Joe Scarborough teared up & excoriated Republicans for abandoning the Senate floor’s standing ovation.

A more circumspect Joe Scarborough teared up & slammed Republicans for not saluting the historical confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Joe Scarborough excoriates his former party.

Joe Scarborough used to be an unrelenting unfeeling conservative many years ago. But after marrying Mika Brzezinski, she has had an attenuating effect on his ideological thinking. And that is a good thing. We should give all the space to atone and reflect.

Scarborough started by discussing his thought process when America elected its first black president., Barack Obama.

“I didn’t vote for Barack Obama when Barack Obama got elected,” Joe Scarborough said. “I turned to the person I was with and said, ‘I didn’t vote for him. But what an incredible country we live in.’ I thought he was too liberal. I could go down the list. But even at that moment, I knew something really incredible had happened that made me proud to be an American.”

During his statements, Scarborough had to pause for a few seconds. He was holding back tears, and his vocal cords were about to become wobbly.

“Given our history as a nation,” Scarborough said.. “Given the fact that women, the way women have been treated, the way black people have been treated, the way black women have been treated, just as a matter of history, it’s just it’s a matter of fact. As much as the fact is this is a coffee cup. You don’t think more Republicans and Mitt Romney could have stayed in that chamber, taken to their feet, and applauded the moment even if they didn’t agree with their dueling judicial philosophy.”

One is not asking conservatives to eviscerate their ideology. But a little infusion of humanity can make a much better country. Joe Scarborough is a template that many conservatives would do well to follow. It would be a positive for the country.