Elise Stefanik is a poster child for the GOP's Trump-era dilemma

[Dennis Donovan]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/11/18/elise-stefanik-is-poster-child-gops-trump-era-dilemma/

By Paul Waldman
Opinion writer

November 18, 2019 at 12:05 p.m. EST

Elise Stefanik is suddenly famous. And she may come to regret it.

The third-term congresswoman from upstate New York used to be known — to those who knew her at all — as one of the most moderate Republicans in the House. But she thrust herself to the front of the impeachment inquiry, making her one of President Trump’s chief defenders.

Stefanik is now being lauded in conservative circles. But her new prominence may already be producing a backlash that could complicate her reelection campaign in 2020. Indeed, Stefanik’s story is a microcosm of a dynamic that has played out around the country over the past couple of years, leading to one Republican defeat after another.

When former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified before the House Intelligence Committee, Republicans concocted a scheme to engineer a confrontation between Stefanik and Rep. Adam B. Schiff, the committee chair. According to the rules of which everyone on the committee was well aware, Schiff and ranking member Rep. Devin Nunes would each have 45 minutes to question Yovanovitch; they could turn that time over to the committee counsel if they wished, but not to any other member.

Nevertheless, Nunes tried to give some time to Stefanik, which Schiff refused to allow. “You’re gagging the young lady from New York?” said Nunes with all the fake outrage he could muster. Stefanik chimed in with her own well-planned umbrage and dismay.

<snip>

None of which guarantees anything about next November’s election, of course. But it shows how in the Trump era, every race for Congress — and other offices, too — is nationalized. Stefanik’s former identity as a moderate Republican representing a swing district got washed away in the course of a day. Now she’s a Trump defender, for better or worse, and that will define her next campaign.

That might do her more good than harm in the end; Trump won her district by 14 points in 2016, even though Barack Obama had beaten Mitt Romney there by 6 points in 2012. But we’ve seen over and over again in the past two years how Republicans move to embrace the president in the belief that their self-preservation depends on it, only to witness an equal and opposite backlash from Trump opponents that produces their defeat.

</snip>

[rzemanfl]

1. I like Elise in her role as a Democratic fundraiser and hope she keeps it up

until we can call her "former Congresswoman."

[Brother Buzz]

4. And what do you do when your opponent raises a cool million for you?

Link to tweet

For what it's worth, Tedra Cobb is the REAL DEAL, and an exceptional organizer to boot:

Tedra Cobb has lived in Northern New York for over 30 years, where she married her husband, Scott, and raised her two children. Much of her work has focused on improving access to quality healthcare. After graduating from SUNY Potsdam in 1989, she worked at Riverview Correctional Facility as a Spanish-speaking corrections counselor and became a volunteer firefighter. She then worked for North Country AIDS Outreach, providing HIV/AIDS testing and education in rural communities. In 1999, she started a community health agency through the St. Lawrence Health Initiative to provide access to critical health screenings and treatment. She grew the organization during her time there, securing hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding and expanding access to health care to thousands of Northern New Yorkers.

In 2002, Tedra secured a seat on the St. Lawrence County Legislature by winning a long-shot campaign against an entrenched incumbent. She was not only elected against the odds; she was re-elected to a second term. As a legislator, some of her most significant achievements included authorship and passage of substantial ethics reform and a successful initiative to lower the cost of prescription drugs. Her ethics work earned her an appointment to the NYS Committee on Open Government, where she worked to improve local government’s transparency and openness to constituents.

Health care is a passion for Tedra not only because she has spent a large portion of her career working on expanding access to health care, but because it is deeply personal. Her daughter, Aida, had to have emergency back surgery at a young age. Fortunately, Aida was covered by their insurance plan and had access to the best doctors and the best hospitals. Now Tedra is running for Congress because Elise Stefanik has repeatedly voted against the interests of Northern New Yorkers and Americans by voting to kick millions off of their health insurance, to raise the cost of prescription drugs, and to allow insurance companies to discriminate against those, like Aida, who have pre-existing conditions.

[rzemanfl]

7. Hi Buzz. I mowed my lawn. n/t

[Brother Buzz]

15. I shit you not, so did I!

This fifth generation Californian doesn't do snow.

[rzemanfl]

21. I shoveled once in the last 23 years when I was in Wisconsin in March. I was sure I would

fall or have a heart attack. No sooner did I finish than the people my daughter and her husband pay to do it showed up. I don't think my granddaughter knew how the snow was dealt with, just that it was. I got her to her swimming lesson on time, so all was well.

[Cha]

22. lol.. this Hawaiian transplant from Colorado and

New York doesn't do it anymore, either.

