Stefanik selling this is `Trump Country,’ but there are 150,000 reasons why it is not
David Brooks delivers a must read about the battle for America’s soul
By Ken Tingley
Just a few hours after writer E. Jean Carroll testified in a Manhattan courtroom that Donald Trump raped her in the mid-1990s, Rep. Elise Stefanik tweeted “Upstate New York and the North Country are TRUMP COUNTRY!”
Heaven help us.
Lawyer Michael Ferrara asked Carroll Wednesday: “Why are we here today?”
“I am here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen,” Ms. Carroll said in court. “He lied and shattered my reputation, and I am here to try to get my life back.”
While the former president is innocent until proven guilty, this isn’t the first time he has faced such accusations. ABC News did a tally in 2020 that showed at least 18 women have accused Donald Trump of “varying inappropriate behavior, including allegations of sexual harassment or sexual assault” and all but two made the allegations before or during his first bid for the White House in 2016.
We’ve all seen the “Access Hollywood” tape from 2005.
Rape, sexual assault and even sexual harassment allegations make too many of us uncomfortable. We don’t know who to believe and more often than not choose to look away. The victims are often portrayed as liars, gold diggers or scorned lovers. And when the accusations are made against powerful men - see the Harvey Weinstein case - the victims often see their careers ruined and character destroyed.
Those being accused say it is part of the political playbook.
But if you want to use the “where there is smoke there is fire” logic, then you might want to look a little closer at Carroll’s allegations. Or some of the other 18 cases against Trump. Or his well chronicled philandering.
Our congresswoman does not seem to be worried about the accusations against Trump.
Because this is “Trump Country.”
It was also once “Obama Country.”
People evolve, they change their mind, they evaluate the candidates election by election, then decide.
Consider the next presidential election is 19 months away. I suspect there are many who are not ready to make a commitment to any candidate of either party. Over the next 19 months, the voters get a chance to vet candidates.
Republicans will have other choices besides Trump. Nikki Haley and Asa Hutchinson have already declared their intentions along with Trump. Ron DeSantis seems to be heading in that direction.
While watching an interview with Haley, I was startled at how level-headed and professional she was. There were no attacks, no belittling of the current administration. She seems to be an old-fashioned Republican. You know, one with values and a courage of her convictions.
She is conservative, but still pro-choice on the abortion issue. She seems more moderate, a little more in touch with the modern world and the people who live in it.
When asked about DeSantis and his war with the Disney Corporation, she described how she worked successfully with businesses when she was governor of South Carolina, not against them.
She reminded me of another young woman I met recently - Jill Lochner.
You probably still don’t know a lot about Lochner. She is a Republican challenging Stefanik for her congressional seat. The good boys old running the county committees won’t even take her calls.
They won’t even take a meeting.
They believe this is “Stefanik Country.”
It was once Sweeney country, too, until he lost.
What Stefanik has ignored is that her very red district has many voices.
Of the 323,276 people who voted in the 2020 presidential election, 147,931 did not vote for Trump. That’s a lot of people who don’t believe this is “Trump Country.”
Since that election, Trump has been indicted in a Manhattan courtroom.
A congressional committee has found him responsible for the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol and culpable in trying to overturn the election results in 2020.
A George investigation is hearing evidence on whether to indict him as well.
And a federal investigation into the election tampering continues to move forward.
And of course there is a rape trial where the judge admonished Trump for social media posts that might be considered jury tampering.
Where there is smoke…
The former president’s legal problems seem to grow by the day.
When President Biden announced he was running for re-election on Tuesday, Rep. Stefanik released this endorsement of Trump:
“Now more than ever, our country needs Donald J. Trump and I will do everything in my power to help elect him in 2024 as President of the United States to save America.”
I suspect there are many die-hard Republicans who might have a few doubts. They might want to see where these investigations go.
But Stefanik has her mind made up.
She has decided this is “Trump Country” and seems intent on doing anything possible to keep it that way.
America’s soul
David Brooks, the New York Times columnist who spoke at Skidmore College a couple weeks ago, delivered a column Thursday that is a must read as he explained why the next presidential election is again about the soul of America.
And he explained it as only David Brooks can. And the same can apply to Elise Stefanik. Here is his insightful conclusion:
“One of the hardest, soul-wearying parts of living through the Trump presidency was that we had to endure a steady downpour of lies, transgressions and demoralizing behavior. We were all corroded by it. That era was a reminder that the soul of a person and the soul of a nation are always in flux, every day moving a bit in the direction of elevation or a bit in the direction of degradation.
“A return to that ethos would bring about a social and moral disintegration that is hard to contemplate. Say what you will about Biden, but he has generally put human dignity at the center of his political vision. He treats people with charity and respect.
“The contest between Biden and Trumpism is less Democrat versus Republican or liberal versus conservative than it is between an essentially moral vision and an essentially amoral one, a contest between decency and its opposite.”
Two schools
Joseph Girard III seemed to confirm he will be moving from Syracuse to another college on Wednesday.
“I’d like to announce I will be a Tiger at…..”
Girard had made visits to both LSU and Clemson and both are nicknamed the Tigers.
With the Tweet is a meme that says “Final Two” with Girard wearing a uniform from each school.
Stefanik has her hopes pinned on being a part of *Team trump* ....maybe hopeful for VP?
Her rhetoric is dangerous and disgusting.
I have lived here my entire life and am proud to be a never trump/never Stefanik.
As I have said before, Stefanik needs to have a mental competency evaluation. Obsession over one particular person is not a good sign of objective observations. She is barely doing her job, and using her constituents as an excuse to continue supporting trump. She is working for him, not N.Y.!