We’re at a point now in history where we’re inclined to assign enormous courage to anyone on the right who resists pressure to be the biggest possible asshole. The latest example is Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. Cornyn once served the attorney general of Texas, and also on the state’s Supreme Court. Today, he serves as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s deputy.

On May 24, 2022, 19 elementary school students and two teachers were murdered in Uvalde, Texas with an AR-15 assault rifle. Understandably, Cornyn believes that there should be some kind of federal response. There’s debate about what measures might be most effective in preventing future slaughters in our schools, as well as other public spaces, but the impulse to try something is just normal human nature. Only extreme assholes would disagree.

Polling indicates that most Republican voters want something done, but the default position of Republican activists is that all efforts to limit access or otherwise regulate gun ownership are completely unacceptable. To even discuss the possibility of such things is enough to turn a GOP politician into a pariah. That’s why Cornyn was lustily booed at the Texas Republican state convention over the weekend.

Nonetheless, on Monday, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was unveiled. The bill is not revolutionary, but it is an actual federal response.

The 80-page bill, called the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, would enhance background checks, giving authorities up to 10 business days to review the juvenile and mental health records of gun purchasers younger than 21, and direct millions toward helping states implement so-called red-flag laws, which allow authorities to temporarily confiscate guns from people deemed dangerous, as well as other intervention programs.

The measure would also, for the first time, ensure that serious dating partners are included in a federal law that bars domestic abusers from purchasing firearms, a longtime priority that has eluded gun safety advocates for years.

Senators agreed to provide millions of dollars for expanding mental health resources in communities and schools in addition to funds devoted to boosting school safety. In addition, the legislation would toughen penalties for those evading licensing requirements or making illegal “straw” purchases, buying and then selling weapons to people barred from purchasing handguns.

On Tuesday, the bill passed a key procedural test, earning 64 votes to overcome a filibuster. The success was largely due to Cornyn’s decision to take a lead negotiating role. In the end, even McConnell voted to advance the legislation, and it will almost definitely pass and be signed into law by President Biden.

Cornyn has (or should I say, had) an A-plus rating from the National Rifle Association, but apparently two classrooms of dismembered kids were sufficient to change his mind about being a complete Second Amendment fanatic. Maybe (although I wouldn’t bank on it) Cornyn even felt some responsibility for the slaughter and a corresponding duty to make amends. Maybe he isn’t the kind of person who can look the surviving parents in the eye and tell them that he intends to do absolutely nothing to prevent a recurrence.

Whatever the truth of the matter, Cornyn is willing to take some flak, and now he’s getting glowing press for his political courage. We’re seeing this a lot. John McCain was praised for refusing to destroy the Affordable Care Act and replace it will essentially nothing. Republican election officials are being praised for not throwing out Biden-Harris wins in their states and unilaterally declaring Trump-Pence as the winners. Pence himself is held up as a paragon of virtue for not beginning a civil war in a desperate effort to keep himself in power.

Why is there such tremendous pressure on Republicans to be maximum assholes? A look at the platform of the Texas Republicans easily demonstrates that assholery is now the guiding principle of the right. It’s not enough to oppose gay rights, you have to call people “abnormal” and discriminate against them. Against all evidence, you have to declare Biden’s victory “illegitimate.” If it takes courage to be part of such an organization, then you should just walk away.

Our standards are so low that we’re actually undermining the standard of decency. Sure, Mike Pence and John Cornyn did the right thing, but in a limited circumstance after a long period of being perfectly stellar assholes. There’s no evidence or Eason to believe they won’t continue to be rank assholes on nearly every issue going forward.

But we’re so desperate for ordinary good human behavior from our leaders that we feel compelled to praise these bastards to the heavens, if nothing else to encourage more people to occasionally act in the public interest. And, sadly, we’re probably right to do so.