REYNOLDS: Pfluger Won’t Speak Truth to Power

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

On January 28, I had the opportunity to watch Congressman August Pfluger in action at a town hall in Ballinger. Live! Uncensored!

You might be wondering if things got real. You might be wondering if he took this opportunity to stand against an administration that has decided its police force can ignore the Fourth Amendment. Or the First Amendment. Or the Second Amendment. So… did he?

Reader, he did not. 

Don’t get me wrong. He said the attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar was unacceptable. He was patient with the woman asking about Citizens United. He was eager to tell us about the bipartisan lawmaking he’s doing. 

But after listening to him, it became clear to me that his bipartisanship is as shallow as a dry creek in August. He fumbled the ball on the most basic questions of civil liberties and human decency.

Do protestors have the right to lawfully bear arms at a protest? Yes, but they can’t “brandish” one.

A courageous man in the audience pointed out that numerous camera angles show that Alex Pretti never even touched his holstered weapon. Congressman Pfluger couldn’t even conceive that it was possible Border Patrol agents acted improperly. 

What about the Minneapolis protests themselves?

Oh, those were the fault of “paid agitators” and the failure of local officials to deescalate. No mention of any failings by his own party’s leadership.

What about getting corporate money out of politics? Oh, Nancy Pelosi is the person we should be looking at.

What about DOGE’s indiscriminate gutting of federal programs? Oh, those were good because when he worked at the Pentagon there were a few guys that didn’t do much.

(But don’t worry – the Congressman intervened to protect a few of his friends over at the Air Force base.)

I literally sat there stunned as he failed to convey even the remote possibility that his own party’s leaders may have made mistakes.

He could have easily said something like:

“I support law enforcement but yes, you unequivocally have the right to lawfully bear arms at a protest. Period.”

“Illegal immigration is a problem, but the way our leadership has dealt with it has resulted in unnecessary cruelty and we need to change that.”

“President Trump should not have called Representative Ilhan Omar ‘garbage’ and he needs to tone down his own rhetoric.”

This is a man who will not publicly criticize his own party, even when it would cost him nothing. This leaves us with one of two possibilities:

(1) He truly believes that the current administration is faultless and should proceed full speed ahead; or

(2) his party loyalty trumps even basic common decency. My guess? He is a Very Loyal Boy and is hoping that loyalty pays off with the vice presidency or a cabinet nomination in the near future.

Our country doesn’t need Very Loyal Boys right now. It needs people who are willing to speak truth to power, even when speaking out would interfere with one’s own political ambitions. Because bipartisanship that costs you nothing is just lip service.

Oh, and if you’re wondering about those “paid agitators,” I asked the congressman to email me with his evidence. I’m not expecting that anytime soon.

— Claire Reynolds, Democrat for U.S. Congress