Arab American Republican Congressman First to Say He Will Vote for Clinton
BY: Nisreen Eadeh/Staff Writer
In an open letter published on Syracuse.com on Tuesday, Arab American Republican Representative from New York, Richard Hanna, said he will not vote for Donald Trump. Rather, he will cast his vote for Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton in November.
Rep. Hanna is the first Republican congressman to announce that he will be voting for Clinton, saying his reasons are “simple and personal”. In his letter, Hanna said Trump is “profoundly offensive and narcissistic… a world-class panderer, anything but a leader.”
Months ago, Rep. Hanna said he would not vote for Donald Trump, citing the candidate’s inability to be kind, honest, respectful, and compassionate as reasons to not support him. But Trump’s recent attack against Khizr Khan and his wife Ghazala, parents of fallen American Muslim soldier, was the final straw for Rep. Hanna.
Donald Trump’s comment about Ghazala Khan after her husband’s DNC speech about their son who died in the Iraq War“For me, it is not enough to simply denounce his comments: He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country,” Rep. Hanna wrote in the letter.
The congressman noted that he disagrees with Clinton on many issues, but he will vote for her anyway because she “has stood for causes bigger than herself for a lifetime.” Rep. Hanna argued that people should think about what is good for the country, not their political party, in the November election. Winning and losing is not important now; good Americans who love their country should do the same.
Rep. Hanna’s letter also mentioned a few critiques of the Republican Party. Having been a Republican congressman since 2011, Rep. Hanna said he’s seen an increase in the inability of republicans to put electable people into office. He argued that the GOP has alienated many groups in America, including women, Hispanics, the LGBTQ community, and young voters. The representative fears that supporting Trump will further the Party’s isolation.
The letter ended with a call for positivity by Rep. Hanna: “Our response to the public’s anger and the need to rebuild requires complex solutions, experience, knowledge and balance. Not bumper sticker slogans that pander to our disappointment, fear and hate.”
Speaker Paul Ryan condemning Trump’s racist statement about a Hispanic judge (ABC News)Rep. Richard Hanna’s letter came about after President Obama and fellow Republicans, such as John McCain (R-AZ) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), condemned Trump’s comments toward the Khan’s. Republican leaders also said that Trump’s statements do not represent the Republican Party in an effort to not distance voters.
Statements made by Republican leaders this week are almost exactly the same as what was said in December after Trump proposed a ban on all Muslims from entering the country. At that time, the GOP said Trump’s views do not represent the entire party and called his ban unconstitutional. Today, the GOP is condemning their presidential nominee again for similarly disparaging comments.
The GOP has had to condemn other Trump statements, as well, for being racist or sexist. It seems that Rep. Hanna is right in saying that the Republican Party needs to work harder to appeal to a larger voting base, rather than only the people they know will vote in primary elections. A good congressman is one who can recognize a real problem and work to solve it, instead of blindly falling in line with the party for fear of losing support in a reelection.
Read Rep. Richard Hanna’s letter here.