Having read Matt Castelli's Moderate Platform, I see that his positions attempt to thread the needle in order to attract the votes of folks who in the past may have believed Rep. Stefanik was an actual moderate interested in doing what was needed in a conservative context. Unfortunately, Castelli's platform hits some of the same dog whistle issue that Elise has in the past so skillfully endeavored to hide. That his platform talks of secure elections is a nod to her that there is a problem, and instead of addressing it as a problem of access to the ballot, he reinforces her notion that there is a problem with undocumented people voting, which there is not. And as far a guns, he is vague, with the same provable inadequate solutions of background check and support of the second amendment. We need an assault weapons ban, the Uvalde shooter passed his background check. When will a politician support the "well regulated" phrase that is mentioned before the "make no law" part of the 2nd. amendment. So moderate today comes in at somewhere right of center, Bernie Sander and Dwight Eisenhower are on the same page, and now considered "radical left". We got work to do, I hope Castelli wins, but he is not showing any leadership with the "moderate " platform.
I think what you are saying.. is kind of true. Mr. Castelli has taken a page out of stefanik's propaganda playbook. But I believe (hope) he is honest about it. Clearly stefanik is not.
I do think this is one of the times that the guy you don't know is better than the evil you do. Without a doubt, stiffy has voted against the interests of #ny21. The only good thing is she is a failure. Much like don the con, if she had been effective in her leadership the world would be a much worse place. The fact is that in eight years of failure, she has not authored one meaningful bill.
The fact she is afraid to debate, is because her lies are threadbare and for her to go anywhere where there will be objective questions will have her fabric of lies will unravel; exposing she is the emperor without flannel and fleecing America.
Eric Adams was elected mayor of NYC, so I think it’s questionable how liberal they are overall. Definitely not deserving of the socialist label that’s hung on everyone who identifies as a Democrat. It’s still unbelievable that the Republican Party has elevated to cult leader status a former Democrat from Queens who believed in gun control and pro-choice.
It is so easy to say stefanik and don the con supporters are stupid or ignorant.
But there is no other explanation.
When you look at stefanik's post on social media.. you see that steanik and her supporters NEVER have facts. And when facts are presented, their only response is to name call.
I am not a republican, so I can't understand it. I have a friend who 'was' a moderate conservative.. but we no longer can discuss reality in the context of politics.
Example: he has fallen into the trope that CoVid is a hoax, even though everyone in his family has had covid (albeit mild cases because they were vaccinated). And ignores all of that. The latest is to suggest hospitals should not take health precautions to protect themselves.
What makes this embarrassing for me, he used to work in a hospital, during the peak of AIDs and I know he wasn't saying that was a hoax.. he took every precaution to protect himself -- and ultimately his family.
It should be pointed out that politics is not a science. and to pretend you can measure it like you can an acid or base with PH, doesn't really work.
We can say we know what a 'moderate' is, but the nature of left or right in politics moves. The current crop of far-right republicans (or far right radicalized like stefanik) try to place Joe Biden as far left when in reality he is moderate or what moderate used to be.
A lot of this has to do with changing what is conservative or liberal
One of the right wingo hates is the EPA, an agency created under the Nixon administration.. how protecting the environment (and the health of people) is not a moderate or even conservative (i.e. conserve) thought, can only be explained by lobbyists.
Perhaps the what should be addressed is the schizophrenia of the gop and the believe don the con is a religious conservative. Time and time again he has moved republicans out of a left or right dogma and more a squiggle like that is neither left or right (or even libertarian) and more to a liquid state of foolishness.
I get kicked off facebook all the time by entering into discussions with facts... the latest is to suggest stefanik thinks repeating a lie makes it true, and I used Joseph Goebbels link to his philosophy of propaganda. ( which is clearly what stefanik is doing). And mind you, it is stefanik who is still on social media -- the woman who supports many a person (carl paladin) who thinks hitler had the right idea.
I would like to add another context to moderate. The assumption that moderates were (ever? are?) in the middle.. isn't always true. I believe a lot of politicians used to believe that compromise was the way you got things done.
