A highlight of the Democratic National Convention was its showcase for Republicans, or former Republicans, who are dismayed about the direction their party has taken. One who spoke was former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, the six-term Republican from the Joliet area who was a member of the House committee to investigate Jan. 6. "As a conservative and a veteran, I believe true strength lies in defending the vulnerable," he said in Chicago. He called on fellow Republicans to return to their "bedrock values" – defending the Constitution, the rule of law, democracy and decency. The effort to revive decent conservatism hasn't yet caught fire. But good Republicans here should take heart from history. It was a simple decent man from Sangamon County, campaigning on bedrock values like liberty and equality, who became the first Republican president. – Fletcher Farrar, editor