While he’s right about the diverse energy portfolio the state of Washington boasts, and about the necessity of an all-of-the-above energy solution, for now, Rep. Dan Newhouse would better advance the goals of energy independence by not including the divisive rhetoric he seems to think is necessary at every turn.

We include his column on this page because he represents us in the U.S. House of Representatives, but even a piece about his bringing members of Congress to his district to show them local energy solutions obligatorily starts with an attack on the majority party.

I guess that’s politics and, unfortunately, the country today.

But it’s not how the political leaders in times past ushered much of the greatness of this state, with federal help, including Grand Coulee Dam, the Columbia Basin Project and many other features of our state that required members of Congress to work with those across the aisle for the good of their states.

Gas prices are high and supply chains strained not because of Biden administration policies, but because of a pandemic that shut down the global economy, including a supply chain that affects everything we do, exacerbated by the results of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Newhouse knows this perfectly well, but it makes a good rallying cry to fire up opposition to the Dems by blaming them.

No wonder the country is so divided when our leaders only want to turn up the heat instead of working together to solve problems.

Scott Hunter

editor and publisher