Rochelle Riley

Detroit Free Press Columnist

I’ve never seen so many people take so long to run away from a fire.

Real estate mogul Donald Trump is burning down the Republican house, and the party’s leaders are milling on the porch, or standing out front watching, either in shock or in a coma.

They stood by when he called Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals.

They stood by when he said John McCain wasn’t a hero because he’d been captured.

► Mike Thompson:You won't believe what Trump said in Detroit

They stood by when he ridiculed Megyn Kelly for having a period. (Note to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus: 53% of voters in the 2012 elections were women.)

They stood by when he made fun of Carly Fiorina’s looks. “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that — the face of our next president!?" (Note to Priebus: 53% of voters in the 2012 elections were women.)

They stood by when he mocked a disabled reporter, flailing his arms and laughing. (Note to Priebus: About 56.7 million people — 19% of Americans — had a disability in 2010. That isn’t the number of voters, but imagine that all of those people have mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and friends who vote).

They stood by when he called for a ban on Muslims in America. (Note to Priebus: More than 300,000 Muslims have registered to vote since the 2012 presidential election, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations.)

They stood by when he admitted to NBC’s Chuck Todd that his advice about military matters came from watching TV.

They stood by when he said he’d pay the legal fees of supporters who threw tomatoes at protesters.

They stood by when he attacked the family of a war hero.

They stood by when he attacked a baby.

How low can Trump go?

► Susan Tompor:Trump gives few economic details but scores on tax cuts

I don’t think anyone will care until he kicks a puppy.

And last week, he said that the president of the United States founded the world’s most dangerous terrorist group. He said that the president who rid the world of Osama bin Laden actually founded ISIS.

And still, the GOP watches the house burn down.

So here’s the question: If Trump does kick a dog next week, will House Speaker Paul Ryan and the GOP finally denounce him as the compulsive and dangerous demagogue that he is?

Trump's dangerous untrue statements now come so fast and furious that, for the first time in recent memory at the Washington Post, when Trump lies, editors insert after his comments, "a claim that is false," associate editor David Ignatius said Friday.

If leaders of the Democratic Party had any sense, they’d be getting their house in order right about now to offer a place of purpose for all those disenchanted, outraged and frightened voters who are watching the fire burn. They’d be focusing all of their attention not on the presidential race but on every congressional and Senate candidate in America who has not denounced Trump.

More important, all of those Americans who are part of third parties, whether they’ve been feeling the “Bern” or fighting for Green, should be figuring out what their commonalities are so they can create the single, third party this country so needs.

That would be a real revolution.

And it will take a revolution to assure that America never gets another Trump — the candidate who gets so much free TV time he doesn’t have to buy ads, the guy who dismisses his dangerous missteps as no big deals and the guy who just said that the president of the United States founded a terrorist group. (To be clear, ISIS, an offshoot of al-Qaida, "was born out of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003," according to dozens of analyses, including one from the Week.)

It is time to stop pretending that this is a traditional campaign with an ending that matters no less than previous elections.

The house is on fire. If the GOP won't throw water on it, voters should. The buckets will be at the polls.

Contact Rochelle Riley: rriley99@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @rochelleriley.

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