In the fall of 2015 and spring of 2016, when I regularly showered Harvard’s Hemenway Gymnasium after biking to work, I thought surprisingly often about Senator Ted Cruz, who graduated from Harvard Law School, which surrounds three side of the gym.
For some reason, I was obsessed by the thought that Cruz, a particularly distasteful Republic who was seeking the Republican presidential nomination, likely had used the same locker room where I was changing. I found myself looking at the young law students using the gym and wondering if any of them were going to be the “next Ted Cruz.” (Oddly, I didn’t think about the fact the Barack Obama, also a law school alum, likely had used the same gym and locker room.)
Cruz comes to mind (in my usual indirect way) via today’s #stampoftheday, which is a 7-cent airmail stamp, issued on January 3, 1959, to mark the day that Alaska became the nation’s 49th state. That stamp makes me want to express my appreciation for U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, who represents Alaska and is one of the handful of Republicans who are opposing what I view as an attempted coup d’Žtat by Donald Trump. Cruz recently released a letter signed by 11 Senators in support of that effort, which is also being back by a majority of the House Republicans, a host of deranged publicity-seeking people (e.g. Rudy Giuliani), and variety of dangerous and frightening groups.
I don’t always agree with Senator Murkowski’s priorities, policies, and votes. But at this moment I laud her for publicly and vocally standing up for democracy, the US Constitution, the rule of law, and fact-based reality. In a statement issued yesterday, Murkowski said what I hope every Senator and Representative, regardless of their party or personal political preferences, would say.
“I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and that is what I will do January 6,” the statement says. “…I will vote to affirm the 2020 presidential election. The courts and state legislatures have all honored their duty to hear legal allegations and have found nothing to warrant overturning the results. I urge my colleagues from both parties to recognize this and to join me in maintaining confidence in the Electoral College and our elections so that we ensure we have the continued trust of the American people.”
Two other Republican Senators whose views I don’t often share – Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Mitt Romney of Utah and – have taken similarly unambiguous stands. Toomey, for example, stated: “A fundamental, defining feature of a democratic republic is the right of the people to elect their own leaders. The effort by Senators Hawley, Cruz, and others to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in swing states like Pennsylvania directly undermines this right.” He added: “I voted for President Trump and endorsed him for re-election. But, on Wednesday, I intend to vigorously defend our form of government by opposing this effort to disenfranchise millions of voters in my state and others.”
Romney used even strong language, asserting: “The egregious ploy to reject electors may enhance the political ambition of some, but dangerously threatens our Democratic Republic.” He went on to bluntly state that arguments being put forward by “my fellow Senator Ted Cruz and the co-signers of his statement,” are …[wait for it]…”Nonsense.”
Romney continued by warning, accurately in my opinion, that: “adding to this ill-conceived endeavor by some in Congress is the President’s call for his supporters to come to the Capitol on the day when this matter is to be debated and decided. This has the predictable potential to lead to disruption, and worse.”
Sadly, as Romney stated: “I could never have imagined seeing these things in the greatest democracy in the world.”
And, like Romney, I wonder “Has ambition so eclipsed principle?”
While I’m concerned, I believe our institutions will ultimately confirm Joe Biden’s victory and that he will peacefully take office on January 20th. I also hope, but am much less certain, that at least a handful of Senate Republicans will not obstruct the Biden Administration’s efforts to address the multiple crises we are facing.
As David Brooks noted in a recent column, during the Civil War, U.S. Secretary of State William Seward observed, “There was always just enough virtue in this republic to save it; sometimes none to spare.” In 1867, Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia. Almost a century later, that territory became a state. It’s ironic that more than 50 years after that, one of its senators is among the handful of those virtuous Republicans whose actions may well prove to be just enough to again save this republic.
I hope, as a well-known quote mistakenly attributed to Winston Churchill observes, “You can always depend upon the Americans to do the right thing. But only after they have exhausted all the alternatives.”
Be well, stay safe, “vigorously defend our form of government,” fight for justice, and work for peace.