One day after the leading Republican candidate for president called for a religious test for people entering the United States, West Virginia Republicans had modest criticism for the extreme proposal.
Donald Trump's call for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" was met with widespread condemnation from national Democrats and Republicans alike on Tuesday.
West Virginia's congressional Republicans mostly disagreed with Trump but did so in measured tones.
"[Capito] has called for increased screenings and tightened security following the recent terrorist attacks," said Ashley Berrang, a spokeswoman for Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.
"But banning all Muslims from entering the U.S. goes too far," Berrang said. "Now is not the time for more divisive rhetoric; we need to be focused on serious solutions to address the dangers posed by ISIS."
Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., said he is opposed to Trump's proposal but compared it with efforts to strengthen gun laws.
"Just as I am opposed to President Obama's efforts to strip law-abiding Americans of our Second Amendment rights, I am also opposed to anyone trying to impose restrictions based on our religious beliefs," Jenkins said.
Mike Hamilton, a spokesman for Rep. David McKinley, said McKinley disagrees with banning Muslims from the country, but he offered nothing more.
West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Conrad Lucas, in a prepared statement, did not say he disagreed with Trump and declined to denounce Trump's call to ban Muslims from the United States.
"The true issue involved is safety of American citizens and an effective screening process," Lucas said. "The United States must combat radical Islam while preserving our values."
Rep. Alex Mooney declined to comment on Trump or if he agrees with blocking Muslims from entering the United States. Republican state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey did not respond to requests for comment.
Sen. Joe Manchin, West Virginia's lone congressional Democrat, said he disagrees with Trump's remarks.
"I'm not for shutting it down," Manchin said in a phone interview. "We have to be smarter in what we're doing."
Manchin called for a re-thinking of the country's visa waiver program, which allows citizens of 38 favored countries easier access to the United States.
The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Tuesday evening to exclude foreigners who had traveled to Iraq or Syria from the program, but Manchin would go much further. He noted that, with all the uproar over Syrian refugees, only 2,300 have come to the United States since 2011, while 20 million people came on visa waivers last year, he said.
"I'd rather do away with the waivers altogether and just have a visa," he said. "I personally believe very strongly that anybody coming to this country has to have a biometric scan. They can change their name, they can change their appearance, they just can't change who they are with a biometric scan."
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., in a high-profile news conference Tuesday, said Trump's comments are "not what this party stands for and, more importantly, it's not what this country stands for."
Ryan noted that the "vast, vast, vast, vast majority" of Muslims are peaceful and believe in "pluralism, freedom, democracy, individual rights," a sentiment almost identical to that expressed by President Barack Obama in his Oval Office speech Sunday night.
While the national reactions to Trump's proposal were overwhelmingly negative, it did find favor with a small segment of society.
Neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups had high praise for Trump's idea.
"Glorious leader calls for complete ban on all Moslems," wrote the Daily Stormer, a prominent Neo-Nazi website, about Trump's idea. "Finally, someone speaks some sense."
Commenters on Stormfront.org, a leading white supremacist message board, also were very much pro-Trump.
"He's the greatest," wrote one. "Why? Because he truly places the interests of white America first."
Reach David Gutman at david.gutman@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5119 or follow @davidlgutman on Twitter.