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| © AP White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders listens to a question during the daily press briefing at the White House, Monday, June 4, 2018, in Washington. Sanders discussed, Trump's pardon powers, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, and other topics. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) |
By Joshuan Rivera, USA TODAY
Nineteen days after the Supreme Court issued a ruling sympathetic to a Colorado baker who refused to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders decided to blast a local Virginia restaurant on her official, government-owned Twitter account because it refused her service. Sad.
Let’s unpack this, shall we? The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that Colorado authorities "showed impermissible hostility toward the sincere religious beliefs" motivating the baker. This is what Sanders said during a White House briefing:
“We were pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision. The First Amendment prohibits government from discriminating against the basis of religious beliefs, and the Supreme Court rightly concluded that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission failed to show tolerance and respect for his religious beliefs. In this case and others, the Department of Justice will continue to vigorously defend the free speech and religious freedom First Amendment rights.”
Official tweet was ethicsviolation
I’m not going to call her a hypocrite on the First Amendment, she did say she “politely” left the restaurant when asked. Kudos to her. She did, however, decide to tweet about it in her official capacity. Let me rephrase. She criticized a private business from the Twitter account @PressSec, which has more than 3 million followers. (I can only imagine the response from Republicans if President Barack Obama's press secretary Josh Earnest had done that.)
This is important to highlight because Sanders does have a personal account: @SarahHuckabee. So her action appears to have been deliberate. And if it weren’t, it was stupid, and I really don’t know which is worse.
Beyond that, a former head of the Office of Government Ethics, Walter Shaub, says Sanders' tweet violated ethics rules.
I understand Sanders’ frustration. I, too, have been asked to leave establishments. Not because of working for the Trump administration — a protected class among Republicans — but because I was standing too close to another guy. But hey, you know, being a Republican is hard nowadays. Having to explain a complete change in platform, having to scramble for rationales to support the horrible policies your boss has in place, crushing all those lies for the “perfect smokey eye,” I get it.
And let’s not even go into dating! Trump staffers reportedly are being “discriminated” against in that arena, too.
Let’s move on to the superiority complex that has plagued the Republican Party — a party I was a fan of up until 2016. As he should, Sanders’ father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, came to her defense. “Bigotry. On the menu at Red Hen Restaurant in Lexington VA. Or you can ask for the ‘Hate Plate’. And appetizers are ‘small plates for small minds,’” he tweeted.
This from the same guy who just a few hours earlier tweeted a racist taunt at House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.
This is important to highlight because Sanders does have a personal account: @SarahHuckabee. So her action appears to have been deliberate. And if it weren’t, it was stupid, and I really don’t know which is worse.
Beyond that, a former head of the Office of Government Ethics, Walter Shaub, says Sanders' tweet violated ethics rules.
I understand Sanders’ frustration. I, too, have been asked to leave establishments. Not because of working for the Trump administration — a protected class among Republicans — but because I was standing too close to another guy. But hey, you know, being a Republican is hard nowadays. Having to explain a complete change in platform, having to scramble for rationales to support the horrible policies your boss has in place, crushing all those lies for the “perfect smokey eye,” I get it.
And let’s not even go into dating! Trump staffers reportedly are being “discriminated” against in that arena, too.
Let’s move on to the superiority complex that has plagued the Republican Party — a party I was a fan of up until 2016. As he should, Sanders’ father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, came to her defense. “Bigotry. On the menu at Red Hen Restaurant in Lexington VA. Or you can ask for the ‘Hate Plate’. And appetizers are ‘small plates for small minds,’” he tweeted.
This from the same guy who just a few hours earlier tweeted a racist taunt at House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.
GOP can blame its own hypocrisy
I fear the division is no longer between liberals vs. conservatives. No self-respecting conservative would endorse half the things the GOP is doing. The division is now Republicans and everyone else. If you’re not for them, you’re against them. But who knows what they’re for at any given moment? The Republican platform now comes with its own alert notification to whatever the president last tweeted.
It’s all so disgustingly hypocritical (from both sides) that those of us who don’t ascribe to either of the main political parties are worried we won’t have enough painkillers for Republicans who are bending over backwards to serve their party over the country.
I’m sorry Sanders was asked to leave a restaurant — that is an embarrassing moment for anyone. But she (and all Republicans) must realize that her constant hypocrisy and her decision to use a government account to call out the “injustice” are the exact reasons why she was asked to leave in the first place. Those are two things she has control over, unlike two gay people who just want to get married.
It’s all so disgustingly hypocritical (from both sides) that those of us who don’t ascribe to either of the main political parties are worried we won’t have enough painkillers for Republicans who are bending over backwards to serve their party over the country.
I’m sorry Sanders was asked to leave a restaurant — that is an embarrassing moment for anyone. But she (and all Republicans) must realize that her constant hypocrisy and her decision to use a government account to call out the “injustice” are the exact reasons why she was asked to leave in the first place. Those are two things she has control over, unlike two gay people who just want to get married.
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