By Brandon Jarvis, cross posted from Richmond 2Day
Today a letter from local Congressman Dave Brat appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. It began as a response to a recent letter to the editor from a local constituent Alsúin Creighton Preis.
The opening remarks from his letter:
“A recent letter, “Does Dave Brat really respect free speech?” from Alsuin Creighton-Preis mischaracterizes my positions in light of the events that took place in Charlottesville earlier this year. Using a letter from my office written before the events of Charlottesville to make it seem as though I refused to condemn those events is nothing more than a cheap political stunt meant to mislead the public. It is abhorrent that anyone would sink to this level to try and sow seeds of racial division and mislead readers to score political points.”
Brat references this letter that he sent out the week before the deadly Charlottesville riot.
Brat now claims that he did not know who Spencer was at the time – but he stood up for Spencer’s first amendment right by claiming that since Brat himself is a Christian with morals – he must support Spencer’s right to assemble.
“As a devout Christian, I believe we must love one another and treat others with respect. In addition to that moral directive, Members of Congress and other officials in the federal government have a legal obligation to treat every person equally under the law and discriminate against no one.”
Instead of admitting that he may have been mistaken in not listening to the constituents that sent him multiple letters leading up to the deadly rally – he tries to excuse his ignorance by stating that one of the letters he received was from the husband of one of his political opponents.
“Spencer is someone who was unknown to me prior to receiving a handful of letters earlier this year from, among other people, the husband of one of my political opponents.”
Why does it matter if the letter came from the husband of a political opponent? If someone that shares different political views than you tells you that a wall is white – does that mean you can’t agree? If taking a stance on an issue as basic as racism and white supremacy confuses you – you might need to do some self-reflection. I am a white man that believes in god, yet I still find it in my heart to denounce racism BEFORE a tragedy happens.
Brat’s opposition has been rising in 2017 – from Facebook groups to Twitter accounts dedicated solely to holding him accountable. He is now facing two strong Democratic candidates in the upcoming 2018 House of Representatives election, Abigail Spanberger or Dan Ward. (The Democratic Party in Va is still working to figure out how they will choose which candidate will run.)
The opposition recently saw a victory on social media at least – which is especially heavy on Facebook, specifically his campaign and official Representative pages. Users routinely engage in debates over his posts and actions in Congress. One woman was especially visible on the page as an adamant supporter. She conveyed the idea that she was a constituent that fully supported Brat. However, the Times Dispatch recently exposed her as a fake. She has been on Dave Brat’s payroll for years even though she lives in Texas. This sounds like quite the political stunt – does it not? How can a man who is supposed to be morally superior to his constituents defend that? He may have not presented her as a fraud himself, but he worked with her to deceive his constituents.
Brat has also been a strong supporter of President Trump. He even follows his asinine talking points.
“This is the kind of thing you would see in a third world country where the party in power manipulates powerful government intelligence services for their political gain.” – Dave Brat on Oct. 28, 2017
Those that pay any type of attention to politics would believe that this type of quote from a current Congressman, would be directed at the Trump/Russia investigation. But no, Dave Brat is feeding into the Donald Trump story that Hillary is actually the candidate that colluded with the Russians.
The Congressman never misses a chance to let you know that he attended seminary. He tries to use his religious experience to show that it makes him a decent, moral person; but instead it appears that he uses religion as a crutch to stand on when he loses the moral high-ground. You should read this Huff Post piece – “What did Dave Brat learn in Seminary“.
Brat refuses to show any amount of self-deprecation. He ends his letter by trying to compare the opposition in his district to the white supremacists in Charlottesville. He implies that his constituents that call him out for his inadequacies as a Representative should be condemned just like the white supremacists.
“Not only should we condemn racism and discrimination, but we should condemn those who use this type of political tactic to smear public officials.” … But what about free speech Mr Brat?
I asked Alsúin Creighton Preis about the letter – she sent me the following quote:
“It is true that Brat condemned the White Supremacist violence after it occurred. It is also true that when he was asked to condemn them before the rally he refused and spoke of free speech. If more people would condemn white supremacists before they engaged in violence then maybe we would see less violence. Being against hate is a clear and consistent position for all normal people. Everyone thinks this is wrong- even those of us who didn’t go to seminary”.
This is nothing more than a petty political stunt by Brat. If you can’t accept a letter from a constituent expressing their displeasure in your job representing them – you may be in the wrong job field. You’re bi-annual performance review is coming up in 11 months – I hope you’re ready.
brandonjarvis@richmond2day.com
@jaaavis
Congressman Brat is gearing up for a tough election. Democrats in his district are as motivated as ever to turn Virginia blue. Chesterfield County made national news this year with an enormous turnout and effort from the local Democrats. In fact, for the first time since 1961, Chesterfield voted for a Democratic governor.
Why a historically conservative county in Virginia is making national Republicans nervous
Brat’s congressional district stretches from the west end of Richmond and its suburbs in Henrico and portions of Chesterfield Counties, through Orange, Culpeper and northward to Page and Rappahannock Counties.
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