I’m so tired of living in this bunker.
Every day there’s another bully gleefully lobbing hate bombs overhead, heedless of the consequences, delighted by the carnage, eager to exploit the resulting chaos for cynical political gain.
And this time I’m not talking about the usual suspects.
Donald Trump, Tom Tancredo, Roy Moore can feel free to take credit for their role in creating a culture that inflames hostility and fear, and ridicules the overwhelming majority of Americans who continue to embrace the nation’s commitment to tolerance, justice, equal rights and the quest for “a more perfect union.”
Itap not Trump, Tancredo and Moore so much this time since most of us by now can recognize a con artist when we see one.
Now itap their idiot spawn.
Not only are their ideological offspring as vile and disgusting as their role models, but they are — not just incidentally — stunningly clueless and inept about the power of social media to reveal their true character.
Yes, Judy Reyher, I’m talking about you.
The Swink Republican, who recently was appointed to fill the vacancy created when state Rep. Clarice Navarro took a job in the Trump administration, insists she is “not a racist.”
Thatap good to hear because her Facebook posts suggest that despite the “fact” that she’s “not a racist,” she seems awfully eager to share patently racist hate speech complete with “likes” and cheerleading comments apparently, well, just because.
Her posts ridicule Muslims, African-Americans, President Barack Obama and all of us who voted for him, who she says she would like to “bitch slap.”
Speaking of Obama, in an interview with The Denver Post, Reyher said, “Itap never been proven that he was born in the United States,” which is a despicable lie.
She also said that “the black community and the Democrats are the most racist group of people that exist,” and that black people “hate white people with a passion,” suggesting that she holds far too much rabid animosity to act honorably as a true representative of the people of her state.
Even her pathetic attempt at an apology feels more like a gesture designed to placate her critics while sending unmistakable dog whistles to her white-supremacist Confederate-flag-waving fan club.
In her emailed statement to The Post, Reyher said, “I would like to apologize for the comments or posts on Facebook that have been found offensive and racist.”
Apparently, they jumped onto her site and she’s sure sorry that there are people who read them and found them offensive even though she’s apparently not sorry about endorsing their patently racist messages.
This is like when your 10-year-old tells you he’s sure sorry that you’re so upset about the glass that fell all over the kitchen table when the baseball bat hit the window.
Just guessing here, but I doubt you’re likely to reward his spectacular unwillingness to take responsibility for his reckless actions by buying him a bigger bat.
Which is why the action of the Republican committee that selected her to represent the people of District 47 is such an outrage. They rewarded her with a bigger bat.
No wonder the vote was secret.
Reyher has taken partisanship into the gutter, and all Coloradans — particularly Republicans who cherish the proud tradition of such distinguished leaders as Ralph Carr, John Love and Norma Anderson — should be ashamed that someone of her ilk ever could be appointed to serve in state office.
As we hurtle toward the 2018 election year, the need for reconciliation, mutual understanding and an end to the rhetoric of shameless bigotry and divisiveness is critically important.
Federal leadership on such issues as health care, public education, the environment, homelessness and social justice has collapsed. The responsibility for addressing these issues falls to Colorado’s leaders from both parties.
Too much is at stake right now to demean ourselves with race-baiting and dishonesty.
Like it or not, we’re all huddled in this bunker together. Sooner or later, we have to stop bickering and get to work.
Diane Carman is a communications consultant and a regular columnist for The Denver Post.
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