In the digital commons of American political life, a Texas Republican's racist social media post has become something more than a single act of offense — it has become a mirror held up to a party uncertain of its own reflection. The varied responses from fellow Republicans, ranging from unequivocal condemnation to careful hedging, reveal not merely disagreement about one post, but a deeper unresolved question about what standards a political institution chooses to enforce when the cost of enforcement is internal. How a party responds to its own transgressions may ultimately say more about its