Liberals didn't - 'kind of' believe healthcare was a good idea; they KNEW it was a good idea But to get things done they would comprise. (Of course this has never explained why republicans from republican states, with a population of mostly uninsured constituents -- think subsidized healthcare is a bad idea).
I read an investing essay on Newt Gingrich's Contract with America. Part of it was to push republicans to go back to their district when ever they could, and basically not to fraternize with the democrats.
What happened was the two parties stopped being people. In that, they stopped going for a drink with each other, they weren't on bowling leagues together and they didn't have each other over for dinner.
Like in a war, you must get your soldiers to hate the other soldiers or they won't want to kill them. When republicans stopped being friends with democrats, they stopped seeing the value of compromise. (and this is likely true about the democrats)
Before, "I can't can't call the anchor of my bowling team a fool on the senate floor", now it is what do I have to lose, I am no longer tied to humanity or civility.
and "the insurance lobbyist just told me poor people don't like healthcare"
In that atmosphere, why compromise/ why look moderate
I, unfortunately, totally agree with you - what's wrong with crossing Party lines once in awhile if you agree with a particular bill to be voted on, it only means you are Human and doing YOUR job & weren't worried about what it was going to do to your Political reputation - that used to be very ordinary but not any more unfortunately.
She represents the people who believe in the treasonous lie that our last election was not valid. She promotes negative thinking and helps divide us as a nation.
Absolutely agree re: Stefanik. As to Lake George Village, I spoke with Mayor Blais yesterday regarding succession - he is confident that there are people that are interested, qualified and able to carry on after him.
So, I guess I will chime in on the Matt Castelli vs. Wendy the not so little witch anymore. Castelli seems a little too "moderate" for my taste, but I can tolerate "moderate". What I can't tolerate is lies and the hatred that lies grow. Matt Castelli seems to be an honest man who loves the United States of America and who respects the law and the Constitution. I and my husband had the good fortune to meet him one evening and to have had a long conversation with him. He has excellent qualifications for the job and he seems to be truly motivated by concern for doing the right thing for our country and for the people of Upstate NY. Maybe I am a bit naive or overly simplistic in my assessment. At this point in the progress of history, however, Matt Castelli may be much needed in our congressional delegation. Somewhat like Ulysses Grant was unknown until he became essential. If we look at Castelli's resume, his areas of expertise are exactly what very well may be most helpful to our nation at this time. We need someone with diplomatic skills and the ability to advance justice with discretion. I think he fills that bill.
I don’t know if Matt Castelli would make a good representative or not, but at least you know what he stands for. I don’t know what Elise Stefanik stands for and we all should stand up and oppose a politician who continually lies and divides us.
In my humble opinion Elise Stefanik stands for only one thing: Sadly, Elise Stefanik. The people of New York's North Country deserve far better. I read a statement recently by someone (sorry, I don't remember by whom) that if you want to see how a person might perform in the future, look at their past, look at their resume, look at their previous accomplishments. If people had done that with the most recent former president, our country would not be in the mess that it is currently in. Matt Castelli has stepped forward to run because he is horrified at the negativity and division in this country that has been stoked by Stefanik and her god-man, Trump. When we look at the precarious situation that our country is in at this time we can ask, where we do we have the power to make changes? This is a chance to make a change.
Stefanik was never a moderate. A moderate would not lie or accept $240,000 from Karl Rove to primary Matt Doheny in a place she never lived, or tell us worked in the plywood business when clearly she didn’t.
But what I want to talk about is the LG dissolution vote. The fact that the referendum was forced on the community was a win for everyone because village and town leaders trying to prevent voters from dissolving the village promised a major consolidation between the municipalities along with a tax cut. So this is not over and residents need to hold their leaders to the promises they made. Do not just walk away thinking this is over. It isn’t. It is the start.
