Letter: Newhouse fails his district and country
On March 1, Congressman Dan Newhouse held a telephone town hall. For about an hour, he addressed questions from constituents about several issues including health care, Social Security, immigration and education.
Towards the end of the town hall, in an exchange with a constituent, Congressman Newhouse seemed to endorse the idea that Democrats are enemies of the U.S. government.
Constituent: “Last night (during President Trump’s address to Congress), I hate to say this, but it’s the truth: I saw our enemy sitting in a group (Democratic members of Congress), and I felt like, you know, our government’s infiltrated.”
Newhouse: “Well (constituent), I appreciate your comment. I saw exactly what you saw. The short time I’ve been in Congress, this is the first time we’ve had a Republican president to address us and I don’t recall our side of the aisle — Republicans — treating President Obama in that way, and so I was disappointed as well.”
The constituent should not be faulted for exercising free speech. However, Congressman Newhouse fails his district and his country by tacitly demonizing his Democrat colleagues — and the many Central Washington Democrats who voted for him.
Martin McBriarty, Richland
This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 4:07 AM with the headline "Letter: Newhouse fails his district and country."