Matt Garland believes ‘we need selfless yet courageous leaders who can assess reality empirically and make the changes or adjustments needed to restore American prosperity, sovereignty and security’

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and do not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com

America is under attack and many are not yet aware of this, and are just simply numbed by apathetic status-quo tribalism, where immediate needs are always met. If people are comfortable, and essential aspects of their daily life are not threatened in the foreseeable short term, then their situational awareness is limited.

Part of what spurred me to write this letter was a news headline recently shared by congressional candidate Joe Kent on Twitter. “Man charged after being found with 20,000 fentanyl pills, 17 pounds of meth outside Seattle high school.” The news headline describes the details that occurred outside a Seattle high school last week, “where a suspect was arrested and federally charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.” (Recent stats show that close to 300,000 people or more die from fentanyl overdose each year).

With a good portion of Washington state residents and voters sleep walking in a trance, tuning all of this out, it is not surprising that many are showing a preference for simply complying with a program of staying apathetic. Meanwhile, with their silent consent, their representative, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (who won her position by less than 1 percent) consistently votes in coordination with the Democrats’ policies, policies that lead to events like the dramatic headline above.

To make matters worse, here are some recent votes by Marie Gluesenkamp Perez:

• H J Res 44 June 13, 2023, Marie Perez voted “No.” “Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached ‘Stabilizing Braces’” (ATF final rule 2021R–08F). Marie’s vote against this measure is purely ideological and has no grounding in reality. The stabilizing brace for hand guns gives elderly and veterans with injuries an assistive add-on to their firearm that actually helps them defend themselves, their loved ones, and homes from the increasing crime in Democrat run cities. It is not something that is widely used by criminals.

• HR 2 – Secure the Border Act of 2023, Marie Perez voted “No.” A comprehensive act to secure our border, in summary this legislation requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume activities to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, establishes statutory authorization for Operation Stonegarden, which provides grants to law enforcement agencies, prohibits DHS from processing the entry of non-U.S. nationals arriving between ports of entry, limits asylum eligibility to non-U.S. nationals who arrive in the United States at a port of entry and authorizes the removal of a non-U.S. national to a country other than that individual’s country of nationality or last lawful habitual residence, instead of a country that has an agreement with the U.S. for such removal. The act also expands the types of crimes that may make an individual ineligible for asylum, such as conviction for driving while intoxicated causing another individual’s serious bodily injury or death. The act outlines other vital actions and rules that are to be enforced in order to secure our border.

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez’s voting record shows the extent of the liberal mental apathy here in the Northwest that reinforces lack of leadership on issues that really matter, like the ease of fentanyl availability and the increase in crime.

Also Marie Gluesenkamps Perez’s support for aiding the war in Ukraine, is another perfect example of scripted narratives that find consensus in local echo chambers. These policies are of a flawed belief system that maintains endless wars. Democrats are not grounded in reality enough to become humble and selfless leaders. We need selfless yet courageous leaders who can assess reality empirically and make the changes or adjustments needed to restore American prosperity, sovereignty and security.

Matt Garland
Vancouver