Freshman Republican Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY) vented his frustrations with his own party, in an interview with the Syracuse Post Standard.
“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,” said Hanna.
Hanna pointed to a specific example: The allegations being made by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and four other House Republicans, who have accused Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s longtime aide Huma Abedin of being linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and influencing U.S. foreign policy.
Hanna further denounced the polarization in Congress, saying that “We render ourselves incapable of governing when all we do is take severe sides.”
He also added that this problem is driven more from the Republican side: “I would say that the friends I have in the Democratic Party I find … much more congenial — a little less anger.”
Hanna was elected in the 2010 Republican landslide, defeating two-term Democratic Rep. Michael Arcuri, after having previously run against Arcuri in 2008.
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