Letter to the Editor

Jody Hice’s column in The Covington News, entitled, “Year under Trump — Safe and Strong US” (updated Feb. 2) references in vague terms President Trump’s State of the Union speech on Jan. 30. Details are missing in the column because there were no details presented in the speech. Mr. Hice simply listed a few topics that were glazed over in the speech, such as border security, law enforcement, and the armed forces—no policies, no details.

However, because the speech mentioned bipartisanship, Hice picked up the theme for his column, stating, “Despite what the media report, I still believe there remains an immense opportunity for bipartisan cooperation to address and resolve some critical issues our country is currently facing.” 

It surprises me that Mr. Hice would support bipartisanship considering the fact that he carefully chooses to speak at Republican-only meetings across District 10 and the fact that he has never held a public, in-person town-hall meeting since he was elected. As a U.S. Representative, he was elected to represent ALL Georgians—Republicans, Democrats, Independents, white, black, Latino. So it’s puzzling that Mr. Hice would suddenly take an interest in nonpartisan efforts, unless, of course, he takes all of his cues from President Trump. And we all know how the “Chuck and Nancy” bipartisan effort fizzled a few months ago. Nonpartisanship means leaders of both parties come together in a spirit of collaboration, each side compromising to achieve outcomes that are best for the majority of Americans, not for the benefit of a few. If that’s the kind of bipartisanship Mr. Hice is proposing, I’m all for it.

Toni Reed

Athens