Marie G-P: U.S. allies should not be held hostage to party politics

Southwest Washington Rep. calls for greater border security and reduced pressure on Israel in its war with Hamas

This is the second and concluding story about my interview with Southwest Washington Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.

There’s an old saying in American politics: “Politics stops at the water’s edge,” meaning that leaders should unite when there are threats from abroad.

That has not been the case in recent congressional history.

Congressional Republicans have conditioned further aid to Ukraine on better southern border enforcement and domestic spending cuts. They’ve tried to make aid to Israel contingent on cuts to the Internal Revenue Service.

Southwest Washington Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez says it is a dangerous and reputation-ruining strategy for the U.S.

“Once you start that — ‘Oh, give us this party favor or we won’t fund our allies’ — you have detonated your geopolitical allies and reputation. …  That is a terrible strategy. You fund it or don’t want to fund it on its merits. Don’t condition funding on (the demands of) a political party.” 

In an hour-long interview in Kelso during the Congressional holiday-season recess, the first-term Democrat said border security does need improvement. She also  expressed concern that the Hamas war against Israel is a plot by Russian President Vladimir Putin to bleed Western support for Ukraine.

The politics of border security

“We’ve got to have a secure border. Like, we have to know who's coming in and who's coming out. And we have to have a (visa) system that works,”  she said, noting the flow of fentanyl from Mexico,  where the highly potent opioid is is made from China- supplied ingredients.

However,  she said, the situation defies easy answers. 

She said Yacolt Republican Joe Kent, who is challenging her re-election attempt this year,   has suggested banning all immigration for 20 years (Kent denies saying that). The problem is too complex for such an approach, because farmers, forestry contractors and others depend on migrant labor, Gluesenkamp Perez said.

However, the length, complexity and unpredictability of the guest worker visa process encourages illegal crossings through “coyotes” and other means, she said. Only big corporate farms have the time and expertise to import guest workers legally, she said.

“We need predictability. We need flexibility,” but there’s too much politicking and unwillingness to solve the problem, she said.

“I mean, it feels like people are just trying to fundraise off this issue all the time and get people scared. And it's like, if you solve the problem, you can't fundraise off of it anymore.”

She’s not a fan of Trump’s border wall, calling it “crude, ” a “Band-Aid” and ineffectual because “people are still (climbing)  over it.” It does nothing to address the root cause of illegal crossings: poverty, violence and corruption in Latin America, Gluesenkamp Perez said.

Putin’s dirty work?

Like many Americans, the Congresswoman is highly conflicted over the Hamas-Israeli war, which she suspects has a dark link to the Russia’s assault on Ukraine.

“I think that one of the best Christmas presents to Putin was the attack from Hamas on Israel … It’s hard for me to believe that it was just a happy coincidence (for Putin). Russia’s interests were very heavily advanced by Hamas” because it is distracting and undercutting Western support for Ukraine.

She appeared nearly to tear up while discussing the impact the war in Gaza has had on civilians on both sides.

“The loss of civilian life in Palestine makes me sick.”

She defends Israel’s right to defend itself. She is angry with those pressing  Israel to accept a ceasefire in Gaza, ignoring killings, rapes and other atrocities committed by Hamas when it invaded on Oct. 7.

“I don't think that a nation that's just been the victim of a heinous terrorist attack (should be told) to accept a ceasefire.”

She didn’t offer any answers, daunted, perhaps,  by the ancient Arab/Jewish grudge that has defied resolution for centuries.

“I am just gonna be like very candid. I did not run for office to resolve peace in the Middle East.  I have an obligation to reflect the values and the interests of my district to fix the things that I can make progress on. I am not an expert in the Middle East. And the experts, you know, don't agree.”