Biden
It takes courage to sacrifice for a Nation. We learned a lot about that this year from President Biden. He’s a man whose whole life aimed at reaching the Presidency. After three decades in the Senate and two runs for the Presidency, Biden got the ultimate consolation prize, the Vice Presidency. In what should have been “his time”, his final “shot” at the Presidency: his son, the scion of the Biden political tradition, died. It crushed him. Hillary Clinton got the call.
It took a combined Constitutional crisis of the Trump Presidency and the world pandemic to open the door to the White House one more time. Biden finally earned the top position. And after three years of one of the most successful Presidency’s in history, he was poised to win a second term. His campaign was well financed, and developed the best “ground game” in American politics. Then the debate happened. Joe Biden was betrayed by his own body, showing the wear of forty-five years of political combat.
He could have continued. The nomination was his, as was the hundreds of millions of campaign funds. Sure, other party leaders wanted him to quit, most notably, Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi. But he could have defied their Machiavellian efforts. Instead, he put the future of the Party, and the Nation, ahead of his own ambitions. It was the most politically courageous act of this century.
Kinzinger
But Biden isn’t the only politician to demonstrate that rare quality this year. Adam Kinzinger, the former Republican Congressman from Illinois, joined the January 6th Committee against the “orders” of his party’s leadership. He knew the “price” of his actions: he faced being “primaried” from the right. He didn’t even try to run for re-election.
And when Trump was nominated again by the Republican Party, Kinzinger stood up at the Democratic Convention. He showed other Republicans “the way” to vote against him. To use modern psychological parlance, Kinzinger gave doubting Republicans a “permission structure” to vote Democratic, for the good of the Nation.
Cheney
But perhaps the greatest act of political courage of all, is by Liz Chaney. She is the daughter of Dick Cheney; former Vice President, Secretary of Defense, White House Chief of Staff, and Congressman from Wyoming. Liz followed in her father’s footsteps, a Congressman herself from Wyoming, and the first woman to Chair the House Republican Caucus. She was third in line in the Republican power structure, poised to ultimately ascend to the Speakership.
But then Donald Trump came along. And Liz Cheney made a choice between what was good for her political future, and what was good for the Nation. She voted to impeach Trump, and along with Kinzinger, accepted appointment (and the Vice-Chairmanship) of the January 6th Committee. It cost her everything. She lost her leadership position in the caucus, and then, she was “primaried” out of her Wyoming Congressional seat.
But Liz Cheney makes it clear: a vote for Donald Trump is a vote against the Constitutional Democracy of the United States. Sure Cheney and Kinzinger have policy differences with Vice President Harris, serious differences about the role of the Federal government. But those are nothing compared to the existential threat that Donald Trump represents to our Nation. (I know, Dems aren’t supposed to say that anymore, that’s “old-school speak”. But it’s still the unspoken truth of the 2024 election – check out Project 2025, the playbook for the second Trump Administration).
This week Liz Cheney endorsed Kamala Harris for President of the United States. She’s going on the campaign trail to support her.
Timidity
Over the past decade, I have looked to Republicans for political courage. From Ohio politicians like Rob Portman and Mike DeWine, to national figures like Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio; again and again they have turned to Party over Country, and their own political careers over national interest. Some, like Portman (and Speaker Paul Ryan) left the “field”. DeWine, “laid low” when the pressure was on. Others, like Graham, became Trump sycophants. But few stood up against the MAGA takeover of their own Party. Even Vice President Mike Pence, who showed personal courage and stood against the mob on January 6th, tried to have it “both ways”. He campaigned against Trump, but still as part of the Trump/Pence team. It didn’t work.
I lamented that the courage of John McCain was gone. Instead, in the (supposed) words of retired Senator Lamar Alexander, they supported Trump because, “Who will I eat lunch with at the club if I don’t”. And I wonder: where is George W Bush or Condoleezza Rice, or the Generals who made it clear that Trump is dangerous. Are they too worried about losing their “lunch companions”? Are they to remain “profiles in timidity”?
But there is still courage in American politics today. If you’re looking for proof, look to Biden and Kinzinger. And most recently, look to Liz Cheney, a “Profile in Courage” putting country over career and party. I hope her fellow Republicans listen.
