Damned If You Do – Or Don’t

Oh, what a bind they’re in!

The dynamics in my town’s local election are a window into the vise that grips Republican candidates nationwide.

“My town” is Erie. Candidates for Mayor and town council have divided into two pods, despite the supposed non-partisan nature of the election.

One pod’s candidates are seemingly Democrats, the others seem to skew Republican. The apparently Republican-ish pod has been dubbed the “slate,” because of their lockstep views on some issues and their ubiquitous clusters of campaign signs. The campaign is spirited and the spirit is sometimes unpleasant. As a writer for Yellow Scene, and a lively contributor to social media, I’ve added more than a bit of spice.

The dynamic I reference flared when I posed this question to the candidates:

A challenge to our Erie candidates:

Ordinarily, this question would be somewhat irrelevant. But in light of the recent “testimony” from multiple members of the Trump administration, including Generals Mattis, Milley, and Kelly, that Donald Trump is a fascist and unfit for office, can you affirm that you will not support him?

It seems reasonable to know whether local elected officials support a presidential candidate who has been characterized as a fascist authoritarian by conservatives and highly respected military leaders.

Have you the integrity to respond? A failure to respond will speak for itself.

Not one of the “slate” – and I’ll name them for the record – responded. They are Andrew Moore, Brandon Bell, John Mortellaro, Andrew Sawusch, Travis Pinz, Dan Maloit and Brian O’Conner.

Each pea in the other pod readily stated their support of Harris/Walz. They are Justin Brooks, Ben Hemphill, Anil Pesaramelli, Emily Baer, Dan Hoback and Richard Garcia.

None and all. The difference is stark.

“Slate” supporters took me to task for inserting partisanship into what they think should be a friendlier and more civil campaign. Many complained that the federal election is irrelevant. I won’t explicate the many contortions the “slate” and their friends performed to avoid the issue.

So why won’t they answer and why is the question relevant and important in a local election?

I don’t believe that most Republican-leaning candidates, federal, state or local, are “afraid” of Donald Trump. They are afraid of Trump supporters.

I will stipulate that the members of Erie’s “slate” may otherwise be decent enough folks, although there has been some electoral mischief ascribed to several of them. But if they denounced Donald Trump, for any of the myriad reasons he should be denounced, their electoral prospects would significantly dim. That’s the nature of politics these days. A rock and hard place squeezes decency from nearly all Republicans – here, there and everywhere.

Perhaps they don’t respond because they are ashamed. I suppose that would be slightly better than being a proud Trump supporter. But that’s a distinction without a difference.

It is relevant because the refusal to denounce this particular candidate and his rancid rhetoric is tacit agreement.

Because my local candidates will not speak out or step up, it is fair to make these assumptions:

They support a candidate who does not respect or honor democratic norms, therefore one might question their support for democratic norms.

They support a candidate who encourages violence and retribution, therefore one might question their support for peaceful and civil governance.

They support a candidate who is crude, coarse and serially dishonest, therefore one might question whether their own values are firmly grounded in honesty and decency.

They support a candidate who has exhibited racism in speech and action, therefore one might question whether they are tolerant of racist speech and policy.

They support a candidate who wishes to deport millions of brown children, women and men without regard to due process or a modicum of human decency, therefore one might question their attitudes toward immigrants in our community.

They support a candidate who has been convicted in criminal and civil court, therefore one might question whether they consider criminal conviction, without remorse or rehabilitation, as disqualifying for one seeking the public trust.

They support a candidate who has been convicted of sexual assault and accused of such by dozens more women, therefore one might question whether they value the protection of girls and women from sexual aggression or predation.

They support a candidate who is on the record stating that he would be a “dictator on day one”  if elected again, therefore one might question their own attitudes toward authoritarianism.

They support a candidate who has declared admiration for Hitler, Putin, and other brutal leaders, therefore one might question whether they have lost all sense of decency. 

My initial challenge should be addressed to every candidate for office in the United States.

In my small community, in the shadows of the magnificent Rockies, the silence from Andrew I, Andrew II, John, Dan, Brandon, Travis and Brian is complicity.

They are indeed in a bind. But it’s no excuse.