Henry Olsen WaPo column:

If you think this commendation is misplaced, imagine what would have happened if some or all of these people had been partisan rather than patriotic. State legislatures would have openly challenged the election outcome, presenting Congress with a genuine controversy. Judges or justices would have ruled in Trump’s favor despite the lack of evidence, throwing the country into chaos. The Justice Department would have put its considerable weight behind the push for a putsch, making Joe Biden’s eventual triumph much more difficult. Each person in this chain could have acted differently. Would you have been so brave under the pressure of the president of the United States?

It’s certainly true that many Republicans did seek to overturn the election results, including the many state attorneys general and members of Congress who signed on to the Texas case. But would they have done so if they thought they had a serious chance of prevailing? Those who joined the suit — and perhaps even those who brought it — likely knew they were demagogically playing to the base rather than engaging in a realistic effort to undermine the election.

The same verdict applies to Republican House members and senators who voted not to certify Arizona’s and Pennsylvania’s electoral votes. They knew the vote would fail, and thus they could throw red meat to the base without risk that they would succeed. If they are to be castigated, then we must also castigate the 32 Democratic members of Congress who voted in 2005 not to certify Ohio’s 2004 electoral college votes, a move that would have prevented President George W. Bush’s reelection had it succeeded.

Past is not prologue, and national Republican leaders largely have not found the courage to say what they know is true: Trump lost, and fraud was not a factor. This does not obviate the bravery they showed when it mattered. If you love our democracy, thank Republicans for the fact we still have it.