title:  Republicans Refuse To Stand Up To Trump Because They Are Scared Of Breitbart And Sean Hannity
text: Republicans are spineless cowards.If you want to know why many Republicans have been avoiding saying anything critical about Donald Trump, we now have an answer.Apparently, Republicans are scared to say anything because they fear that Breitbart and Sean Hannity will say mean things about them and cause right-wing Internet trolls to lash out.Seriously. Nobody wants to go first,  Rep. Mark Sanford told Politico.  People are naturally reticent to be the first out of the block for fear of Sean Hannity, for fear of Breitbart, for fear of local folks. Indeed, Sanford received hate mail, threats, and online harassment from Trump supporters because he called out Trump for not releasing his tax returns.Earlier this month, Rep. Bill Flores was treated the same way for simply disagreeing with Trump on certain issues. Breitbart printed a sensational headline declaring,  BREAKING: Rep. Bill Flores Has CRAFTED a PLAN to BLOCK Trump s Immigration Reform. Then Sean Hannity promoted Breitbart s fake news on his radio show, which caused right-wingers to viciously attack Flores in any way they could find.They threatened to  burn  his career down and told him to go  hang  himself.Now Republicans are holding back from speaking up because they are too scared of the backlash from right-wing media.Republican Hill staffers have wrestled in recent months with how to respond to inquiries from Breitbart or other pro-Trump bloggers. Engage them or ignore them? One GOP aide told POLITICO members are  damned if you do, damned if you don t.  Another said it s having a  chilling effect  on GOP lawmakers.And it will be easy for Trump to launch attacks against Republican lawmakers because his chief strategist Steve Bannon has a direct line to Breitbart.Eve Breitbart admitted that they intend to viciously attack any Republican who doesn t kiss Trump s ass. If any politician in either party veers from what the voters clearly voted for in a landslide election   we stand at the ready to call them out on it and hold them accountable,  a Breitbart editor said.But Trump did not win in a  landslide.  He lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes and his electoral vote win is one of the smallest in the last 100 years. President Obama s victories in 2008 and 2012 were far larger and Breitbart didn t care about  what the voters clearly voted for  then.Breitbart and Hannity intend to bully anyone who criticizes Trump, even if that criticism is fair and that will make Republicans incapable of standing up to Trump in the years ahead. They are nothing more than 21st century brownshirts, which is an appropriate comparison considering Bannon s ties to white nationalists.Featured Image: Alex Wong/Getty Images