Hyde must drop out of House race
Robert F. Hyde, a Simsbury resident and currently a Republican candidate for the 5th U.S. House District, is confused. He apparently thinks it is OK, perfectly fine, to tweet gross and misogynistic insults. Here’s a clarifying thought: He needs to step out of the race.
Maybe he thought he was running for president. But he is not, and the Trumpian approach of being as crass as possible doesn’t work here in Connecticut.
In early December, Mr. Hyde tweeted a few hardly subtle phrases about Kamala Harris’ departure from the race for the Democratic nomination for president. They are too crude to be published here. Mr. Hyde should be embarrassed — but, to judge from his subsequent tweets, he is not.
“I wasn’t thinking on my earlier statement,” Hyde tweeted on Tuesday, in a post that has been removed. “I felt Kampala Harris is a tremendous and one of the stronger candidates and I felt she shouldn’t have dropped out of the race so soon. The Democrats haven’t even started talking about issues.”
Kampala?
On Wednesday, a defiant tweet remained: “Kamala literally destroyed a great man(Kavanaugh) on National TV and I’m the bad guy over a tweet that was poor in taste that I posted a month ago? It’s ok for dems right? Quick question, do you think I’ll ever quit?”
Yes, we certainly hope so — for the sake of decency, democracy and the Republican party, Mr. Hyde must get out of the race for the U.S. House seat. He is unfit to serve, and the boorish attitudes he represents don’t belong in politics, to say nothing of civilized society.
Mr. Hyde owes an apology to Ms. Harris, to the Connecticut Republican party and basically to the entire world.
It was heartening to hear a chorus of disapproval from Connecticut Republicans.
J.R. Romano, chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party, said the tweets were “vile.” “I certainly don’t think comments like that help a bid for Congress,” he said.
Republican Sen. Len Fasano wasn’t having any of it.
“This type of behavior and these words are flat out disgusting and morally reprehensible,” he said. “I am calling on Mr. Hyde to step down as a candidate for office. His comments are beyond disgraceful and offensive and his actions are not representative of the Republican Party at all. He needs to remove himself as a candidate immediately. This is unacceptable behavior for anyone, let alone someone who is seeking to represent our state in Congress.”
House Republican leader Themis Klarides had similar thoughts: “He needs to end his bid for Congress,” she said. “Connecticut Republicans cannot tolerate this and won’t.”
It was comforting to hear the quick condemnation from Connecticut Republicans. Party loyalty shouldn’t excuse bad behavior. Sadly, it does, all too often, but not in this case.
It might be the overwhelming sense of division in the country that makes people like Mr. Hyde feel like this kind of behavior is OK. It shows an utter lack of respect for the opposing point of view and turns politics into a bare-knuckle street brawl where the only goal is winning at any cost. Politics can be contentious, but it should be dignified and deliberative and marked by a willingness to compromise.
Mr. Hyde’s campaign, based on a reading of his website and tweets, offers little in the way of policy proposals. He aligns himself strongly with President Donald Trump. His Twitter profile describes him as “Pro-God, Life, Jobs, Military, School Security, 2A, Animal Rights, Environment.”
The Republican party in Connecticut can do better than that, and thankfully Mr. Hyde is not the only Republican campaigning in the 5th District.
Mr. Hyde, get out of politics. Get off Twitter. Focus on your private life, do what good you can for your local communities and rethink what’s acceptable.