Profiles in Courage

Readers of this blog know that I have called Republicans to task for their betrayals of conservatism. Such criticism, though, makes praise all the more meaningful. The members above, Senator Sam Brownback, Senator Jeff Sessions, Senator Jon Kyl, Senator Tom Coburn, Senator Norm Coleman, Senator David Vitter, Senator George Allen, and Senator John Thune demonstrated tremendous strength during this process. Some of their statements were public. Others we will never hear about. As young Senators, they took a tremendous risk in standing up to the President and Party Leadership in favor of principle. In a body in which seniority is king, these men risked the very things that lead to reelection to ensure that only qualified Supreme Court nominees get confirmed.

Just over a decade ago, Republicans in the Senate were unwilling to fight President Clinton on Supreme Court nominees. When President Clinton nominated Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she was confirmed by a vote of 96-3. His next selection, Stephen Breyer, was confirmed by a vote of 87-9. At the time, there was no evidence that either would feel restrained by the Constitution. Since then, no such evidence has emerged.

This is a new day. Almost every newly elected Republican Senator in the last few cycles has moved the caucus to the right. Today, they demonstrated that they are more committed to conservative principles than blind loyalty to any individual. The conservative movement has reached a new level, as it is now obvious that, while plenty of work remains, we can govern rather than simply have more seats. We have more work ahead of us than we have behind us, but the courage demonstrated by these men shows tremendous promise by demonstrating that we can expect higher standards from our elected conservatives. It is time to let the President know that we expect him to meet the same high standard set by these principled Senators. Please also let the Senators know how much you appreciate the courage that they have shown.

If you think that another Senator deserves to be on this list, by all means say so in the comments.