Oh, it must be wonderful to be a Republican in Congress these days, having to suck up to the hateful and racist individual who currently is occupying the White House.
As of today, not a single Republican Congressional leader had spoken out against Donald Trump's racist tweets about those four minority Congresswomen, whom he said should go back to the countries from which they came, and then doubled down today, saying they hate America.
Republicans: where are you hiding? And why?
Trump's remarks have drawn worldwide condemnation. Yet, Trump continues, and in fact, said there was no reason for him to regret those tweets. “It doesn’t concern me because many people agree with me,” Trump said. “And all I’m saying — they want to leave, they can leave.”
Of course it doesn't concern him. He launched his attack specifically to feed the racist emotions of his supporters to whom he continually tosses red meat. That's important because otherwise they might be concerned about some of the things he's doing that actually hurts them, like trying to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security as proposed in his 2020 budget.
And he doesn't want them even thinking about that. For Trump, distraction is the name of the game.
But what about those Republicans in Congress? Why have they stayed silent about this latest exhibition of vitriol and racist hate? Many of them profess to be Christians, Evangelicals, even. Where in their religion does it say it's OK to demean people of another race?
What about the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you? That was based on the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” The Mosaic law contains a parallel commandment: “Whatever is hurtful to you, do not do to any other person.”
Guess that doesn't apply to them, or to Trump.
Trump’s tweets targeted a group of liberal freshmen who have been feuding with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, including Reps. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (Minn.). All are U.S. citizens, and only Omar was born outside the United States.
Trump said at the White House today that all four have been “complaining constantly” about the United States.
“These are people that hate our country,” Trump said. “They hate our country. They hate it, I think, with a passion.”
Yea, right, Mr. Trump. What they hate is the way you have made a mockery of the presidency and of the Constitution and the way you incite hate and division. These women are duly elected members of the U.S. House of Representatives and they deserve to be treated with respect.
Yesterday, Pelosi in blasting Trump for his remarks said his slogan, “‘Make America Great Again,’ has always been about making America white again.”
So, it is good that the House is considering a vote rebuking Trump’s tweets targeting the four lawmakers. In fact, that could unify a Democratic caucus that has been frayed by tensions between the group, which wants to impeach Trump, and Pelosi, who has been holding the line against impeachment.
But Republicans have a responsibility to speak out. Not all of them represent lily white districts or states. Surely, some must have at least some minimal standards and sense of fairness and justice.
So far that has not been in evidence as this drama continues to unfold.
Does that surprise you?
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