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Frank Bruni

By Frank Bruni

Mr. Bruni is a contributing Opinion writer who was on the staff of The Times for more than 25 years.

Senator Josh Hawley sure knows how to scurry away.

The Missouri Republican showed as much on Jan. 6, 2021, when he gave that infamous clenched-fist salute to the unruly mob bound for the Capitol — go get ’em, tigers! — then sprinted like terrified prey through the halls of Congress to evade them. He later wrote and plugged a book titled “Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs.” It extolled virility, valor, grit. All the qualities that he embodied on that heroic day.

And which he just modeled anew in voting for President Trump’s monstrously big but not even marginally beautiful domestic policy bill. For months before Hawley fell meekly in line last week, he sought and got enormous attention for being a holdout, a maverick,........

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