ISLAND COUNTY: Republicans rally to support Trump, military, Israel and America

Sam Fletcher reports from a rally held by the Island County Republican Party for the Whidbey News-Times.

On the intersection of Pioneer Way and Highway 20 in Oak Harbor, just two hours after it was announced that former President Donald Trump has been found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to influence the outcome of the 2016 election, Island County Republican Party President [sic] Tim Hazelo fastened a Trump banner to his flagpole beneath the American flag.

“What a farce,” he said. “Even lawyers on the left, on CNN and MSNBC, are saying that these charges were a joke and shouldn’t have been charged, so we’ve just got to get out and support this guy.”

They Said It

The party gathered there the previous Thursday as well, Hazelo said, next to a group standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people…. The two rallies get along fine, Hazelo said. He respects their rights; he just doesn’t agree with their points.

“I am just sick of seeing people that really have no idea what they’re protesting for,” he said. “Do they even know what they’re talking about? ‘From the river to the sea.’ What river? What sea? Ask them. They won’t be able to tell you. Do they know that these people chop babies’ heads off in front of their parents?”

Hazelo was chatting cordially with a member of the Palestine rally about how great and friendly the response has been to both, he said.

“Then somebody rolled down the window and started cussing at us,” Hazelo said, “so except for that guy.”

If there was one tangible goal for this week’s rally, it was to get signatures for Initiative 2066, Hazelo said, which would roll back a bill forcing the state’s biggest energy company, Puget Sound Energy, to file an integrated gas and electric system by 2027.

“This is really going to screw us up here in Washington, so that’s at the top of our concerns right now,” he said. “It’s not a Republican thing. It’s not a Democrat thing. It’s a ‘hey, golly man, we’re hurting right now.’ I just went and filled up my big blue diesel, the one that I drive around town — 140 bucks.”

The Island County Republican Party plans to make their rallies a weekly occurrence, he said.

[Ed. Note: Mr. Fletcher reported that Mr. Hazelo is the “president” of the Island County Republican Party. Mr. Hazelo’s title is “chairman.”]