Hamadeh’s rhetoric sounds a lot more like the old Syria than the U.S.

Abobe Stock

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What are your thoughts on recent comments by U.S. Rep. Abe Hamadeh of Congressional District 8? Tell us in 300 words or less at yourvalley.net/letters, or email your comments, name, address and contact number to AzOpinions@iniusa.org.

OPINION — Here are some quotes from the website of U.S. Rep. Abe Hamadeh from Congressional District 8:

“What makes this nation exceptional is its principles. ... We defend the freedom to speak ... assemble and petition our government. We recognize that the government exists to serve the people, not the other way around. ... It is time to ... defend the Constitution, protect our God-given liberties. ... (M)ay we always have the courage and conviction to fight for her future.”

Sounds good, right? Sounds American?

But what did Hamadeh say behind closed doors? How did he characterize the American citizens who lined up peacefully on Saturday to petition for their right to vote without unnecessary restrictions, who protested the depredations of ICE against immigrants and who denounced Hamadeh’s refusal to hold public meetings with his constituents?

He called us “crazy,” “communists,” those “who will ultimately destroy the country.”

Hamadeh takes pride in being the son of immigrants who realized the American Dream after fleeing Syria. He didn’t mention that his father overstayed his visa by seven years and was not a U.S. citizen when Abe was born here.

Yet now Hamadeh supports an administration that has forced some 6,000 Syrians on temporary visas to self-deport or face imprisonment, an administration that wants to take away the citizenship of children who, like Hamadeh, were born in the U.S. to non-citizens.

He denies the most basic of democratic requirements, the validity of elections, by continuing to challenge his loss in 2020.

His disparagement of Democrats, the other half of our two-party system; his million-dollar donors and his reliance on the endorsement of a supreme leader to win an election sound a lot more like the old Syria than the exceptional United States.

Our founders in 1776 knew what tyranny was and they would recognize it today.

I hope we also know what real patriotism is and still recognize it today.

Abe Hamadeh represents Congressional District 8, which includes parts of Glendale, Peoria, north Phoenix, Sun City, Sun City West and Surprise. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.