Oped: Gubernatorial hypocrisy and the firing of Miguel Sanchez

"Only a hypocrite would cite Rhode Island's history of upholding the right to conscience, and fire a person for exercising that right."

Miguel Sanchez

Days ago Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee fired constituent services staffer Miguel Sanchez for comments he made in private social media posts in support of Palestinian lives and for attending a pro-Palestinian rally on October 21. Miguel Sanchez is also a Providence City Councilmember, representing Ward 6.

"The Governor firmly believes that words matter - and words can have the potential to fan the flames of hate and division," said Olivia DaRocha, a McKee Administration communications staffer, as reported by Channel 12.

Governor McKee had previously expressed strong solidarity with the Israeli government's response to the Hamas attacks and pledged to protect Jewish Americans from homegrown antisemitic violence. On October 14, the Governor said:

“Let's take a moment to speak directly about the horrific situation we've seen unfolding in Israel and threats that have been made in the United States. Make no mistake, there will be zero tolerance for any violence or threats of violence here in Rhode Island... the most important thing right now... is [to] prevent any acts of antisemitism in any capacity. At this time, there are no credible threats in Rhode Island, but we're vigilant and we must all remain vigilant. Our state was founded on the basis of religious freedom, and just as I want my family [and] all families in the state of Rhode Island to have that opportunity to worship without fear, our Jewish neighbors deserve and are entitled to that same right.”

Governor McKee's words are tinged with irony in the context of Miguel Sanchez's firing. What Rhode ISland's founder Roger Williams spoke about, when he spoke about establishing Rhode Island as a place of religious liberty, was a deeper concept, that of liberty of conscience. Edward J. Eberle, a Professor of Law at Roger Williams University, wrote in 2005:

“At the core of Williams's thought is the identification of conscience as inviolable both because it is a path to God and because it is an inalienable aspect of being human. To violate conscience, therefore, is to violate God's work and man's dignity. From this core thought Williams elaborated on the primacy of conscience, advocating [the] guarantee of conscience on equal terms for all people, regardless of race or gender; toleration of conscience-motivated conduct, to the extent consistent with law and order; separation of church from state in order to protect the integrity of each from the other; non-establishment of a church; and treatment of churches and other religious institutions on terms equal to other, secular institutions in society.”

Note that Roger Williams, as understood by Eberle, allowed for the state to restrain conscience in cases where words or actions are inconsistent with "law and order," but it is far from clear that the comments and actions that resulted in the firing of Miguel Sanchez are in any way dangerous in that sense. The comments and views of Miguel Sanchez may be contrary to those of Governor McKee, but as Steve Brown of the Rhode Island ACLU points out:

“We recognize that there are certain limited circumstances where the scope of free speech protection extended to government officials is reduced, but it is not obvious from Mr. Sanchez's job responsibilities that they apply here or justify the extreme action of termination.

“While the Governor has made clear his vehement disagreement with the views expressed by Mr. Sanchez, we believe he should also clarify how those personally expressed views compromise the ability of either of them to discharge their public duties so as to warrant the sanction of firing. It is this factor, not merely strong disagreement with an employee's personal, off-hours expression of controversial views, that should be key, and which is essential to prevent a chilling impact on the exercise of free speech by others in his administration.”

In other words, the comments by Miguel Sanchez don't negatively impact his ability to do his job in any obvious way, never mind constitute a threat to law and order. Governor McKee may not like it but our human rights protect a broad range of opinions, even those many of us find distasteful.

Only a hypocrite would cite Rhode Island's history of upholding the right to conscience, and fire a person for exercising that right. And the hypocrisy of Governor McKee is seemingly boundless, as this video, released just two days ago, shows:

When the Governor made his comments about defending Rhode Islanders from anti-semitism, [a policy I very much agree with, by the way], he was speaking at a press conference announcing his administration's Winter Shelter Strategy, that is, the plan to protect people experiencing homelessness from the winter cold.

In attendance at the press conference were Jewish, Christian, and Muslim clergy, because one part of the McKee Administration's Winter Shelter Strategy "is to involve municipal and faith leaders in assisting Rhode Islanders in need this winter. Specifically, faith leaders are calling upon houses of worship across the state to provide additional support this winter to support unsheltered Rhode Islanders."

One of the faith leaders Governor McKee recruited to his press conference was Iman Abdul-Latif Sackor of the Islamic Center of Rhode Island, who not only attended but spoke at the very first pro-Palestinian rally in Providence, on October 8 and October 21, in strong support of the Palestinian cause. Like all people, the Imam is free and entitled to hold and express opinions contrary to those of the Governor.

It turns out Governor McKee has no problem aligning with people who share contrary views on the Israel-Palestine conflict - if the optics make him look inclusive.

Final thoughts:

The firing of Miguel Sanchez by Governor McKee calls into question the idea of part-time elected representatives. When push comes to shove, will these elected, part-time representatives work for the people who elected them or those who pay them at their "real job"? How many people are like Miguel Sanchez - willing to face economic tribulation in defense of a principled stand?

Miguel Sanchez is not the only elected Democrat questioning the intensity of Israel's response to the crisis. Even the President of the United States, a strong supporter of Israel, has expressed a need for caution. "Justice must be done," said Joe Biden to the Israeli government on October 17. "But I caution this: while you feel that rage, don't be consumed by it. After 9/11 we were enraged in the United States. While we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes."

UPDATE: On November 2, 2023 Miguel Sanchez issued the following press release:

Miguel Sanchez Responds to McKee’s Public Comments on His Firing

Sanchez hits back as Gov. McKee publicly questions the war’s ‘importance’

Miguel Sanchez is a Providence City Councilor, and up until last week, worked as an associate in Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee’s Constituent Affairs Office. On Friday, Gov. McKee fired him in retaliation for speaking out in support of Palestinian civilians outside of work. McKee and Sanchez are both Democrats. On Wednesday, the Rhode Island ACLU released a statement questioning the firing.

Today, Governor McKee made his first public comments regarding Sanchez’s firing. In his remarks, McKee said, "When we have to spend time talking about things that are not directly related to the important work that we have to do, then it becomes a situation where you have to kind of make a choice. Do you spend all your time talking about things that are not important?"

In response to the Governor’s remarks, Councilor Sanchez released the following statement:

“Today, after firing me for speaking out for innocent Palestinian civilians, the Governor publicly asked, ‘Do you spend all your time talking about things that are not important?’ This is what Governor McKee is calling unimportant: more than 8,500 Gazans have been killed, including more than 3,500 children. 1.4 million people have been displaced from their homes. Hospitals are failing, as they are completely overwhelmed while Israel has cut off their food, water, fuel, electricity, and medical supplies. The Gaza Strip is nearly 1/9 the size of Rhode Island, yet since Oct. 7, Israel has bombarded it with 10,000 bombs. It’s hard from where we sit to envision the sheer destruction and devastation of a massacre at that scale, but I think it’s ‘important’ we try.

“This is what Governor McKee thinks is unimportant. This is what Governor McKee thinks you should lose your livelihood for speaking out about outside of work. If not innocent lives - if not children’s lives - what is important to Governor McKee?

“It is important to condemn both the murder of innocent Israeli civilians and the absolute humanitarian nightmare occurring in Gaza right now, so that’s exactly what I’ve done. The Pope has called for the same thing: a ceasefire. It’s a good thing he isn’t working for Governor McKee.”