Lockstep tramples truth

In her recent appearance on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers pleaded for unity. It is a common call. President Bush pledged to unite, not divide; President Obama followed suit. The bipartisan public is weary of the deeply divided, dysfunctional political system.

Despite rhetorical calls for coming together, Republicans are exhibiting deep tone-deafness. Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, in the breathlessness of a sycophant, has said of Trump, “It’s like being actually led into the Promised Land by Moses.” The president must not be made into a religious prophet in a secular government. Texas Rep. Lamar Smith has suggested “the only way to get the unvarnished truth” is to get it from the president. The president must not, in a free society, be made into an oracle of truth. Even McMorris Rodgers routinely refers to our “unified Republican government.” Our government must not be made into a one-party state.

Overcoming divisions - McMorris Rodgers’ putative goal, at least on MLK Day - does not happen this way. To solve real problems and to make the political system work, the GOP must stop walking in lockstep before we are made to start marching in blind obeisance.

Adam Sowards

Spokane