Political courage — the idea that you should stand up and do the right thing, even if no one else will — is so much a part of the American ideal that it has become a common movie plot.
In “Twelve Angry Men,” Henry Fonda is the lone jury vote in favor of acquittal in a murder case. His determination to do the right thing despite the hostility he faces eventually convinces his fellow jurors to move over to his side.
And in the classic “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” an idealistic Jimmy Stewart takes on the powers that be from the floor of the U.S. Senate, dramatically collapsing after a day-long filibuster as he takes a stand against entrenched political corruption.
That’s why the embarrassed silence that has greeted former Rep. Liz Cheney’s endorsement of Kamala Harris is so disheartening.
This is the part of the movie where other prominent Republicans of character are supposed to stand up and say, “She’s right. I can’t keep silent. Donald Trump is a threat to our democracy and America’s place in the world.”
Instead, we get JD Vance, doing jump scares about Hatians eating pets in Ohio.
Nonetheless, Liz Cheney is not unique. While only a handful of prominent Republicans have matched her by endorsing Harris, including former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a lot of less-famous Republicans have been equally courageous in protecting the republic from their own party’s presidential nominee.
Back in 2020, Aaron Van Langevelde, the Republican co-chair of the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, faced enormous pressure not to certify the election results for Joe Biden. He resisted that pressure and gave us perhaps the most dignified soundbite in American history. “As John Adams once said, ‘We are a government of laws, not of men.’ This board needs to adhere to that principle here today. This board must do its part to uphold the rule of law and comply with our legal duty to certify this election.”
It cost him his job, just as speaking up against Trump cost Liz Cheney her job. But I doubt either regrets the decision.
Cheney and Van Langevelde took a public stand and put country before party at a time when they had real skin in the game. Not everyone is as brave and as selfless as they are, and I understand that some people will fail the test. What really puzzles me are the people who can freely speak their minds without consequence but don’t.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney has spoken up and endorsed Harris because Trump is “a threat to our republic.” You can say a lot of things about Dick Cheney, but certainly no one can call him a liberal or a squish. If Dick Cheney has taken a public stand against Donald Trump, any Republican can.
So when he endorsed Harris, there was a lot of speculation that former President George W. Bush would endorse, too.
That would have a real impact on the race. As a former Republican president, his endorsement would weigh heavily with old-school Reagan Republicans. And despite Trump’s takeover of the party apparatus, there are still a lot of these Republicans around. Nikki Haley got hundreds of thousands of votes in swing states like Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia even after she dropped out of the race. That’s more than enough to deliver those states to Harris and stop Trump from regaining the presidency.
Bush, however, is apparently above such petty concerns. Instead of making an endorsement, his office simply said that “President Bush retired from presidential politics years ago.”
But it doesn’t work that way. When your country calls, you can’t just roll it over to voicemail because you don’t want to deal with it, especially when you are an elder statesman like an ex-president. Patriotism is for life.
Just ask former President Carter, who has been in hospice now for over a year. Carter, who turns 100 on Oct. 1, isn’t interested in his birthday. Because Georgia is a swing state and every vote counts, he says he’s “only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris.”
Yes, that’s correct — the man’s only remaining wish is to use his dying breath to help protect American democracy, by voting. I was never a big fan of Carter’s presidency, but if that kind of devotion to duty doesn’t both shame you and inspire you, you’ve lived a much more righteous life than I have.
And how does Bush stack up in comparison? Not great. Despite his lofty disdain for “presidential politics,” he’s happy to reap the perks by attending presidential events and hobnobbing with Michelle Obama. He’s also happy to use his status as an elder statesman to offer the sitting president advice so long as he can plug his new book at the same time. He’ll even turn up at your corporate event or bar mitzvah and tell you about “the challenges facing our nation in the 21st century” if you pay him enough.
A wise president once said, “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America.” When something does threaten those foundations, we cannot stand idly by. If you believe that Donald Trump is a threat to our republic, then you owe America your honest opinion, whether you are a member of a state canvassing board, a former Cabinet secretary, or an ex-president.
Just this once, put your feelings aside, wave your speaking fee, and do what you know is right.
Chris Truax is an appellate attorney who served as Southern California chair for John McCain’s primary campaign in 2008.