Please, Dan, don't let us down like Stefanik did

A couple of questions will clarify Stec's qualifications

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State Senator Dan Stec of Queensbury launched his run for Congress in as bland a manner as possible, by calling himself “the most electable.”

“No one can compare the numbers the way that I do as far as how much of the district I already represent,” he said.

Put that on a bumper sticker.

Still, in this era of Republicans who compete to outshout each other on social media while kowtowing to Donald Trump, Dan’s announcement is, at least, inoffensive.

He isn’t following the example of our soon-to-be ex-congresswoman, emoji-master Elise Stefanik.

I hope his refusal to express himself in the MAGA way means he intends to hold onto his self-respect, but I wonder if he’ll be able to resist the MAGA pressure. Amsterdam’s Anthony Constantino, also seeking the nomination, has shown a facility for Trump-worship. In October, he erected a large neon sign atop his graphic design and printing company that said “Vote for Trump.”

Stec is a talker, but I’ve never heard him mouth the MAGA mixture of Trump propaganda and adulation.

Stefanik is fluent in this language, and Constantino appears to be a natural.

I doubt Stec will have to pledge allegiance to MAGA to win the endorsement of county Republican officials who will choose the party’s nominee for the special election, and perhaps the next couple of years will be such a political disaster, the MAGA fever will have broken by 2026.

But, instead of playing it safe with forgettable campaign announcements, Stec could remind everyone what his party should stand for — like this:

“I believe in the Republican Party’s values of fiscal and individual responsibility. I believe in American values of fairness and respect. In Congress, I will not join in the scapegoating of any group of people in this country — not immigrants, not LGBT individuals, not even Democrats. I am going to Congress to fix problems, not to find people to blame for them.

“People’s personal lives are their own business. If you’re not hurting anybody, then who you love, how you identify yourself and how you raise your children are not the government’s concern.

“As a community, we have responsibilities of care and consideration for each other, which are necessary, even if they are not enshrined in law.

“One of our responsibilities is to speak the truth. Otherwise, our society will break down in confusion brought on by the widespread promotion of lies.

“I will never forget that my duty is to the country and the Constitution.”

Years ago, when Ken was still the editor of the Post-Star, he asked Elise Stefanik and her Democratic opponent, Tedra Cobb, to promise not to lie. Cobb promised immediately. Stefanik wouldn’t do it.

None of the NY-21 candidates will say everything I wish they would. But I hope in the next few weeks we hear from Stec, since he is the front-runner for the Republican nomination and, therefore, the most likely to win the seat, in a way that shows he won’t give the blind allegiance to Trump that Stefanik has.

Ken is taking questions for Stec from readers. Here are mine:

Did Joe Biden win the 2020 election?

Were Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, capturing and eating people’s pets?

If he can’t say “yes” to the first and “no” to the second, without qualification, he does not deserve to sit in Congress.

This is the first image on Dan Stec’s Facebook page — not a good sign.