Elise Stefanik: On lies and insincerity
Ringo walks in the woods on a hot day
Please consider supporting The Front Page with a paid subscription: HERE
Intentionally calling people the wrong name is a low, sneaky form of insult, but one that many Republican politicians enjoy.
We have two major parties — the Republican Party and the Democratic Party — but Republicans of a certain sort insist on saying “the Democrat Party.”
Often, they have a twinkle in their eye or a grin tugging at the corners of their mouth when they say it. Butter would not melt in that same mouth, however, when they get called out.
“I’m just calling Democrats what everyone calls them,” they say. “I thought that was their name.”
The “Democrat Party” does not exist, any more than, for example, “the Lie Party” does, and the problem with calling the Republican Party “the Lie Party” is the same one as saying “Democrat Party” for “Democratic Party.” It is incorrect. “Lie Party” is not the Republican Party’s name.
Elise Stefanik put the following statement on X after the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity:
“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a historic victory for President Donald Trump, the Constitution, the rule of law, and the American people. The President of the United States must have immunity, like Members of Congress and federal judges, which is necessary for any presidency to function properly. I look forward to continuing to work with President Trump to ensure his victory and Save America.”
She capitalizes “Save America” as if it’s a catchphrase for a glorious cause, like “Rule, Brittania!”
Some of her posts on X seem urgent and breathless, sprinkled with emojis, like she rushed from the floor of Congress to dash them down. Others, like this one, appear carefully considered.
She refers to Donald Trump, a private citizen, as “President Donald Trump,” for example, and to President Biden as “Joe Biden” or just “Biden.”
The crux of the post is the phrase in the middle of the second sentence — “… like Members of Congress and federal judges …” — which makes it seem the Supreme Court did nothing more than grant the president a privilege other federal officials already enjoy.
But the court’s decision granted presidents full immunity, including immunity from criminal prosecution, for anything done as an “official act” — an immunity that members of Congress and federal judges do not have. Members of Congress and federal judges have immunity from civil liability, so they can’t be sued for things said or done in their official capacity.
Presidents already had civil immunity before this ruling.
Here is what the Constitution says about congressional immunity:
“The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.”
The Supreme Court in 1908 in Williamson v. United States addressed how to interpret the words “Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace”:
“The words ‘treason, felony and breach of the peace’ were used by the framers of the Constitution in §6, Art. I, and should be construed in the same sense as these words were commonly used and understood in England as applied to the parliamentary privilege and as excluding from the privilege all arrests and prosecutions for criminal offenses, and confining the privilege alone to arrests in civil cases.”
In 1972, as part of Gravel v. United States, the Supreme Court reiterated that criminal offenses were excluded from the privilege:
“The last sentence of the Clause provides Members of Congress with two distinct privileges. Except in cases of ‘Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace,’ the Clause shields Members from arrest while attending or traveling to and from a session of their House. History reveals, and prior cases so hold, that this part of the Clause exempts Members from arrest in civil cases only.”
Excluding criminal immunity is the only way the privilege makes sense. Otherwise, federal judges and members of Congress could put their rulings and votes up for auction to the highest bidder, knowing they couldn’t be prosecuted for bribery.
So Stefanik’s use of the phrase “like members of Congress and federal judges” attempts to prove her point with a citation that disproves it, and that is the sort of dishonest argument she frequently makes.
Politicians are given vast opportunity for corruption, and the more powerful they are, the more temptation beckons. We may soon have a corrupt man in the most powerful position in the country who has recently been told by the nation’s highest court he can break the law with impunity.
If Trump is elected, only the people and their representatives will be able to restrain him, by exposing his corruption and protesting against it. Our representative, unfortunately, will be busy on X, scribbling justifications for every crime he commits.
A hot walk in the cool woods
Sometimes, we take short walks in Cole’s Woods, swinging around in a circle from the Fire Road parking area — out to the right or left, then soon doubling back and across Halfway Brook to the car. But Thursday, we asserted our independence from routine and took the long way around, despite the mugginess, hiking uphill to the water towers, then down toward the Y and back to Halfway Brook and Fire Road. It’s about two miles, maybe.
Bella started asking where we were going and when we would get there before we reached the halfway point. But she hung in there and we cooled off afterward with ice cream cones from Stewart’s. Bella’s favorite is salted caramel cheesecake; mine, mint chip.
Ringo had an adventurous ramble. First, he discovered a hydrant in the tall grasses of a wetland. It stood there like a monolith from “A Space Odyssey,” and he beheld it.
Then we spotted this lovely Canada lily (lilium canadense) along the trail. I like the way it droops.
Finally, we reached the brook, where, on days like Thursday, Ringo insists on taking a dip and a sip of cool water.
Another outstanding show
LARAC has put on a great series of exhibits so far this year in Lapham Gallery on City Park, and Friday the latest show, “Signs of Life,” opened with works by Jenny Hutchinson and Russell Serrianne.
It’s a wonderful show of two very accomplished local artists. Following are a few photos from the opening:
You’re quite right.
Our political discourse has degenerated from a sincere discussion of public policy into insults, bullying, lies, misinformation, and attacks. What we used to call dirty politics is standard campaigning now. Perhaps I’m biased, but I see our current debased political environment as emanating from the right-wing and from the Republican Party.
Our Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is a prime example. That she’s seen as a "rising star" in the Republican Party is telling.
Thanks, Will!
One of the finer explanations and exposes I’ve read on the topic and the present situation . Rather than clarifying the issue of presidential immunity, the Supreme Court has confused it more. No person is above the law, no matter what SCOTUS says!