Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) has a track record as a conspiracy theorist. Now, she’s falsely asserting that FEMA relief funds were “redirected” to illegal immigrants (read story here).
Rep. Cammack (photo, left) is an election denier who voted against certifying Biden’s 2020 election victory, and derided the House January 6 hearings as a “sham” even though she didn’t watch any of them (see story here).
In her latest foray into fabulism, she asserted that “the temporary housing and shelter program has been diverting for the last four years over a billion dollars to illegals at the border through NGOs.” That isn’t true.
Knoxville, Tennessee, Mayor Glen Jacobs, responded to her and other rumor-spreaders with a plea to “put aside the hate” and “quit spreading those rumors as they are counterproductive to response efforts” (see story here). Communities like his are still digging out from Hurricane Helene’s devastation.
While Cammack declares that Helene victims “need help and … don’t have time for politics,” Trump is politicizing the disaster, and exploiting it to attack immigrants.
“There’s nobody that’s handled a hurricane or storm worse than what they’re doing right now,” he told Michigan rallygoers. “Kamala spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants,” which isn’t true (see story here).
Harris, as vice president, doesn’t have executive authority over federal agencies like FEMA or determine their spending priorities. And FEMA didn’t spend its disaster relief budget on immigrants.
This is just another sorry episode of Republican hyperpartisan politicking, immigrant-bashing and racism, and making up stories and spreading false rumors.
Let’s think about this in terms of how democracy works, and what an elected representative’s role — and job — should be.
No one who believes in democracy would argue the voters of Cammack’s district don’t have a right to elect her to Congress; they do. Nor would anyone who supports America’s basic freedoms argue for restricting her speech; we must recognize the First Amendment confers on everyone, politicians included, a right to lie. But just because the Constitution allows elected officials to lie doesn’t mean they should.
Rep. Cammack reflects the voters of her district, or she wouldn’t be in Congress. She easily won both her elections in 2022 and 2020. But what if her constituents harbor false beliefs and racial prejudices? Should she carry that water in Congress? Of course not. Leaders should lead, not follow the mob.
A healthy democracy requires elected officials to be truthful and lead responsibly. Rep. Cammack is failing to uphold America’s democratic ideals. Criticizing her lies and leadership isn’t censorship or undemocratic.
Whether to keep her in Congress is up to her constituents; the rest of us can’t tell them how to vote. The best way to deal with rogue legislators like her, and others like her, is to elect a different majority.