The last line is not necessarily accurate. History tends to record how people in public life respond to the big moments of their time. Senator Margaret Chase Smith, R-Me., is best remembered for her Declaration of Conscience in 1950 against McCarthyism... https://twitter.com/senalexander/status/1330996747800371203

2/ Rep. Larry Hogan Sr, R-Md., is best known for his courageous votes for impeaching Nixon during Watergate in 1974.

Public officials can try but often they cannot write their own legacies. They are also sometimes remembered for their cowardice.

3/ What comes to mind for me is Senate Majority Leader Taft, R-Ohio, and his complicity in McCarthyism despite his (private) clear-eyed view of it. He dropped dead in 1953 before McCarthy was censured.

Life is short. The time for courage is never tomorrow, it’s today.