Republicans take a stand in House

For nearly 20 years, so-called moderate Republicans have had trouble taking a principled, effective stand in relationship to the intense form of political discourse personified by Donald Trump.

Many who tried could not find a way to stay in politics while standing for a more respectful, moderate approach. Sen. Flake, of Arizona, lost so much constituent support that he chose not to run again for Senate in XX. Those who stayed in the race were voted out of office. Others, like Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL., chose to engage in the school yard taunts, while yet others, like Rep. Stephanick, who had been considered a moderate, changed stripes to conform to what she saw as the prevailing political winds.

During the Trump presidency, news reports often stated that many if not most federal Republican lawmakers did not support the president, to the point of making fun of him in the halls of Congress, but were unwilling to say so publicly for fear of taunts and bullying by him and his supporters. They did not want them to support a primary challenger who could defeat them in the next election. In his recently published book, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, quotes Senators who voted against impeaching Trump for fear of violence against them and their families.

Today in Congress, we may be seeing something different take place. Twenty-two Republican House members are refusing to vote for their colleague Jim Jordan as speaker in the face of threats and bullying. A congressman in the mold of Trump and a staunch ally of the former president, Jordan appears to prefer the flash and noise of public life rather than the work of being a lawmaker. He has not passed a single piece of legislation in 16 years, but in the past year has issued 45 subpoenas for investigations that appear to be based on political vengeance rather than evidence of wrongdoing.

Dr. Bowen said that one person taking a principled stand for self, calmly and without anger at the other, can change an emotional system, taking it to a higher level of functioning. That would be true if we were talking about a family, a business or a legislative body.

Democracy is inherently a subjective exercise. Politicians appeal to emotions when seeking votes. They promote togetherness rather than individual thinking when organizing supporters. And they themselves are subject to the emotional pressure of the group both from their constituents and fellow lawmakers, p especially those in their own party.

Yet those who can find a way to think for themselves and take stands based on thinking can make a difference. We will see how this unfolds in the days and weeks ahead.