The United States Senate is teeming, no overrun, with principled people who wake up every day proud that they have the privilege and honor of representing their state as one half of one august and independent branch of the federal government. They shy away from cameras and shun social media, too busy with the hard work of legislating and checking the powers of the executive for such frivolous performances. They prefer to do their work for the American people behind the scenes. The only glory is the excitement they feel when a constituent thanks them for their dedicated service or a bill becomes law through their shear will and perseverance, and they can see it positively impact every day Americans. It’s a selfless life choice to run for and get elected to the Senate. Many would rather stand firmly on principle than ever cave to the demands of a person or issue that goes against promises they’ve made to constituents or the unimpeachable moral compass that guides every decision.
There are so many that deserve a spotlight that it’s hard to select just one. The Republican Party, for example, is almost completely made up of paragons of virtue who meet the highest ideals of their office.
Look at Ted Cruz. He won’t let himself be outdone by right-wing podcasters grifting their way to massive, impressionable, and low IQ audiences. No, a big part of his job in the Senate is having his own podcast where he cosplays as a responsible politician. He doesn’t need invitations from right wing media outlets. He has his own outlet. If that wasn’t enough, he even abandoned his state for Mexico during an energy crisis, then blamed it on his children. Only a confident leader and statesman blames their own children to escape a political transgression. It takes courage.
Linsey Graham was doxxed by Trump, became a vocal opponent, then a committed toady and enabler. That was all before the capitol was attacked on January 6th. For a fleeting moment he thought he was reading the political winds correctly and very publicly broke from Trump in a speech on the Senate floor. Then he caught a lot of flak from Trump loyalists and did another one-eighty. That kind of flip-flopping without shame or conscience is a masterclass in political courage. You would think it’s difficult to function without a spine, but Graham showed the world it’s unnecessary to hold office. Wherever the wind is blowing, especially if it means getting on television, Linsey is the first to lay out a semi-angered argument, until he has to change his mind and feign amnesia. A normal human would have trouble facing themselves in the mirror, knowing they would do literally anything to preserve their seat in the Senate, but Graham has courage, and maybe a lack of self-awareness as well.
Josh Hawley set the land speed record in the capitol running from the floor to safety during January 6th. That’s after he cheered on the crowd earlier in the day and did his best to downplay it in the aftermath. Markwayne Mullin challenged a union leader to a fist fight during a committee hearing. Tommy Tubberville goes to work every day for a government he knows less about than an elementary schooler. Charles Grassley has sent tersely written letter after letter to watchdogs and administrators he disagrees with then done nothing to back it up. Rick Scott made the bulk of his fortune defrauding Medicaid and Medicare, and has since been a leading proponent of privatizing both wildly popular and cost effective programs. Thom Tillis was against confirming the current Secretary of Defense, working behind the scenes to talk to character witnesses, until he found himself mostly alone and caved. All of these men are commendable and deserving of recognition, but there is only one that stands above the fray. His whole career has been a profile in courage.
I’m sure you’ve already guessed who I’m referring to just using the process of elimination. Nobody has done more to earn our collective appreciation and awe than Addison Mitchell McConnell – Moscow Mitch to his friends, Man Turtle to everyone else. Nobody has single handedly done more to contribute to the current state of the Senate, while washing their hands of it all and walking off into the sunset without a care. He’s the kind of guy who destroys a room in a mad fit, shrugs his shoulders, and leaves to go watch television in a corner somewhere. After an early career on the back bench, quietly working his way to the top of the Senate leadership and marrying someone rich, he finally reached the pinnacle and put that perch to good use. He did everything in his power to fight campaign reform, change the rules of the Senate to pack the courts, and pass every budget busting tax cut imaginable. When Trump was impeached for his behavior on January 6th he had the courage to take a back seat and do nothing. He didn’t rally any support to protect the country from a Trump return. He didn’t say much and he did even less. He voted against impeachment on procedural grounds to save face with the crazies. Fast forward to today and McConnell is no longer in a leadership position. He commands no votes. He’s content to fiddle now that he’s handed the country a book of matches and some kindling. I thought his prolific displays of courage were in the rearview until it came time to vote for the most unqualified and crazy crop of cabinet secretaries in our nation’s history. Knowing his vote would carry no weight, he stood strong against the tide and voted no on the worst of the nominees. This isn’t a person like many who served in Trump’s first term who waited until they were out of government to criticize him in a lucrative book. No, he’s already rich and doesn’t need to write a book. He’s acting on principle because it doesn’t matter anymore. And that’s all anyone is doing in the Senate majority these days.
