Republicans have built their straw house of faux-patriotism by declaring they are the true champions of the First Amendment. What Republicans actually mean to say is they believe in the freedom of speech only when it is speech with which they agree.
This dazzling hypocrisy is displayed for the nation to observe after a Republican Texas Sheriff threatened criminal charges against the owner of a vehicle sporting an anti-President Trump window decal. The sheriff must be unaware he lives in a nation which was founded upon and celebrates political dissent.
Troy E. Nehls, Sheriff of Fort Bend County, Texas, took to Facebook to humiliate himself by issuing a plea for the public to help him locate a villainous vehicle which sported the thrilling slogan, “F*CK TRUMP AND F*CK YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM.” Nehls, who was elected in 2012, wrote:
Apparently, Sheriff Nehls moderates his own Facebook community. One can discern this by all of the bickerings back and forth with commenters on this post. Where does Nehls find the time to communicate directly with the community, what with having a brimming schedule of tracking down trucks with window decals keeping him so busy?
It is of little surprise to see Nehls take such a hard line against those who would dare to speak out against Trump, as he has been clearly accepting social media decorum lessons from the endlessly embarrassing president himself. Perhaps Nehls is upset to be serving as sheriff in a county Hillary Clinton won in 2016 which was the first time a Democrat had won in 42 years?
To justify his childish stunt, which is an abhorrence to the Constitution he has sworn to defend, Nehls cited Texas code Sec. 42.01. In Texas it is considered to be disorderly conduct if one uses “abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar language in a public place.” Disorderly conduct is a Class C Misdemeanor.
One wonders what language to which Nehls is referring? The window decal’s language is none of those terms defined in the law and is instead a heartwarming message which fills the reader with hope and thoughts of fluffy kittens.
The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s official website erroneously claims their mission statement to be:
At all times, courteous, impartial, and diligent. In the execution of their duties, they shall be guided by those constitutional and legal principles, which are the foundation of the United States of America and the State of Texas.
How would any person who claims to be guided the Constitution of the United States threaten to have a political dissenter arrested for a harmless window decal? The illusion of impartiality Nehls seeks to exude is shattered by his statements on Twitter where he demands respect for allegedly being “fiscal conservative.”
https://twitter.com/SheriffTNehls/status/930186766090493952
Sheriff Nehls, who earns a yearly salary of $127,231, has spent numerous hours of his day dedicated to childishly bantering on Facebook and threatening those he does not agree with politically. He is surely using those taxpayer’s dollars wisely as only a fiscal conservative knows how.
Such behavior is not in the job description of Nehls in which he is charged with protecting the public from rapists and murderers who are not necessarily all Republicans. However, every major elected office holder in Fort Bend County is a Republican, so the odds certainly favor it.
