Stefanik surfaces in an interview with Politico
Homan promises ICE presence in New York because it won't cooperate
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Who represents us here in the North Country in Congress?
Quick!
Admit it, you had to think about it a second because of the low profile Rep. Elise Stefanik has been keeping lately. She has gone years without having a public town hall meeting.
There have been more stories about what’s next for Elise and her book on antisemitism at universities than on her current job representing us in Congress.
Some of that is not her fault because Congress’ work is at a historical low.
One member of Congress suggested she replace Tulsi Gabbard as National Security Adviser, but then Trump mispronounced her name at a White House function — maybe on purpose? — so that seems like a long shot.
Stefanik, whose strong suit is fundraising and getting attention, hasn’t been doing much of either lately, although Times Union columnist Chris Churchill managed to get a lunch with her before the book came out, which is far more than most of her constituents have gotten.
As usual with most Stefanik interviews, she controlled the message and made little news.
Politico’s Ben Jacobs did a long profile this past week, wondering what she might do next.
He pointed out that, at age 41, she is leaving Congress younger than most members enter it. Another sad indictment of Congress.
One Republican adviser called her a future “star” for the Republicans, although I’m pretty sure Stefanik saw herself as already a star.
These stories often sidestep the issue of what she has accomplished in Congress for her constituents.
My experience interviewing Rep. Stefanik during editorial board meetings at The Post-Star was often frustrating. I’ve said before, I had to regularly remind her during her long drawn-out answers that she had not answeredf the question. But Stefanik is not alone in possessing that skill set these days.
There is much Rep. Stefanik needs to explain as she finishes out her 12 years in Congress — why the MAGA transformation, for starters — but that would require a healthy dose of honesty and introspection. Sadly, you won’t find that from anyone looking to have a political future.
Jacobs, the Politico writer, attended an invitation-only book-signing event in Washington, D.C. that provided more insights on Stefanik and her future than most stories. Oddly, the book signing was not held in a book store.
“The venue. The canapes. The open bar. It’s not quite a fundraiser but it’s certainly not an opportunity to flog books,” Jacobs observed. “Instead, it’s a gathering of allies and loyalists. Stefanik may only be focused at the moment on finishing atop the New York Times bestsellers list, but she doesn’t seem like someone whose ambitions are quite that limited. She might be leaving Congress but, it seems, she’s still running for something.”
Jacobs conceded that Stefanik’s book did make the New York Times best-seller list — although only for one week — but Stefanik’s people also accused the Times of suppressing the rankings to keep her off in subsequent weeks.
Some things never change.
Jacobs also observed that the books at this event were being given away for free.
Stefanik did say she had not ruled out running for office in the future and that the book signing for the insider Washington crowd proved that her low profile in recent months did not indicate she is done with politics.
But if there was any hope that leaving office would provide fresh candor from the congresswoman, that was not to be.
“ ...Stefanik remains relentlessly on message, sticking to polished talking points repeated in interviews promoting the book,” Jacobs wrote. “At times, as she addresses the invite-only crowd in Washington, she almost sounds like she is giving a floor speech on C-Span.”
Vintage Stefanik.
Always prepared, but rarely answering the question.
She did tell Jacobs that New York’s Republican Party had “atrophied to a historic low” when it comes to fundraising and other GOP insiders told him that she was “positioned” to take over the state party “at some level.”
Whatever that means.
Perhaps anticipating a shellacking in the midterms, Stefanik might be positioning herself to be the savior that returns the GOP to glory.
That’s what an opportunist would do.
And at 41, I’m sure she has not let go of those presidential ambitious.
We have not heard the last of Elise Stefanik by any means.
ICE back
New York may be the site of another ICE occupation, because the state is not playing ball with the Trump administration.
The Washington Examiner reported that border czar Tom Homan is working on a plan to send more agents to New York because of Gov. Kath Hochul’s proposal to limit cooperation between ICE and local police departments.
While appearing in Rockland County last week, President Trump criticized the immigrant protection bills the New York state Legislature passed.
Who to trust
You know things are bad when you are not sure who to trust between President Trump or Iran state media.
President Trump announced that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen just as it was before the war. Iran state media said that is “not true.”
But the New York Times said Iranian media had more insights than Trump’s social media posts.
It also said “it should be noted that American officials have acknowledged in multiple messages to Iran that Trump’s tweets are primarily for promotional purposes and media consumption within the United States, and they have recommended that no attention be paid to these statements.”
Perhaps the American media should also adopt that policy.
Ken Tingley spent more than four decades working in small community newspapers in upstate New York. Since retirement in 2020 he has written three books and his play “The Last American Newspaper” is being produced by Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany Sept. 25 to Oct. 18 . He currently lives in both Queensbury, N.Y. and New Orleans, La.
She surfaces…like marsh gas in a fetid swamp.
',,,Trump’s tweets are primarily for promotional purposes and media consumption within the United States...no attention be paid to these statements," per Iranian media.
In addition, the U.S. stock market should stop focusing on what Trump says and focus more on what he actually does (or tries to do.) The S&P 500 goes up and down like a Pop-Tart based on Trump's pronouncements that have no basis in reality. One would think investors -- including institutional and international investors -- would have caught on by now to Trump's carnival sideshow barker routine.