broke the law, but it’s not a felony. It’s an act of love,” Bush is seen saying. The ad juxtaposes Bush with images of undocumented immigrants who committed murder.

There are a few ways Bush could respond to this. He could point out that Trump’s ad is viciously dishonest. Bush was correctly saying that breaking immigration law is not a felony. He was not denying that murder is a felony. Better still, Bush could point out the sick undertones of conflating anybody who crossed the border illegally in order to give their children a better life — a choice many Americans would make had we not enjoyed the good fortune to be born here — with murderers.

Instead Bush hits back at Trump by calling him … liberal:

“While Donald Trump was still supporting liberal, soft-on-crime politicians, Jeb Bush accumulated an eight-year record of cracking down on violent criminals as governor of Florida. Mr. Trump’s immigration plan is not conservative, would violate the constitution and cost hundreds of billions of dollars, which he will likely attempt to pay for through massive tax hikes,” said Bush spokeswoman Kristy Campbell in an email.

So the only response to this kind of crude, dishonest nativism is to get to your opponent’s right? Nice party you’ve got here, Republicans.