Stefanik backs blue, but not FBI
Welcome to the big city where life is a little different
By Ken Tingley
It was just two years ago that Rep. Elise Stefanik was a frenzied supporter of police agencies everywhere, attending rallies and telling everyone she “backed the blue.”
The hashtag was prominent on many of her tweets.
"Our law enforcement is part of the fabric of this community and we are seeing, unfortunately, that law enforcement has been under attack across this country and in this state, and we need to make it clear that we will always stand up for our law enforcement who are part of law and order and part of what makes this country great," Stefanik said in a rally covered by the Press-Republican in Plattsburgh in July 2020.
Later, while running for re-election in 2020, she said she was the only candidate who “backed the blue.”
That wasn’t true then and it is not true now.
As late as February she was still promoting “back the blue” on social media, although she never specifically showed any support for the Capitol Police after the Jan. 6 riot.
This is not controversial stuff. Rep. Stefanik likes to pour gasoline on issues that are not controversial in her district. I don’t think I have ever met anyone who does not support police or correction officers.
Unless, they do something wrong.
Like all of us, if you break the law you should be held accountable.
But this week, she did not “back the Federal Bureau of Investigation” after it began investigating whether former President Donald Trump had kept secret documents in violation of the Presidential Records Act.
If your read the search warrant, there is justification for the search. It was done legally and signed by a judge.
The FBI has a long and distinguished history as one of the most prestigious law enforcement agencies in the country. It employs approximately 35,000 people and is at the forefront of thousands of investigations that help enforce our laws and solve crimes. Its’ crime lab is one of the best in the world.
Obviously, any investigation of a former president is going to lead to charges that law enforcement has been weaponized. But I don’t recall Rep. Stefanik calling for an investigation of the bureau after James Comey announced it was reopening an investigation of candidate Hillary Clinton. That helped Donald Trump get elected. And nothing came of that investigation.
Maybe nothing will come of the Trump investigation, but if we believe that every law enforcement agency is corrupt or susceptible to political influence, we are truly lost as a people. Is every member of the 35,000 FBI employees susceptible to political influence? Surely, a few are, but I venture most are not.
Just this past week, as Rep. Stefanik and her Republican colleagues condemned the investigation of which they do not know all the details, armed protesters showed up outside the Phoenix FBI office and a gunman attacked an FBI office in Cincinnati.
On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security distributed an intelligence bulletin that warned law enforcement agencies of “an increase in threats and acts of violence including armed encounters against law enforcement, judiciary and government personnel.”
When our leaders, like Rep. Stefanik, play fast and loose with the facts, it can lead to violence. This is the power they have and they abuse it regularly.
It turns out that Rep. Elise Stefanik does not back the blue. She backs the red of the Republican Party. That’s where her loyalties lie and that seems to have repeatedly clouded her judgment.
Life in the city
My wife and I rented a small condo in the New Orleans warehouse district this past week. It was her first morning there when we started hearing banging and thumping on the floor above us. Then, there was screaming.
Granted, we are not used to sounds and rhythms of the city, but this seemed especially disconcerting. It sounded like one person was screaming at another. The words were muffled, but it sounded like the F-word was being used liberally.
There was more thumps and crashes.
“Should we do something,” my wife asked. We listened some more. There was a blood-curding scream and it sounded like one person was telling the other to “get out.” This seemed more than just an argument. My wife finally called 9-1-1.
About 10 minutes laters, two New Orleans police officers were at our door. We invited them into our apartment and explained what we had heard on the floor above us. One officer walked through the apartment and into the bedroom, and for a second I thought I was a suspect, then they left to investigate upstairs,
They returned about 10 minutes later and explained that there were some kids playing a raucous video game and they were running around, yelling and screaming. That didn’t really jibe with what we had heard. The officers did not seem too concerned.
After that, it was quiet in the apartment above us. We’re kind of looking forward to getting back to Queensbury.
Some inspiration
In the midst of a four-hour delay at the Houston airport last week - my flight did not leave for New Orleans until almost midnight - this was posted on one of the Southwest Airlines monitors.
I guess it was a sign of support, but it didn’t really make me feel any better after a long day.
I finally got to New Orleans about 1:30 in the morning.
Your column is all too true about Stefanik's switching her commentary when it suits her politics.
"I don’t think I have ever met anyone who does not support police or correction officers." That's the same reaction I get whenever I pass one of those lawn signs. Who doesn't? It's like saying, "We believe that air is a good thing!" So, what are those signs trying to tell us? Of course we all support our local men and women in blue. I don't think it's a positive reflection of the sign poster.