What do Democratic state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Republican President Donald Trump have in common outside involvement in the raging immigration debate?
Don’t worry, we’ll wait.
The answer might not be obvious with the two politicians standing on opposite sides of a gaping political divide now on full display in the court system. The rancor over Trump’s executive order has sparked the usual amount of fear and loathing on one side and support and admiration from the other.
If you oppose the order, you have perhaps been called a “snowflake” by this point, too sensitive and impractical to support a policy that makes us all safe. Likewise, if you support it, you might have been dubbed a “racist,” too ignorant and selfish to see how it affects well-meaning immigrants.
Name-calling isn’t necessary, but the debate on social media includes plenty of it regardless. It’s just the latest in a string of topics that have provided hysterics from both sides of the political aisle at times.
So, where’s the local common ground between the state official seeking to block the ban and the leader of the free world behind it?
Last November, a majority of voters in Lewis County supported both Trump and Ferguson.
Trump earned about 64 percent of Lewis County’s votes in the presidential race. Ferguson took 53 percent in a successful defense of his seat against Libertarian Joshua Trumbull. He took 67 percent of the vote across the state.
Trump’s local support is less surprising than that of Ferguson, though the attorney general’s path was made easier by the failure of a Republican to make the ballot.
Still, the last state or national level Democrat to win the approval of Lewis County voters was Congressman Brian Baird, and that was almost 10 years ago.
This shows that the majority of local voters have a lot more in common than might be assumed when consistently consuming some of the more combative and aggressive opinions churned up by the debate on immigration.
The opinions of Trump and Ferguson both deserve scrutiny, but it should be fair and accepting of the inevitability of differing opinions. Trump should be asked how his order would negatively affect the lives of peaceful and contributing immigrants. Ferguson should be asked about the risks posed by resisting the president’s stated attempt to provide more security.
Their answers should, and will, generate responses both positive and negative.
When throwing around opinions on contentious topics that bring out emotions from both sides, it’s worth noting that, in this case, Lewis County helped put both politicians in office.
Let’s be civil and realistic while considering your neighbors, friends and family are entitled to their own views of the world. Our constitution is strong enough to withstand opinions even stronger and more diverse than what we’ve seen so far.
The immigration matter will ultimately be decided by the courts, no matter who might get called a racist or snowflake in the interim. Checks and balances and differing opinions are the backbone of our democracy, but civility is the most useful muscle within the body of public discourse.
Let’s avoid name-calling and embrace a useful debate.
Those inclined are, as always, welcome to submit a letter on the topic for publication in The Chronicle. They can be sent to letters@chronline.com or mailed to 321 N. Pearl St., Centralia.
