In A Time Of Wacky Politics, Does Yakima Trust Rep. Dan Newhouse?

Our radio station email has been burning up for the past few months with press releases from our Congressman Dan Newhouse.

Dan proposes this, Dan wants to share that, Dan believes this & that.

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What's "Out Of The Norm" Is What Makes News

Dan seems to have plenty to say about plenty of things.  I like Dan and I don't like chasing this angle of the story but it's also something I feel needs to be done.

It feels almost a little too much like he is trying to remind us all of who he is and what he's about.  Like he's trying to win back our confidence, our trust.  It's an election year but it's more than that.  Is our Congressman's mountain of email an effort to scale a mountain of a mistake?

Newhouse's Backstory Of Success

Congressman Dan Newhouse has been representing central Washington's 4th District since Doc Hastings stepped down in 2015.

Newhouse's family background in politics, his understanding of Northwest agriculture, his time in the state legislature, and his reassuring smile and gentle, likable personality have served him well and he has remained popular with Republican voters

Voters Have Approved Of Newhouse

Last time out Newhouse got 61.9 percent of the Yakima County vote but things could be different this time....from within his own party.

According to Statista

The most recent polling data from November 2021 puts the approval rating of the United States Congress at 20 percent. This is lower than the previous month when Congressional approval stood at 21 percent....Americans tend to see Congress as a group of ineffectual politicians who are out of touch with their constituents. Despite the current Congress having the largest number of women and being the most diverse Congress in American history, very little has been done to improve the opinion of Americans regarding the legislative branch.

 

Newhouse Broke Ranks With Republicans

Voters will remember that Newhouse was one of 10 Republican representatives who joined Democrats and voted in favor of impeaching then President Donald Trump for inciting the January 6, 2021 riot and break-in at the Capitol.  Almost immediately, Yakima County's Republican Party Committee Officers passed a resolution asking Newhouse to resign.

Later, Newhouse was also one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6 commission to investigate the storming of the Capitol.

Can Newhouse Rehab Image In This Election Year

So now the question is: Is the current mass email barrage a "reputation rehab project" or is it merely a conscientious congressional effort to keep constituents in the loop?

Here's an example.

Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) released the following statement in advance of voting against H.R. 5746, the legislative vehicle Democratic leadership is using to ram through their “voting rights” legislation.

Once again, Democratic leadership is attempting to circumvent the will of the American people by ramming their disingenuous ‘voting rights’ legislation through the House," said Rep. Newhouse. "I firmly believe in protecting the right to vote for all Americans. This legislation does nothing to protect that right. Rather, this legislation will undermine the United States Constitution by disregarding state voter ID laws and nationalizing elections. I stand firm in protecting our states' rights against the Biden Administration's latest attempt at an unconstitutional power grab and will vote NO on H.R. 5746

Flash Back Example From January 6

 This next video is just one of the hundreds of stories of people who went inside the Capitol.  Listen to how she is described as "example" of so many of the others...not a terrorist, not a white supremacist, just a frustrated American compelled to "do something"