Not so happy or proud to be one of Elise Stefanik's constituents.
District 21 of New York State. Let's talk.
First off, I follow Elise's Facebook page and realize that she, personally, does not write the stuff on there. I mean, who's got time for that? She's a busy Congresswoman that has to pass bills, hob-nob, suck up lies from lobbyists, capitulate to an oligarchy of billionaires, deal with the media at Fox News and other cable outlets, and squeeze campaign money out of every card-carrying Republican to run for Governor. She hasn't got time to write Facebook posts and chit-chat on X.
Hell, she ain't even got time for a quick town hall in her own District. She can stop by for a quick award presentation or for the local Republican dinners, but don't invite anyone out. I can drag out how much I think she lacks for doing her job, but I'll just hit a couple highlights.
1. She has never asked for the input of her constituents. Unless they're Republican. Otherwise, your opinion doesn't really matter. She is out of touch with 21 and she has shown NO desire to reconnect.
2. She adheres strictly to party lines. She will do what the Party asks. And, sorry, but I read 1984 and I don't like to vote for candidates that just tow the party line and repeat the party talking points. I want a representative that is capable of using his own common sense and good judgement.
3. She supported the Big Lie: that the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged, stolen, and fraudulent. Despite every court decision to the contrary. She refused to certify the Election results.
4. She, through her social media presence, uses aggressive, untruthful, and fear-mongering rhetoric against political opponents or those viewed with differing political viewpoints. She calls NY Governor Kathy Hochul "the worst governor in America" all the time in her posts and refers to Zohran Mamdani, the Mayor-elect of NYC a communist and a jihadist. These labels, with no evidence to support them, are dangerous rhetoric in a time when political violence seems to be expanding.
5. Before being boo-ed out of Plattsburgh, NY, I can't remember the last time she ventured further north than Fort Drum. I hate to tell you, Elise, but you've got constituents a full 2-hour drive north of there. (And they still vote for you!) Around Thanksgiving, Senator Chuck Schumer, who represents the entire state of NY, visited this area and many of its pillars. I don't like everything he votes for but at least, he seems to be aware that New York has a North Country.
So before I get myself too deep into the weeds, let me now explain why I think we've had such poor representation, and it has little to do with the people we elect.
1. District 21 is HUGE. This District encompasses the entire northern portion of the state. It lumps places like Saratoga in with Plattsburgh in with Massena, in with Fort Drum. It is THE LARGEST District in the EASTERN US in area. It extends south into Cobleskill but not Cooperstown. It extends west to Fort Drum but not Watertown. It hugs the entire Vermont border from Canada just until the Capital District. It contains PARTS of Jefferson, Montgomery, Saratoga, and Oneida Counties. PARTS?!!
(I was going to insert a hot take here but I'm reconsidering. I'm not sure if I know enough about the other voting districts of NY to make an educated rant. So I'm going to do a little more research before I yell about redistricting.)
My point is: any representative of District 21 is going to have a tough time pleasing everyone. The needs of the voters of this District are too diverse to clump them all together under a single voice. It doesn't make sense to me that the City of Watertown and Fort Drum are in two different districts. Watertown is like 10 miles from Fort Drum and depends on those soldiers and their families to spend their paychecks in their stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues. If defies my logic, that counties are split up into different districts. If District 21 needs to be so large from a population standpoint then divvy it up closer to county lines.
2. Since District 21 became what it is today, it has voted RED, Republican. Yet every major election for Governor or President, we watch NY swing BLUE and send it's votes to the Democratic Party. How are we supposed to have our voices heard, if our votes don't seem to offset NY City? Granted, it's a population density kind of thing. But see, I thought that's what the Electoral College was supposed to fix. Why do all our Electoral College "votes" get lumped together and go to the "winner" of the state? Why aren't they divided up like a percentage? The winner gets the percent they won by and the loser gets the rest. Or something. (I admit, it's been a while since high school when I learned about how our government works. Maybe we should all have a refresher in civics.) My point is: there's gotta be a way to have these votes count more than they apparently do. Why should I bother to vote in these major elections when the state simply goes the way of NY City? Whatever The City voters decide is how the state seems to go. THIS fact makes the District representation even MORE important because its the only voice we really have.
I would just like to point out that I think the Republican Party is missing a damn fine opportunity here. States across the country used to split their Electoral votes which made for closer and more unpredictable elections because a candidate couldn't just "win a state". They had to work hard for every elector. Every voice in every corner of the country needed to be heard because every vote had power. Now that states just throw all those votes at the winner, candidates just need to focus on population centers and "battleground" states. So what's the incentive for candidates to listen to ALL our voices? What's the incentive for rural areas to get out to vote?
New York Counties 2024 Presidental Election Map
That link goes to the map of how each county voted in the 2024 Presidential Election. I don't see a lot of strong blue counties but because that's where the population density is, our 28 electoral votes went to the winner. So, all those red and pink counties virtually wasted a vote. Look I get it, there are winners and losers but, in all fairness, shouldn't SOME of those electoral votes have gone to Trump? I mean, wouldn't that be the fairest way to be sure everyone's vote counted in some way. Am I looking at this the wrong way?
3. Dare I even open up the can of worms that is a 2 Party system? If states are going to vote as a block, then wouldn't the population benefit from more than 2 choices? Wouldn't more political parties with different candidates allow more diverse voices to be heard? I'm going to leave this hanging as I really don't know a lot about any advantages to a two-party system. So, this will just be a chin scratcher.
Point being, rural America is losing its voice and that's why Trump got elected. He said he'd speak for those voters. Turns out, he doesn't care about the voters, only the votes. America needs to stop voting for people just because they are affiliated with a particular party. America needs to vote with their conscience and with their hearts. That being said, Representatives, great and small, need to use their judgement, too. They need to break party lines, speak their minds, and REPRESENT the people who entrusted them with their voice.
In short, they need to do their jobs.
And as for Elise Stefanik, she's leaving Congress to run for NY Governor. And since Mamdani visited Trump in the White House and the President seemed pretty kosher with the guy, her rhetoric against him has disappeared. She even signed a discharge petition (the nature of which I forget, stock trading, I think. She refused to sign the one about the Epstein Files.) which basically bypasses the Speaker of the House's power to bring bills to the floor. Has she grown a set? Has the fact that she doesn't need to be re-elected to her Congress seat allowed her a certain "independent eye" for the remainder of her term? Is she now just trying to suck up to the Democratic voters of NY who think she's vile and MAGA? Hard to say. Time will tell.
I won't vote for her. For anything. See my reasons at the top of the post. (Mostly the Big Lie.) But I do have one thing to say to her.
Do your damn job.
-Wy
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