This past Friday, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) had an eventful town hall with constituents. Discussing the cuts which Republicans intend to make to medicaid with her constituents, she was confronted by a call that “People are gonna die!” from an outraged audience member, to which she responded, “We’re all going to die.”

Despite the callousness of the comment, I had some sympathy for Sen. Ernst. Emotionally, it’s hard to be on a stage alone facing an angry crowd. Imagine yourself in that position for a moment! I know I would not be finding my best words. As far as policy, I would like to believe Sen. Ernst had some well-founded beliefs she was standing upon. Taking money from those who have worked hard to earn it to buy food and medical care for those who are not working is plainly not fair. The debate about medicaid should be about whether that unfairness is justified and appropriate, not whether ending that unfairness will cause harm (as it equally plainly will, see Robert Anderson’s excellent letter in this paper two weeks ago).

As opposed to her comment in the town hall, Sen. Ernst’s video posted to social media after the meeting was over I find indefensible and outrageous. She apologized for not realizing that some audience members might not have understood that all of us die, expressed gratitude for not having to discuss the tooth fairy, and then invited people who wanted to see eternal life to embrace Jesus.

It is difficult to see the post as anything other than mocking. Unlike when she was under pressure in the town hall, she had time to stop and consider how this video would be taken by her constituents. Sarcastically straw-manning her opponents while draping an insensitive position in the trappings of Christian faith is both offensive and destructive. It can only inflame tensions and deepen the partisan divide which is making our country harder and harder to govern. Posts like this video are not strong political leadership, they are embarrassing acts of political cowardice that harm our nation.

I then thought of my senators, and felt a wave of gratitude. Sen. Peters (D-MI) has a decade-long track record of looking for ways to introduce, strengthen and support bipartisan legislation. Sen. Slotkin (D-MI) has repeatedly emphasized the necessity of representing all Americans regardless of party, most prominently in the official Democratic rebuttal to President Trump’s 2025 joint address to Congress. I’m thankful to have senators who are trying to find ways to keep Americans together rather than stoking divisions for political gain. It requires much more strength to find ways to work constructively with those who you believe are doing harm than to fight with them. Strong work, senators.