Alaska senators should heed the call to end silent acquiescence to Trump

Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan should take to heart what Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake said today about "silent acquiescence" to President Trump.

The Arizona senator, a fellow Republican, said "an American president who cannot take criticism -- who must constantly deflect and distort and distract -- who must find someone else to blame -- is charting a very dangerous path. And a Congress that fails to act as a check on the president adds to the danger."

"Now, we are told via Twitter that today the president intends to announce his choice for the 'most corrupt and dishonest' media awards. It beggars belief that an American president would engage in such a spectacle. But here we are. And so, 2018 must be the year in which the truth takes a stand against power that would weaken it.

"In this effort, the choice is quite simple. And in this effort, the truth needs as many allies as possible. Together, my colleagues, we are powerful. Together, we have it within us to turn back these attacks, right these wrongs, repair this damage, restore reverence for our institutions, and prevent further moral vandalism."

Flake called on Congress to "do our jobs under the Constitution, without regard to party or party loyalty, let us resolve to be allies of the truth -- and not partners in its destruction."

I have no doubt that Murkowski is privately appalled by much of what Trump says, but in public she is a model of diplomacy toward the stable genius. The health care fiasco last summer was notable only because she had the temerity to step a few inches out of line. It was falsely deemed a revolutionary act on her part.

The one time that she spoke from the heart about Trump was after the release of the bus tape, when she said he had forfeited the right to be a nominee for president.

Flake is leaving the Senate this year and he may be a future presidential candidate, so perhaps that is what allows him to say what other Republicans won't. Nothing in his speech is radical, but Republicans, Flake among them, have refused to say this any of this out loud for fear of igniting Trump's wrath. Flake has been complicit, along with every other GOP senator.

It's long past the time for Murkowski and Sullivan to do their jobs and end the silent acquiescence.

Write to me at dermotmcole@gmail.com.