I support the notion that in a democracy like America, winners of elections should be allowed to carry out their agendas. The electoral victory of any candidate reflects the preferences of a plurality of constituents. However, I am also aware that bad policies of incumbents can cause substantial harm to society. Failure to oppose such injurious actions in a timely manner carries the risk of the damage becoming irreparable by the time voters get the opportunity at the next election to replace their governors. For that reason, every democracy needs a robust and effective opposition party.

Even the most die-hard supporters of President Donald Trump have to acknowledge that some of the things he and other top officials in his administration have done in the past couple of months have been either haphazard or downright reckless. This is one of those moments when effective opposition is urgently needed to save the nation from descent into chaos. Unfortunately, the Democrats are too enfeebled to provide it.

The U.S. national debt is now a little over $36.2 trillion. That eye-popping figure is clear evidence that America has been living well beyond its means for far too long and needs to start tightening its belt. Waste, fraud and abuse in government is another serious issue that this nation needs to confront. A June 2023 report estimates that about $280 billion in COVID-19 relief funding was stolen by fraudsters, while another $123 billion was wasted or misspent. The ultimate amounts are likely much higher because those estimates were based on $4.2 trillion of spending on pandemic aid at the time of the report’s publication. Altogether, over $6 trillion was disbursed by the U.S. government in various pandemic-related assistance programs.

Those realities notwithstanding, it is unacceptable for any government official, elected or unelected, to treat public sector workers in the utterly disrespectful manner that we have witnessed in the last several weeks. Most likely, there are some lazy, corrupt, and incompetent people in the federal bureaucracy. That is true of all organizations. The private sector has its share of them. Regardless of whatever their deficiencies are or have been, getting rid of such individuals has to be done with decency. It hasn’t. The other tragedy is that in the rush to bring about whatever accountability may be legitimately needed, thousands of honest, hardworking public servants have likely been caught in the dragnet. Entire family lives are being disrupted in rather heartless ways.

Because Republicans currently have complete control of power in Washington, with President Trump wielding absolute authority over the party, the nation is essentially defenseless against this tsunami of bad policies and behaviors. It was a relief therefore to read this recent article about a handful of Republican lawmakers beginning to speak up. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and a few of her party colleagues have said in the last few days that they have been made deeply uncomfortable by some of the administration’s actions.

In quite strong language, they have criticized the mass firings of federal workers, describing them as inhumane. Additionally, they have condemned the unsavory remarks that both the president and his vice president have made in recent days about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, describing him as a dictator and accusing him of starting the war with Russia, which is a blatant falsehood.

In the current hyperpartisan national environment, it is profoundly gratifying to see these Republican lawmakers showing such courage and decency by calling out what they see as unacceptable behaviors on their side. The thoughtless gutting of institutions like the FBI and critical health agencies endangers the lives of all Americans. Therefore, wherever we fall on the political spectrum, we should all be thankful that these selfless leaders have chosen to stand up for what is right.