U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna says extreme positions by lawmakers are killing the ability to govern. "We render ourselves incapable of governing when all we do is take severe sides..., " he saidSyracuse -- U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna took his own party to task today, saying the Republican Party is too willing to accommodate its most extreme members.
“I have to say that I’m frustrated by how much we — I mean the Republican Party — are willing to give deferential treatment to our extremes in this moment in history,” he told The Post-Standard editorial board.
Hanna, R-Barneveld, pointed specifically to Michele Bachmann of Minnesota — particularly her suggestion that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin be investigated to see if she has ties to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood that would compromise her loyalty.
Hanna, a businessman who defeated Democratic incumbent Michael Arcuri two years ago, said his first term in Congress left him "sad in a lot of ways" because of the growing divisiveness on both sides of the aisle.
“We render ourselves incapable of governing when all we do is take severe sides...” he said. “If all people do is go down there and join a team, and the team is invested in winning and you have something that looks very similar to the shirts and the skins, there’s not a lot of value there.”
While he blamed the dysfunction on both sides, he said he feels more bitterness coming from the Republican caucus than from the Democrats.
“I would say that the friends I have in the Democratic Party I find ... much more congenial — a little less anger,” he said.
Hanna defeated a challenger from his own party, tea party favorite Michael Kicinski of Earlville, in a primary in June. He will face Democrat Dan Lamb, a former aide to retiring Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Saugerties, in November.
Contact Paul Riede at priede@syracuse.com or 470-3260.