The Rhetoric of Silence, Part 3: The Missing Republicans

Interesting article by Bush speechwriter Matt Latimer. Yes, many Republican leaders have condemned President Trump or, at least, criticized him obliquely, for his remarks about the Nazi and KKK demonstration in Charlottesville, which resulted in the death of a counter-demonstrator. But most have said nothing.

John F. Kennedy, WH photo

The obvious explanation for their silence is political. Although, according to a recent poll, Mr. Trump's support among the general public has collapsed, he still, as of the latest poll, retains support from more than three-quarters of Republican voters. Republicans don't want to face primary challenges from candidates who are even more conservative than they are, and they know that Mr. Trump's ideas resonate across large parts of the country. Thus, even when Mr. Trump says something that is appalling, as he did yesterday, they lack the courage to speak out.

I refer readers to John Kennedy's best-selling book, Profiles in Courage, which told the stories of several senators who risked their political careers to do what they thought was the right thing. Do any Republicans in the Senate have that kind of courage today? Or is getting reelected their only goal in life?

Silence always means something. If I asked my students whether they had completed the day's reading assignment, and they sat silently in their desks, their silence meant they had not read the textbook, and they were ashamed of themselves. But they were never sufficiently ashamed of themselves to admit their failures out loud. The same, on a much greater and more important scale, is true of politicians who have not yet condemned President Trump's remarks, which expressed far too much sympathy for the alt-right demonstrators. Silence speaks volumes.

Update: for example, Kennedy praised Senator Thomas Hart Benton, who, although a slaveowner himself, voted against the spread of slavery to new territories. He thought, rightly, that this would divide the union. His vote cost him his career; history has vindicated him.