Hypocrites say one thing but do another, saying what they say because they know it’s right, doing what they do because it’s conveniently advantageous. Nearly four centuries ago, a French duke summed up hypocrisy as the compliment vice pays to virtue. There’s no better definition.
Two passings of note bring this to mind. One just passed the torch, the other recently passed on from this world. One personifies the pursuit of convenient advantage. The other’s words and deeds were in a rare state of harmony. One is bossed while in possession of immense power. The other remained defiantly free while held in captivity. One is exalted in rank but diminished in stature. The other was beaten down and ultimately snuffed out but is larger than life.
One is Mitch McConnell. The other is Alexei Navalny.
McConnell is cunning and crafty, a brilliant political strategist whose unrivaled mastery of Senate rules and procedures put colleagues—and often the institution itself—under his spell and at his mercy. It also can be fairly and safely said that there is no abiding principle he won’t discard when it serves his purposes.
Earlier this year, McConnell pushed hard for a bipartisan deal combining tightened immigration policies and aid to Ukraine. Negotiations between party leaders yielded an agreement, then Donald Trump badmouthed it. McConnell bowed to his master, dutifully casting doubt on the deal he helped broker, eventually voting against it himself. No abiding principle.
McConnell feigned outrage on February 13, 2021 when he called Trump’s actions on January 6 “disgraceful” and said the defeated president was “practically and morally responsible” for what happened that day. He spoke these words moments after voting to acquit Trump of charges of inciting insurrection. No abiding principle.
Eight months before the 2016 election, McConnell nullified Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to fill a Supreme Court vacancy, arguing Senate confirmation of the appointment so close to the next election would deny the American people “a say in the court’s direction.” Barely a week before the 2020 election, McConnell engineered the filling of another Supreme Court vacancy just 30 days after Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett. No abiding principle.
I can’t know Alexei Navalny as well as his fellow Russians know him. But I know this. Thousands poured into the streets at Navalny’s funeral, risking arrest and imprisonment—or worse—to honor the opposition leader and anti-corruption crusader who fearlessly sought to expose and ultimately topple the despotic Vladimir Putin.
With a television camera rolling and a brutal regime watching, a woman among the throng of mourners said, “one sacrificed himself to save the country, the other one sacrificed the country to save himself.” One is Navalny, the other one Putin.
That Alexei Navalny could inspire such bravery in others says everything anyone needs to know about his own unwavering courage and sheer nerve. He stood up to a ruthless dictator at the risk of death, which stands in sharp contrast to the Neville Chamberlain of bluegrass country, who appeases another despot at the risk of unpopularity.
A moment approaches when our own mettle may be so tested. At such a time, Mitch McConnells come cheap, a dime a dozen. One Alexei Navalny is priceless.
Well said.