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The shameful spinelessness of the Republican Party has meant that any Republican who faces the President today has to reckon with the foaming anger of Trump fans.
And yet it is necessary to recognize the courage of those Republicans who have decided to vote in favor of impeachment for the president in the House of Representatives.
Too little (e) and too late, say the critics.
But that's unfair.
Because those who now follow their conscience like Liz Cheney and others are putting themselves and their families at considerable risk.
Vice President Mike Pence can tell you a thing or two about that.
He had been extremely loyal to the President for four years.
Then he had refused to torpedo the certification of the election of Joe Biden as chairman of the assembly of both chambers of congress.
And that's why the mob gave up hunting when the Capitol was storming.
On that dramatic day, Trump long refused to send the National Guard and his beleaguered vice military adviser.
From one day to the next, the president and his radical fans had declared one of the president's most devoted associates a traitor just for performing his constitutional duty.
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This shows how high the level of violence among radical Trump supporters is against apostates from their own party.
That is why all Republicans who are now voting against Trump are taking a significant personal risk - for a symbolic gesture that, given that Trump's term of office now only lasts a few days, has no practical consequences.
But there are moments in history when the main thing is that the upright few stand up and put their voices on the record.
And if the Republican Party ever wants to break free from the undemocratic abysses of the Trump era, it will sorely need Liz Cheneys, John Katkos, Adam Kizingers & Co to regain credibility.