Having read Matt Castelli's Moderate Platform, I see that his positions attempt to thread the needle in order to attract the votes of folks who in the past may have believed Rep. Stefanik was an actual moderate interested in doing what was needed in a conservative context. Unfortunately, Castelli's platform hits some of the same dog whistle issue that Elise has in the past so skillfully endeavored to hide. That his platform talks of secure elections is a nod to her that there is a problem, and instead of addressing it as a problem of access to the ballot, he reinforces her notion that there is a problem with undocumented people voting, which there is not. And as far a guns, he is vague, with the same provable inadequate solutions of background check and support of the second amendment. We need an assault weapons ban, the Uvalde shooter passed his background check. When will a politician support the "well regulated" phrase that is mentioned before the "make no law" part of the 2nd. amendment. So moderate today comes in at somewhere right of center, Bernie Sander and Dwight Eisenhower are on the same page, and now considered "radical left". We got work to do, I hope Castelli wins, but he is not showing any leadership with the "moderate " platform.
Good points all.
Just made a post with similar points.
I think what you are saying.. is kind of true. Mr. Castelli has taken a page out of stefanik's propaganda playbook. But I believe (hope) he is honest about it. Clearly stefanik is not.
I do think this is one of the times that the guy you don't know is better than the evil you do. Without a doubt, stiffy has voted against the interests of #ny21. The only good thing is she is a failure. Much like don the con, if she had been effective in her leadership the world would be a much worse place. The fact is that in eight years of failure, she has not authored one meaningful bill.
The fact she is afraid to debate, is because her lies are threadbare and for her to go anywhere where there will be objective questions will have her fabric of lies will unravel; exposing she is the emperor without flannel and fleecing America.
We had the experience interviewing her at editorial board meetings, but she would stick to her guns no matter how many facts you showed her.
How sad.. .and I believe, when you support lies (misinformation) you have to produce more lies to support it.
You have to say, "o she drowned, when we tied rocks to her, well a least we know she wasn't a witch."
sadly: "she would stick to her guns no matter how many facts you showed her" probably is a good thing for some republicans
Eric Adams was elected mayor of NYC, so I think it’s questionable how liberal they are overall. Definitely not deserving of the socialist label that’s hung on everyone who identifies as a Democrat. It’s still unbelievable that the Republican Party has elevated to cult leader status a former Democrat from Queens who believed in gun control and pro-choice.
It is so easy to say stefanik and don the con supporters are stupid or ignorant.
But there is no other explanation.
When you look at stefanik's post on social media.. you see that steanik and her supporters NEVER have facts. And when facts are presented, their only response is to name call.
I am not a republican, so I can't understand it. I have a friend who 'was' a moderate conservative.. but we no longer can discuss reality in the context of politics.
Example: he has fallen into the trope that CoVid is a hoax, even though everyone in his family has had covid (albeit mild cases because they were vaccinated). And ignores all of that. The latest is to suggest hospitals should not take health precautions to protect themselves.
What makes this embarrassing for me, he used to work in a hospital, during the peak of AIDs and I know he wasn't saying that was a hoax.. he took every precaution to protect himself -- and ultimately his family.
It should be pointed out that politics is not a science. and to pretend you can measure it like you can an acid or base with PH, doesn't really work.
We can say we know what a 'moderate' is, but the nature of left or right in politics moves. The current crop of far-right republicans (or far right radicalized like stefanik) try to place Joe Biden as far left when in reality he is moderate or what moderate used to be.
A lot of this has to do with changing what is conservative or liberal
One of the right wingo hates is the EPA, an agency created under the Nixon administration.. how protecting the environment (and the health of people) is not a moderate or even conservative (i.e. conserve) thought, can only be explained by lobbyists.
Perhaps the what should be addressed is the schizophrenia of the gop and the believe don the con is a religious conservative. Time and time again he has moved republicans out of a left or right dogma and more a squiggle like that is neither left or right (or even libertarian) and more to a liquid state of foolishness.
don the con is the only leading politician that suggested we need to take your guns (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/02/28/trump-says-take-guns-first-and-worry-due-process-second-white-house-gun-meeting/381145002/)
I get kicked off facebook all the time by entering into discussions with facts... the latest is to suggest stefanik thinks repeating a lie makes it true, and I used Joseph Goebbels link to his philosophy of propaganda. ( which is clearly what stefanik is doing). And mind you, it is stefanik who is still on social media -- the woman who supports many a person (carl paladin) who thinks hitler had the right idea.
