In a year with so many politically difficult moments, certain situations stand out as bright moments.
Liz Cheney, the former Republican Congresswoman from Wyoming, stayed strong and continued to fight against the cancer represented by Donald Trump, holding to the traditions and beliefs of a Republican Party that once believed in principle, but no longer exists, ready to sell its soul to a charlatan who is destroying its history and traditions.
Adam Kinzinger, the former Republican Congressman from Illinois, has also, like Cheney, been a Profile in Courage, who has refused to bend to the intolerance and authoritarian nature of a party which has left him, and Cheney, rather than the other way around.
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York has proved to be an exceptional potential Speaker of the House in 2025, as he has kept the Democratic minority united and strong against the degradation of the small majority Republicans in the House of Representatives. His leadership contrasts with the disgraceful, extremist oriented leadership of Kevin McCarthy, but even more so, Mike Johnson, a true religious extremist and moral hypocrite, who is sadly only two heartbeats away from the Presidency in his role as Speaker of the House.
President Joe Biden has shown great principle, courage, and decisiveness in a multitude of domestic and foreign crises, too often underrated and unappreciated for his strong stand for basic principles, including promotion of democracy, common decency, empathy, compassion, and the rule of law. He is presiding over the greatest crisis to our Constitution since the Civil War, but something that will only be fully understood in the future.
And finally, above all else, the survival of American Democracy itself, with the support of Democrats, courageous Republicans, the courts, the responsible news media, and decent citizens who value our heritage of nearly 250 years of constitutional government, is the ultimate “HERO” in this nation!
Resistance to authoritarian Fascism in all its forms is a constant, long term battle, and the final defeat, conviction, and imprisonment of the evil Donald Trump is the battle ahead, and with the understanding, that MAGA Trumpism will continue to be a threat, that all decent people will need to continue to resist beyond the time of Donald Trump!