Republicans of courage; Republicans of cowardice

Sixty-seven years ago Republican Senators took a principled stand to discipline their out of control colleague, Senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin. For 4 years McCarthy had run amok, charging thousands of loyal Americans of being pro Soviet communists or simply fellow travelers. Many were fired, had their lives destroyed; some committed suicide.

McCarthy was simply waging war on American democracy for personal gain. By early 1954, patriotic Senate Republicans had enough. As majority party they introduced a resolution to censure McCarthy for bringing discredit upon the Senate. Democratic Minority Leader LBJ told his members to simply shut up and let the Republicans conduct the debate. McCarthy was so flummoxed he accused his Republican colleagues of carrying communist water. When the vote came down December 2, 1954, 22 Republicans, half of the 44 voting, joined all 45 Democrats to censure McCarthy. The GOP initiative and large bipartisan vote sealed McCarthy’s fate.

Seven decades later House Republicans faced a similar dilemma with a crazed colleague, newbie QAnon Congresswoman Marjorie Greene, linked to death threats against Democrats and promoting Trump’s treasonous efforts to overturn Trump’s re-election defeat. In a closed door party caucus, Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy (no relation to Tail Gunner Joe), engineered a non-apology apology from Greene that kept his caucus from disciplining her. Some gave her a standing ovation.

Blowing their chance to expunge the unpatriotic stench from the GOP, Democrats moved to strip Greene of her committee assignments, essentially neutering her as an effective congressperson. Just 11 of 212 Republicans joined all 219 Dems to certify Greene’s descent into congressional disgrace.

After the December 2, 1954 vote, Republicans returned the party to the decency President Eisenhower demanded. Yesterday, Republicans voted to keep the Republican Party in the grip of traitorous Trumpism and the lunacy of QAnon acolyte Marjorie Taylor Greene.