I used to live one District over from Tedra Cobb's for 12 years! Don't miss the snow and ice.. shocking.

[Brother Buzz]

24. I like looking at snow....from a distance

[Cha]

25. Snow is beautiful.. like a winter wonderland..

and skiing was awesome fun.. appreciate having those experiences.. but 6 months of the year gets monotonous and too bloody cold!..

That is quite a distance!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

8. the people in her district might want health care instead of trumping

[Brother Buzz]

20. It should be noted, Stefanik hung her hat on healthcare issues.....

and failed miserably in delivering (one could make the argument it was by design). Hell, look at her voting record:

https://www.healthreformvotes.org/congress/412648

Cobb is gonna have fun exposing the truth, and I suspect the people in the district will be listening intently.

[MyOwnPeace]

2. I continue to be

baffled how ANY person can be a supporter of IQ45, especially one who had "claimed" to be a moderate "Republican" (are they in the same room at the museum as the Tyrannosaurus Rex?).
May she suffer the burn because of her choice - hopefully the Dems will target her district with a superior candidate and extra support!

[lunatica]

14. Whenever something keeps baffling you again and again

it’s a giveaway that you don’t know something that’s going on behind the scenes or in the basements or under the rocks. Trust your sense of bafflement because sooner or later the true explanation will come out.

[MyOwnPeace]

17. Perhaps "shocked" or "amazed"

would have been a better choice of words.
However, I can certainly understand the "under the rocks" reference - that's where snakes like to abide.

[lunatica]

18. I think your use of the word baffle is the best

Shocked and amazed are so 2018! We’re way past that.

[leftieNanner]

3. And since her little stunt last week

Her Dem Challenger has raised nearly a million bucks!!!

[Brother Buzz]

5. Exceeded one million bucks, Baby!

Link to tweet

[lunatica]

16. Let's hope Stefanik attends all the hearings!

She’s a classic case of “give her all the rope she wants”.

[Brother Buzz]

19. That, and I'll toss in a shovel, too

[Garrett78]

6. "Moderate" defined: voting the same as Nunes "only" 92% of the time.

And voting the same as Steve King "only" 90% of the time. And the same as Marsha Blackburn "only" 89% of the time.

Get the fuck outta here with this "moderate" shit.

[Kurt V.]

11. Exactly

[Wounded Bear]

13. Yeah, "moderate" means something a little different when talking about Repubs...

"Moderate" Democrats are flaming liberal socialists.

"Moderate" Repubs are apparently only Hitler assistants, not Hitler himself.

[Garrett78]

23. Republicans and the media have done an incredible job of moving the Overton Window.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

9. Stefanik votes against health care; Cobb works for it

https://poststar.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/cobb-stefanik-third-quarter-campaign-contributions-by-the-numbers/article_1a3351c6-a9b5-510e-960a-fa159439d88f.html

Less than one-third of the individual donations to the campaign of U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, in the third quarter of the year came from inside the NY-21 Congressional District, compared with 70% for Democratic challenger Tedra Cobb, according to an analysis by The Post-Star.

[ ... ]

Stefanik raised $224,250 from political action committees this cycle.

Cobb criticized Stefanik for the amount of corporate donations she has received.

“Elise Stefanik’s campaign continues to be funded by the very corporations that have increased the cost of health care for New York families,” Cobb said in a news release.

Cobb went on to criticize Stefanik’s vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which she said would have caused 64,000 northern New Yorkers to lose health insurance, removed protections for pre-existing conditions and increased the cost of prescription drugs.

[ ... ]

[mgardener]

10. I sent an email to Stefanik

When she voted to censure Adam Schiff.
She sent me an email back saying she saw no reason for the impeachment of Trump.
I have been sending her weekly emails about her support of Trump.

I was not happy with her reply, already assuming Trump was not guilty.
I sent her this email a month ago today.

Ms. Stefanik,

I have received your email. Thanks for your reply.
As you stated, there is precedent for holding a vote  to proceed with impeachment  but it is not specifically required in the Constitution.
My concern with your actions is your censure of Adam Schiff.
After all the emolument rules that Donald Trump has broken, the lies that he has told and yet, you support him.


I lived through the Nixon years. It was terrible. Donald Trump is worse then Nixon in so many ways. I fear the Republican party will not stand up to Trump as the men and women did to Nixon.
That even if Donald Trump should be impeached because of his actions, you would not vote to do so because of loyalty to your party.

I do not have the confidence in you or the Republican party to do the right thing.
I fear for a world that Donald Trump is trying to create.
You and I differ in our world views.

Good luck in navigating the coming months.

Sincerely,

[dchill]

12. This is what happens when you decide to live in a political bubble...

...created by pathological liars.