To the Editor:

Mr. Shirtz (1/8/24 NCN letter) certainly didn’t like the letter I wrote detailing what Democrats have done to help Northern NY. And notably, he didn’t reply by offering anything Rep. Stefanik has contributed.

Mr. Shirtz told me to stop “name-calling”? Because I referenced Rep. Stefanik as a sourpuss? Get real. It’s Trump and Stefanik who deal in vicious, mean-spirited name-calling.

Mr. Shirtz then unloaded his grab bag of GOP pot shots: 1) supposed government “socialism” - an exaggeration cooked up by the right-wing, billionaire-funded Heritage Foundation 2) jabs about inflation - recently calculated at 3.35%, well within 3.28% historic lows 3) insinuations about Democrat excessive spending - ignoring historical record of Republican administrations being equally responsible for national debt.  

Time and again, hard-core right-wing voters demonstrate how they completely swallow what they hear. Take for example believing Rep. Stefanik’s accusation that Democrat leadership is the reason for a 2.7% reduction in NYS population. Could it be fewer births? Job transfers? Covid deaths? Retirees moving to warmer climates? Where are the facts to support Stefanik’s insinuations? (There never are any.) How gullible not to question this obvious political gambit that played right into Mr. Shirtz’s anger-based bias. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. People allow their opinions to be manipulated by reactionary slants, falsehoods and politically-motivated deceptions. I don’t believe that an election represents the “will of the people” when voters are solely influenced by an “alternate reality” crafted by con men, like Tucker Carlson or Trump, who lie with a straight face.

I get that MAGA voters want to believe they’re the ones “in the know” (oldest ego-stroking, persuasive trick in the book). But truth derived from logic and analysis will always trump conspiracy paranoia and emotional misunderstandings. That explains why irrefutable concrete evidence upsets MAGA voters. Their only outraged recourse is to regurgitate the fabrications they’ve been fed.

Martha Hodges
Massena