Has the GOP blown it?

FROM THE ARCHIVE

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JULY 20, 2000

In an editorial today, The Seattle Times criticizes Washington state Republican party chairman Don Benton for allowing the party to pass a resolution calling for the end of "non-republican" tribal governments.

The paper also criticizes him for his reaction.

"Benton blew it twice: first by being tone deaf enough to allow this insensitive proposal to glide through with little debate, and then by trying to shoot the messenger," writes the paper.

On Tuesday, Benton's editorial in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer blamed the media for its reporting. He accused "leftist reporters" of blowing the issue out of proportion.

The Seattle Times, however, says Benton was correct in drafting a second resolution. In a resolution issued on Monday, the state party clarified its stance on tribal sovereignty.

"The WSRP...truly regrets any anxiety or discomfort caused by this [the original] resolution and that we, as a Party, recognize and reaffirm our continuing and ongoing support for Native American sovereignty as well as their ability and right to self-govern as determined by legal treaties signed with the United States of America," reads the second resolution.

Whether or not the party's latest actions serve to correct some of the apparent damage the original resolution has done remains to be seen. Many leaders of both parties have repudiated the resolution, thanks to the politicking of tribes throughout Indian Country.

But at least one prominent leader is already questioning the second resolution. Frank LaMere, Vice-Chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, said the Washington party is pulling people apart instead of bringing them together.

"You can be subtle in your approach to sovereignty and Native people or you can take an in-your-face attitude," said LaMere. "In either case, Indian people know what's really in the minds of those who authored and passed the June 17 resolution."

For many Indian people, the resolution passed in June represented a destructive chapter in federal Indian policy: termination, a long-abandoned practice in which the government ended its legal relationships and obligations to tribes.

The resolution's primary author, John Fleming, a non-Indian a non-Indian who lives on the Swinomish reservation in Washington, further angered many when he suggested military force be used if tribes objected to his proposal.

Did the Washington party blow it? You can read a copy of their second resolution to judge for yourself.

Read the Editorial:
After-burn from GOP's anti-Indian resolution (The Seattle Times 7/20)

Relevant Links:
Sign a petition against the resolution - www.PetitionOnline.com/sca12/petition.html
The Native American Caucus of the California Democratic Party - www.nacaucus.com
The California Democratic Party - www.ca-dem.org/dems/cadems.nsf/index
The Nebraska Democratic Party - www.nebraskademocrats.org
The Democratic National Committee - www.democrats.org/index.html
The Washington State Republican Party - www.wsrp.org
The Republican National Committee - www.rnc.org