I would like to add another context to moderate. The assumption that moderates were (ever? are?) in the middle.. isn't always true. I believe a lot of politicians used to believe that compromise was the way you got things done.
Liberals didn't - 'kind of' believe healthcare was a good idea; they KNEW it was a good idea But to get things done they would comprise. (Of course this has never explained why republicans from republican states, with a population of mostly uninsured constituents -- think subsidized healthcare is a bad idea).
I read an investing essay on Newt Gingrich's Contract with America. Part of it was to push republicans to go back to their district when ever they could, and basically not to fraternize with the democrats.
What happened was the two parties stopped being people. In that, they stopped going for a drink with each other, they weren't on bowling leagues together and they didn't have each other over for dinner.
Like in a war, you must get your soldiers to hate the other soldiers or they won't want to kill them. When republicans stopped being friends with democrats, they stopped seeing the value of compromise. (and this is likely true about the democrats)
Before, "I can't can't call the anchor of my bowling team a fool on the senate floor", now it is what do I have to lose, I am no longer tied to humanity or civility.
and "the insurance lobbyist just told me poor people don't like healthcare"
In that atmosphere, why compromise/ why look moderate
I, unfortunately, totally agree with you - what's wrong with crossing Party lines once in awhile if you agree with a particular bill to be voted on, it only means you are Human and doing YOUR job & weren't worried about what it was going to do to your Political reputation - that used to be very ordinary but not any more unfortunately.
100%
She represents the people who believe in the treasonous lie that our last election was not valid. She promotes negative thinking and helps divide us as a nation.
Absolutely agree re: Stefanik. As to Lake George Village, I spoke with Mayor Blais yesterday regarding succession - he is confident that there are people that are interested, qualified and able to carry on after him.
I hope you are right, but 52 years of experience is going to be hard to replace.
I have no party affiliation and consider myself a moderate. I'll be voting for Castelli. Too much hate being espoused by Stefanik.
So, I guess I will chime in on the Matt Castelli vs. Wendy the not so little witch anymore. Castelli seems a little too "moderate" for my taste, but I can tolerate "moderate". What I can't tolerate is lies and the hatred that lies grow. Matt Castelli seems to be an honest man who loves the United States of America and who respects the law and the Constitution. I and my husband had the good fortune to meet him one evening and to have had a long conversation with him. He has excellent qualifications for the job and he seems to be truly motivated by concern for doing the right thing for our country and for the people of Upstate NY. Maybe I am a bit naive or overly simplistic in my assessment. At this point in the progress of history, however, Matt Castelli may be much needed in our congressional delegation. Somewhat like Ulysses Grant was unknown until he became essential. If we look at Castelli's resume, his areas of expertise are exactly what very well may be most helpful to our nation at this time. We need someone with diplomatic skills and the ability to advance justice with discretion. I think he fills that bill.
I don’t know if Matt Castelli would make a good representative or not, but at least you know what he stands for. I don’t know what Elise Stefanik stands for and we all should stand up and oppose a politician who continually lies and divides us.
In my humble opinion Elise Stefanik stands for only one thing: Sadly, Elise Stefanik. The people of New York's North Country deserve far better. I read a statement recently by someone (sorry, I don't remember by whom) that if you want to see how a person might perform in the future, look at their past, look at their resume, look at their previous accomplishments. If people had done that with the most recent former president, our country would not be in the mess that it is currently in. Matt Castelli has stepped forward to run because he is horrified at the negativity and division in this country that has been stoked by Stefanik and her god-man, Trump. When we look at the precarious situation that our country is in at this time we can ask, where we do we have the power to make changes? This is a chance to make a change.
Stefanik was never a moderate. A moderate would not lie or accept $240,000 from Karl Rove to primary Matt Doheny in a place she never lived, or tell us worked in the plywood business when clearly she didn’t.
But what I want to talk about is the LG dissolution vote. The fact that the referendum was forced on the community was a win for everyone because village and town leaders trying to prevent voters from dissolving the village promised a major consolidation between the municipalities along with a tax cut. So this is not over and residents need to hold their leaders to the promises they made. Do not just walk away thinking this is over. It isn’t. It is the start.