Honorless Men

Max Miller, John Cornyn, and Thom Tillis symbolize the rot in the Republican Party.

Honor is out of fashion in this age of decline.

The simple definition—the one that has any meaning in real political practice—is in fact much more difficult.

Honor is doing the right thing when it costs you.

A vote which involves no cost is not true courage, and a statement of concern with no risk involved is not actually a stand; the only test that has ever been important in this field is what a man does when acting rightly has a price attached, when that price is real, and he pays it anyway.

That leads me to John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who this week had to go through that test with the price fixed at about zero and still folded.

Neither man is running for reelection. Neither needs Donald Trump’s endorsement, his money, his Truth Social benediction, or his forbearance.

Trump had already torched both of them in public, insulted them, humiliated them, done what he always does to men who show a trace of defiance. And they sat on Judiciary with the votes to kill Todd Blanche’s nomination for Attorney General on a party-line committee vote. For several weeks, they used it. They postured and strutted like roosters, demanding action and concession from the odious Blanche. Grassley had to cancel a markup. Tillis threatened to simply not show up and deny quorum. Cornyn told reporters the Justice Department had “stonewalled” him and “simply refused to cooperate.”

For a short time and in truth they were free men. Nothing is more dangerous to a corrupt executive than a legislator who has no future to protect.

So what did they buy with that freedom?