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.
As the nation focuses on the presidential race, the contest in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District has turned into a cliché.
You know, the one about politics making strange bedfellows. The one about how people who normally disagree can find common ground on some issues for different reasons. The one about how elected officials sometimes go against their basic instincts in the quest for a larger goal.
Take Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, the incumbent in what is expected to be a close race for Southwest Washington’s congressional seat.
On Thursday, Perez was one of six House Democrats to join all House Republicans in rebuking Vice President Kamala Harris for her performance — or lack thereof — in securing the southern border. It is no coincidence that the vote came shortly after Harris’ apparent ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket for the presidential race. And it is no coincidence that all six Democrats who voted in favor are considered vulnerable in November.
Perez has tacitly acknowledged that vulnerability by using her first TV ad of the season to chastise the Biden administration’s handling of the border. She knows it will be a big issue for voters in a district won by Donald Trump in 2020.
But it is worth mentioning that Harris was never appointed “Border Czar,” regardless of how often Republicans repeat the phrase. Early in Joe Biden’s presidency, she was tasked with identifying the root causes of migration, not with securing the border. We can argue over how she handled the task, but it is silly to lay the entire issue at Harris’ feet.
And it is worth mentioning that Thursday’s vote was symbolic, regardless of how often Fox News calls it “legislation.” Nope, just political theater that is too often conflated with leadership in Washington, D.C.
If Republicans want to make an issue out of border security for the November election, they also should explain why they capitulated to Trump and killed a bipartisan bill that would have addressed many of their concerns. Apparently, leaving a festering wound is better than salving it — as long as Trump can point and say, “Look, a festering wound.”
And while Perez was voting with Republicans, her two main challengers in the congressional race were waking up to their own strange bedfellows.
Leslie Lewallen, a Republican and former prosecutor who is a Camas City Council member, recently was interviewed by The Columbian’s Editorial Board. After touting herself as a law-and-order candidate, she was asked, “Believing in law and order, do you support a convicted felon for president?”
“I am supporting Donald Trump for president of the United States,” she responded. In case you missed it, Trump has been convicted on 34 felony counts of fraud by a jury in New York.
In a column for The Daily Caller, Lewallen whined about, “A jury selected from a tainted jury pool that votes for Democrats 95 percent of the time.”
It is strange for a former prosecutor to complain about one of the foundational elements of our judicial system — trial by a jury of our peers. And it is strange for one to exaggerate the blue hue of Manhattan or to side with a convict. But such are the contortions that Republicans endure to support the vengeful narcissist who is at the top of their presidential ticket for the third election in a row.
Which brings us to Joe Kent, the other prominent candidate in the 3rd District. In 2022, Kent loudly, frequently and inaccurately claimed that the 2020 election was fraudulent and that the Jan. 6 rioters were political prisoners — until he didn’t. When it came time for the general election, he changed his mind.
Now, as he runs for Congress again, he floats claims that the Secret Service was “in on” the assassination attempt against Trump, adding to a long list of conspiracy theories he has echoed.
For Kent, apparently, the strange bedfellow is reality, and the two have only a passing acquaintance.
All of which is part of the game that comes with election season. It promises to be an interesting one in Southwest Washington.
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