Alexei Navalny Was Everything the GOP Isn't

Taking a stand doesn't have to cost your life, but God forbid you lose your access

Alexei Navalny returned to Russia after suffering a poison attack, a nerve agent that took him close to death. He felt it was important to make a stand and keep fighting for a country under the spell of a corrupt and evil man, Putin. Navalny knew this would lead to incarceration on trumped up charges, and could mean his life, but he knew the world was watching and some sacrifices were worth making for the larger good. He showed courage that ultimately cost his life, and there will be statues built to honor him when Russia is finally free.

Imagine for a second, everything he built, all his life experiences, people he met, activities all pack into 47 years, and with the wink of the dictator, it just ended. Surviving Alexei is a wife, and two kids. His life was ended, but his name will live on forever as a man who wrestled his fears, believed in his cause, and took the withering fire to do right.

Today we learned the price he paid, it was the ultimate sacrifice. A few weeks ago, we learned that three Americans paid the ultimate sacrifice after an attack on a US base in Jordan. People every day are willing to put their lives on the line for a bigger cause, and sometimes that bill must be paid.

Unless of course, you are a Republican elected official in the House of Representatives. No, in that case, the ultimate sacrifice is not losing your life, or even losing your job. It’s losing access to the tribe, and that is a cost that is just too great to bear. Why are so many retiring members still quiet on Russia? Why don’t those member, who don’t have to face the voters anymore, approach the Speaker and tell him that they will burn down every rule vote (a vote before any bill that governs how the floor will operate) until he agrees to simply bring up the funding for Ukraine for a vote? Easy, because these members are banking on access to the tribe after office, if you want to lobby or use your connections that you have spend a lifetime building to make money, you simply cannot anger those people! If Trump wins, well, maybe you want to be considered for a post congress job in the administration…and angering the freedom caucus wouldn’t help.

Regardless, we live in such comfort in this country that the idea of putting your life or livelihood on the line for others is such a foreign concept. It’s not entirely unexpected, however. Many in WW2 and on tried dodging the draft when Uncle Sam came calling (Trump had BONE SPURS after all), and that’s, again, somewhat understandable. But, when called to sacrifice access to the lucrative post congress life, well, that is just a bridge too far.

Alexei Navalny knew evil when he saw it. He knew that this unique moment landed on his shoulders to bear, and he was strong enough to carry it. The work cost him his life as he was brutally murdered, but his name will be etched in history. He will have folks songs written, books authored, and movies filmed capturing and carrying on his legacy, and it will inspire those in the trenches fighting for a free and fair Russia.

Meanwhile, our “brave” congressmen at home, faced with a choice “defeat the man who killed Alexei” or “tweet a nice poem about sacrifice, but preserve your post congress earning power” most sadly will choose the latter. America, and homeless Republicans like myself and many of you, deserve far better, and far braver leaders.

If we could have elected officials with half the courage as Mr. Navalny, we would be just fine. Instead, they are cowering in their foxholes hoping the menace passes. It won’t, and it’s time, as the commanders of congress, to replace them with brave Americans willing to sacrifice all, but required to sacrifice little.