To the Editor:

According to the Congresswoman’s House of Representatives “About” webpage, “Elise has been rated as one of the most effective and bipartisan Members of Congress.”

It is clear that it is past time for Elise to update this language.

In a recent national television appearance, Stefanik made several claims that shows she is working hard to ingratiate herself to Donald Trump, echoing his inflammatory language regarding the 2020 election and those charged and convicted with storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

In the 2020 election, she repeated claims that the election was unconstitutional.  This argument has been rejected by every court that heard arguments on the election. These arguments serve only to create division and can in no way be considered “bipartisan.”

On the Capitol rioters, she used the term “hostages” to refer to those who have been arrested and charged with crimes related to the attempt to disrupt the counting of electoral votes. A basic premise of our constitutional system is equal treatment under the law. No one imprisoned for their actions on January 6 had their due process rights withheld. Hundreds have been put on trial and found guilty by a jury or have themselves plead guilty to crimes committed that day. There is no justification for calling these criminals “hostages,” yet Stefanik did so on national television. When asked to clarify which criminal defendants she would consider “hostages” there was no comment from her office.

When you take the side of rioters who attempted to overthrow the popular will and attempt to replace the votes for President Biden with fake electors, you can no longer claim to be “bipartisan.” “Bipartisan” is accepting an election loss for your preferred candidate. One does not have to accept the rival party’s policies, but one must respect the election results that were duly certified by each of the states.

Representative Stefanik has every right to support whichever candidate she wishes. When she pledges her support for a twice-impeached, 91-time criminally indicted candidate who attempted to subvert the results of the 2020 election, it speaks volumes about her judgment and her character. My most sincere wish is that her efforts to curry favor with Trump will lead to him choosing her as his running mate in 2024, and we can move on from being represented by a partisan who apparently cares more about her national profile than she does about representing the people of Northern New York.

Dan Sullivan-Catlin
Potsdam