GOP committeeman: 'There is a limit to loyalty' — like supporting Trump

Speaking at a closed-door breakfast at the Republican National Committee's winter meeting, Virgin Islands representative Holland Redfield vigorously urged his colleagues to confront the risk candidates like Donald Trump pose to the GOP's future. Though the committeeman did not explicitly name Trump, he began by alluding to Gov. Nikki Hayley's "angry" label for the Republican frontrunner.

The solution to GOP woes, Redfield argued, is not to grovel before candidates who appeal to some of the grassroots but inexorably alienate minority voters like those on the islands he represents. "You can argue with me, but we're almost terrorized as members of our party. 'Shut up. Toe the line, embrace each other, and let's go forward.' I understand that. But there is a limit to loyalty. I am loyal to this party by speaking out on these very issues," he said.

Redfield also briefly leveled a systemic critique of the way the major parties function. "What the public is annoyed at is that the two-party system has really become questionable," he said, arguing that Trump and other contenders running on an outsider brand are picking up steam because of Washington's bipartisan reputation for hopeless, ineffective gridlock.

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