(Photo Credit: whigclioblog.princeton.edu)
The following is an opinion contribution and reflects the author’s views alone.
The Cliosophic Party of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society
Official Statement on Attempts to Revoke Senator Ted Cruz’s JMA
In the aftermath of the riots at the Capitol Building on January 6th, there have been calls from students and alumni for the University to condemn U.S. Senator Ted Cruz ‘92 (R-Texas) for his objection to the certification of certain Electoral College votes and his perceived role in the mob violence that ensued. Some members of the University community have gone further, calling on the American Whig-Cliosophic Society to revoke the James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service (JMA) that the Society honored Senator Cruz with in 2016.
An official petition to revoke Senator Cruz’s JMA, organized by a Whig-Clio member, has been submitted to the Governing Council and is currently being circulated among the Society’s membership. If the petition receives the signatures of one-fifth of the Members in Good Standing of the Society (thirty-three members), per the Society’s constitution, a meeting of the Assembly must be called by the President. The Assembly, consisting of all Members in Good Standing of the Society, would then convene to consider the merits of the petition and vote on whether or not to revoke Senator Cruz’s JMA. Currently, it appears likely that the petition will meet the necessary signature threshold, thereby necessitating a vote by the Assembly on revoking Senator Cruz’s JMA.
The Cliosophic Party is opposed to this petition and any attempts to retract Senator Cruz’s JMA. While the petition cites Senator Cruz’s supposed “role” in inciting violence, as evidenced by his numerous public statements and tweets prior to, during, and after the mob violence at the Capitol Building, Senator Cruz repeatedly implored the violent rioters to stop and called for the prosecution of any person who committed crimes to the fullest extent of the law. We underscored this point in our previous statement on the violence of January 6th; Senator Cruz cannot be held responsible for violence that he has repudiated countless times. Additionally, Democratic politicians who have challenged Electoral College votes in the past, from Senator Barbara Boxer joining with Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones in an attempt to overturn President George W. Bush’s reelection in 2004 to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi voicing her “support” for efforts to object to the certification of President Donald Trump’s victory in 2016, never faced similar public backlash for their equally misguided actions.
Less than five years ago, Whig-Clio determined that Senator Cruz met the criteria to receive the JMA, being an “individual who has taken up the arduous but righteous cause of dedicating their life to the betterment of society.” Senator Cruz remains an iconic figure of American politics; from his tenure as Texas’s Solicitor-General to his time as a U.S. Senator, presidential candidate, and outspoken conservative firebrand. Indeed, he could easily be described as Princeton’s most prominent conservative alumnus. Though his recent objections to the certification of certain Electoral College votes were unquestionably disappointing, it does not implicate him in an “insurrection,” and nothing has since changed regarding his stately record of public service.
In his inaugural address, President Joe Biden declared that “Unity is the path forward” and called for the nation to “start afresh”. Unfortunately, this petition seeks the opposite, and it threatens to further divide us at a time when we need unity and healing. We strongly encourage all Whig-Clio members to refrain from embarrassing the Society by supporting this politically-motivated effort to cancel Senator Cruz and revoke his JMA.
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