U.S. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry said this about the recent tumult over remarks that Donald J. Trump made about the parents of a fallen U.S. Army hero:

“I am dismayed at the attacks Khizr and Ghazala Khan have endured after they spoke about their son’s service and sacrifice… I believe that each of us are called every day to show our deepest respect and gratitude to all of those who protect our freedom and their families.”

That’s it? Yep. Apparently.

To my reading of the statement from my congressman — a man with whom I have had a good professional and personal relationship for more than two decades — seems, shall we say, more than a bit tepid.

Thornberry is a dedicated Republican congressman representing an equally dedicated Republican congressional district. His party’s presidential candidate, Trump, has managed to step deeply into a morass by criticizing Khizr and Ghazala Khan after they spoke of their son’s death in Iraq during an appearance at the Democratic National Convention.

The Khans are a Muslim family and Trump’s response to their criticism of him has been, to say the very least, well … despicable and reprehensible.

I wish my member of Congress would take a moment or perhaps two to share the outrage that other Americans are feeling about the comments that a major-party presidential nominee would make about a grieving Gold Star Family.

As a friend of mine noted in a social media post, Thornberry’s response is on a par with declaring his undying opposition to “child abuse.”