Dear Senators: Your Time Is Now. Sincerely, Ex-Senators

'WaPo' op-ed penned by ex-senators reminds current ones to stand up for the nation
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 11, 2018 7:41 AM CST
44 Ex-Senators to Current Ones: Stand Up for Democracy
US Capitol Building.   (Getty Images/YayaErnst)

An unusual byline in the op-ed section of the Washington Post is creating some buzz: "44 former US senators." Sharing the belief that "we are entering a dangerous period," the ex-legislators—a group of 32 Democrats, two independents, and 10 Republicans that includes the likes of former Secretary of State John Kerry, ex-Virginia Sen. John Warner, and former VP nominee Joe Lieberman—address their current Senate counterparts with a message. Calling where we're at now as a nation "a critical juncture" and "inflection point," given an eventual conclusion to Robert Mueller's Russia investigation and the likely beginning of a House probe into the Trump administration, the former senators implore their successors to not shirk their responsibility to the country, and to democracy in general, based on "party affiliation, ideological leanings, or geography."

Without explicitly mentioning names or specifics, Kerry et al. note their worry about the "serious challenges to the rule of law, the Constitution, our governing institutions, and our national security" they've been witnessing, and they ask those who now call the US Capitol home to remember that no matter what side of the aisle they're on, they need to put their differences aside and remember their common goal: "placing our country, democracy, and national interest above all else." They also remind their replacements that during other tough times in US history, it's been the Senate that's served as democracy's bulwark. "Today is once again such a time," they write. Read their words here. (There's a "quiet resistance" within the Trump administration, an anonymous op-ed writer recently claimed.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X