Gov. Spencer Cox and Sen. Mike Lee are slated to speak at the Sept. 30 Turning Point USA event at Utah State University. In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, America needs clear-eyed moral leadership to renounce political violence.
Gov. Cox is obviously that kind of leader. One must ask, however, what Mike Lee adds to such an event. Will we see Sen. Lee the public servant, or “Based Mike Lee,” who cracked jokes about the assassination of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman? Even after Sen. Tina Smith tearfully begged him to stop normalizing political violence, he refused to apologize. He still hasn’t apologized.
None of this is to say that Sen. Lee, or his dark “based” internet alter ego, should be banned from speaking on campus. The First Amendment protects Sen. Lee’s right to preen in cringeworthy hypocrisy, and our right to respond in disgust. This is a matter of accountability, not censorship.
At a time when America needs leaders to renounce war and proclaim peace, we all deserve better than “Based Mike Lee.”
Thomas R. Grover, Las Vegas, Nevada
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