Chip Roy, a United States Representative from Texas, recently defended his vote to kill a censure against fellow Representative Rashida Tlaib, causing a split among conservative party politics.
Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan, was facing censure for comments she made about Israel in February. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel should not allow two US Congresswomen to enter the country, which Tlaib responded to as an act of racism and oppression.
The resolution called for censure in order to condemn those remarks. However, not all Republicans agreed, and many decided to stand with Tlaib on the issue.
Roy, a Republican from Texas, defended his vote to kill the censure, noting that it was wrong for members of Congress to censor other members for speech they don’t agree with, regardless of whether or not they actually agreed with the words spoken. He further argued that it was important to maintain a level of respect for one another’s views, even if one doesn’t agree with them.
The issue was a divisive one for Republicans, with many seeing it as a clear attack on free speech while others saw it as an issue of defending our nation’s treatment and view of Israel, a strong ally.
The divide between Republicans went so far as to cause some to describe the vote as the exact reason why we can’t get Republicans to work together on important issues.
Regardless of one’s opinion on the matter, it is clear that this is a case where individual views have been challenged and forced into the public eye. Respect for one another’s opinions appears to be on the decline, and the chasm between conservatives seems to be deepening. It is crucial that we as a nation remember to respect one another, even if we do not agree on politics.