In case you were thinking that the midterm elections were a sign of an upswing, a bipartisan group of 44 former U.S. Senators teamed up to dissuade you of that idea. The unlikely partnership of senators wrote an op-ed, published in The Washington Post, warning their colleagues in the Senate that “we are entering a dangerous period” for American democracy.
Why would John Kerry, Bob Kerrey, Al D’Amato, Chuck Hagel, Jay Rockefeller, and Dick Lugar decide to team up? Because, they say, they had no choice in the face of Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump administration and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Here are some key excerpts:
“We feel an obligation to speak up about serious challenges to the rule of law, the Constitution, our governing institutions and our national security … We are at an inflection point in which the foundational principles of our democracy and our national security interests are at stake, and the rule of law and the ability of our institutions to function freely and independently must be upheld.
We are on the eve of the conclusion of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation and the House’s commencement of investigations of the president and his administration. The likely convergence of these two events will occur at a time when simmering regional conflicts and global power confrontations continue to threaten our security, economy and geopolitical stability.”
They ended their public plea by urging their colleagues sitting in the Senate now “to be steadfast and zealous guardians of our democracy by ensuring that partisanship or self-interest not replace national interest.” As the current senators decide how they would like to proceed, we’ll be over here mainlining eggnog and eating Christmas cookies like our lives–and our democracy–depend on it.
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