Re: “In their own words: Trump vs. Newsom on the Los Angeles protests” (June 9, Nation & World Politics)
Republicans no longer care about states’ rights. President Donald Trump made that clear when he deployed the National Guard in California against the express request of the governor not to do so.
States’ rights was a Republican rallying cry for over a century. It was central to what Republicans stood for and was invoked to support the positions of individual states on everything from education to the environment. No more.
So, what is the core value of the Republican Party today? When we see broad partisan support for Trump’s orders to deport immigrants — many of whom are in this country legally, many seeking asylum to escape mortal threats in their home countries — and when those deportations directly contravene court orders, it’s clear that today’s Republican Party does not value the rule of law. Or compassion. This is not my father’s Republican Party.
Considering the actions of this administration since it took office, and the broad party support for those actions, both inside and outside Congress, the only consistent value I can see is unyielding submission to the whims of one man. Is this anything that we, the people, should support?
Leonard Bordeaux, Seattle
