Are these activists too minor to bother about? Well, if tea party organizers 10 years ago had been friendly toward David Duke, we would — understandably — have heard no end of it.

Just as mainstream conservatives must ostracize the alt-right, the center-left should guard against progressives making excuses for Farrakhan. With the exception of Jake Tapper of CNN, though, the media has ignored the latest eruption of the Farrakhan story.

As a reminder of how much this hygiene is necessary, Rep. Danny K. Davis of Illinois popped up to justify his relationship with Farrakhan. He told the website The Daily Caller, “The world is so much bigger than Farrakhan and the Jewish question and his position on that and so forth.” Could anyone say this about David Duke and remain in office?

Farrakhan’s time should be up, but it never quite is.