Sanders’ ‘victimhood’ outdone by hypocrisy

I’ve heard from a number of people who are upset that Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked by an owner expressing political convictions to leave a Red Hen restaurant in Virginia.

Most of them want to know whether I’ll have the “guts” to condemn the restaurant.

I understand the point. They’re right. Something like that should not happen. If a business owner puts out a shingle offering to provide a service to the public, that should include everyone.

At the same time, I’d guess that a number of those who are incensed by what the restaurant owner did to Sanders would somehow have no problem with a Walgreens pharmacist in Peoria refusing to give a woman who lost a fetus inside the womb the medicine she needed.

That’s sickening.

We’re talking about serious emotional trauma to a woman in need of health care, not the loss of a cheese board and some adult beverages (all of which were provided free to Sanders’ party, by the way.)

Compare the two.

At her 10-week pregnancy checkup, Nicole Arteaga was told that her developing child was gone. There was no heartbeat. She was prescribed medication by her doctor to manage the upcoming miscarriage by terminating the pregnancy.

The pharmacist refused to help her, based on ethical grounds.

Is that what we’ve become? A country where anyone can refuse to serve anyone or help anyone based on any type of belief — philosophical, religious, ethical, political ... whatever?

Sanders tweeted after being asked to leave the restaurant: Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left. Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so Respectfully?

Not long ago, while being questioned by a reporter about the Trump administration’s now-reversed policy of separating families of migrants Sanders told the reporter, “And I know it’s hard for you to understand even short sentences .... ”

Nice.

And as for being truthful, which is the highest form of respect, there are a number examples of Sanders falling short.

Like when she was first asked about President Donald Trump and the hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels and she said, “I’ve had conversations with the president about this. This case has already been won in arbitration, and there was no knowledge

of any payments from the president, and he has denied all these allegations.”

And then later, when the president’s attorney Rudy Giuliani blabbed about a payment actually having been made, Sanders said, “We give the very best information that we have at the time. I do that every single day ... The first awareness (of the payment) I had was during the interview (given by Giuliani) last night.”

Except for that conversation you said you had with the president, right? Or did he lie to you?

It’s a slippery slope for someone in Sanders’ position to proclaim purity and innocence.

I believe the restaurant should have served Sanders and her party.

But her “victimhood,” which is how Sanders and her supporters are playing it, may be overshadowed by their hypocrisy. The administration already has come out in support of businesses that don’t want to serve members of the LGBTQ community.

If the people supporting Sanders are willing to say that every business open to the public should serve every member of the public — no matter their political affiliation or religious beliefs or sexual identity or anything else — I’m with them.

But if they believe it is wrong to turn away Sanders but right for a pharmacist to turn away a suffering woman with medical needs, they should check their moral compass. The declination is off.

It’s pointing to someplace other than America.