The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
It’s like balancing on a tightrope. Like balancing on a tightrope on a unicycle with a stack of plates on your head. In a crosswind.
Jaime Herrera Beutler is a Republican. She has been elected to the House of Representatives five times as a Republican, and she represents a district that voted for Donald Trump in 2016. So, criticism when she acts like a Republican seems a bit silly. But for all Republicans these days — at least those with a conscience — the crosswinds are blowing hard and they are full of hot air.
Last week, as you might know, President Trump sent out a racist tweet targeting four women of color in the House of Representatives. We could argue whether or not the message was racist; we also could argue whether water is wet, and you would be wrong if you disagree. And then we could discuss birtherism and calling Mexican immigrants “rapists” and re-tweeting memes from white supremacists and “some very fine people on both sides” and claims that a judge of Mexican heritage cannot be impartial and the Central Park Five.
The points are that charges of bigotry fit Trump better than his suits, and that saying American citizens should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came” isn’t a dog whistle, it’s a bullhorn for white supremacists.
Trump also wrote that the congresswomen “originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world.” Considering that three of the four were born in the United States, he just might be right about that at the present time. Considering that the fourth has been a citizen longer than his own wife, he just might want to recalculate his assessment.
All of this created a bit of a kerfuffle, to which Herrera Beutler responded on Twitter: “While I disagree on most policy matters w/ the Dem. congresswomen who were the subject of the president’s tweets this wkd, we are all Americans — as is the president. We can & must defend our ideas on how to improve our country w/o descending into divisive & demeaning language.”
Too hard? Too soft? Just right? Either way, the statement placed Herrera Beutler closer to the right side of history than most of her fellow Republicans. In contrast, we present Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who in 2015 said, “Donald Trump is a race-baiting, xenophobic bigot” and now is a Trump apologist.
The Democratic-controlled House then held a vote about whether or not to condemn the president’s words. Herrera Beutler, like all but four Republicans, voted no, saying: “The president was wrong to tweet as he did this weekend, but I will not be voting for the resolution because it further contributes to our country’s racial division — the same thing the House Democrats accuse the president of doing.”
All of which brings us back to the tightrope. Herrera Beutler has never fully embraced Trump; in 2016, she said she would write in Paul Ryan rather than vote for her party’s nominee. And she typically is ranked as a moderate Republican by those who keep track of such things, establishing a record of bipartisanship.
But she is, again, a Republican in a district that voted for Donald Trump and likely would do so again. Condemning the president in what was a symbolic vote might or might not hurt her politically. What to do?
That is the question that all Republicans should be asking, but the dirty little secret is that many of them regard Trump’s bigotry as a feature and not a bug. Trump just says the quiet part out loud.
Which leaves thoughtful Republicans — including Herrera Beutler — in a delicate position. Most Republicans are not racist; but those who are have found a voice in a president who is eager to exploit and inflame such divisions. Indeed, there are bigoted African Americans and Native Americans and Hispanics and people of every race and creed; but prejudice carries more weight when wielded by the president of the United States.
And that has Herrera Beutler trying to maintain a precarious balance.
Morning Briefing Newsletter
Get a rundown of the latest local and regional news every Mon-Fri morning.
