[JK: Publius is at again.]
In Defense of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik Against Fake News
by Publius
Dear John.
I have resisted the temptation to enlighten your good readers, certain members of the newly convened 118th Congress and the majority conference members of the New York State Assembly and Senate regarding the misplaced furor spawned by the seating of now Congressman George Santos.
But the din has become such that I am compelled by patriotic fervor and duty to the country to intervene lest the very integrity of the US House of Representatives be compromised.
Yesterday’s cynical CNN attack on Congresswoman Stefanik simply because she orchestrated the election of Santos was more than I could bear.
As you know, Madison and I wrote rather tautologically, as was our custom, in Federalists 51 – 60, on the authority of the national legislature to regulate, in the last resort, its own members. So it wounds me, almost as much as Burr did, that our efforts seem to have been tossed in history’s dustbin. My Lord, do your 21st Century schools not teach history!
I devoted weeks to Federalist No. 59, which I titled Concerning the Power of Congress to Regulate the Election of Members, as an antidote to and a warning against those who would expel on some petty pretense such men as Representative Santos.
Congressman Santos was duly elected, thanks to the overreaching gerrymander of the Democrats in the state legislature and, of course, the endorsement, campaign support, and fundraising acumen of your own Congresswoman Elise Stefanik.
I had anticipated when I penned Federalist No. 59 just such ill-begotten attempts to remove a Santos. Fortunately, I convinced the People of the State of New York then that the power to expel must rest, in the interest of its self-preservation, with the House of Representatives itself
“ … upon the evidence of this plain proposition, that EVERY GOVERNMENT OUGHT TO CONTAIN IN ITSELF THE MEANS OF ITS OWN PRESERVATION. Every just reasoner will, at first sight, approve an adherence to this rule, in the work of the convention; and will disapprove every deviation from it which may not appear to have been dictated by the necessity of incorporating into the work some particular ingredient, with which a rigid conformity to the rule was incompatible.”
So it is that your Speaker McCarthy and Ms. Stefanik must be allowed the means of preserving their majority by resisting those self-servers who would kick Santos to the curb simply because he may have lied, cheated, and stolen his way into the House. When it comes to driving America into default later this year, McCarthy and Stefanik will need all the votes they can garner, and they will be able to rely on Congressman Santos.
But, in my old age, I regress. Let us return to yesterday’s CNN slander of Congresswoman Stefanick, an attack so ugly that it must be met with the strongest retort. In fact, so profane were the accusations against the congresswoman that in my day, a duel (a subject I know much about) to restore her honor would be in order.
While it is true, as CNN reported, that Stefanik was so giddy about the prospect of electing Santos that on August 11, 2021, more than a year before the election, she tweeted out her endorsement of Santos. One of the posts included a link to a WinRed online fundraising page asking for donations that would benefit both her and Santos.
“MAJOR ENDORSEMENT ALERT Excited to endorse my friend and fellow America First conservative George Santos for Congress in #NY03,” Stefanik wrote.
“@Santos4Congress will take on NYC liberal elites and bring a new generation of GOP leadership to NY and America. He has my full support!”
How prescient she was. Santos has only been in office a mere three weeks and has already become a member of the “ … new generation of GOP leadership … “ As a freshman, he dominates every news cycle and was instrumental in elevating McCarthy to House speaker.
Instead of praising Congresswoman Stefanik for her heroic efforts to elect Santos, CNN and other outlets slander her.
But her endorsement of now Congressman Santos was only the beginning.
On May 23, 2022, Stefanik reported on Twitter that she had helped raise more than six figures in campaign cash for Santos.
“WOW! Great lunch event for @Santos4Congress! We raised over $100,000 to help George FLIP #NY03 George has my complete and total endorsement and come November, ”tweeted Stefanik, borrowing the Trumpian phrase. “New Yorkers will send George to Congress! #SaveNewYork #SaveAmerica”
So why is Stefanik now castigated by the fake news for helping #SaveNewYork#SaveAmerica?
John, I hope you will encourage your loyal readers to come to the defense of Congresswoman Stefanik as she leads Santos and others in the never-ending fight for truth, justice, and the American Way.
Thank you for allowing me to get this off my chest.
Your friend,
Publius
Saratoga Springs Politics 
“Congressman Santos was duly elected, thanks to the overreaching gerrymander of the Democrats in the state legislature and, of course, the endorsement, campaign support, and fundraising acumen of your own Congresswoman Elise Stefanik.”
I feel compelled to correct two factual errors in the above paragraph.
First, the 3rd Congressional District, which comprises most of Nassau County and which Santos represents, is the model of a properly drawn district. It’s compact, doesn’t have meandering borders, and doesn’t splinter its geographic or political subdivisions to favor one group or party over another. It’s anything but gerrymandered.
Second, Elise Stefanik is not our congresswoman. She never represented Saratoga Springs and the last redistricting placed all of Saratoga County under the representation of Paul Tonko.
As for Santos, in a recent interview with Brazilian media, he mentioned that he has a husband. Yet, no one seems to have tracked down the husband, whose appears to be invisible. Does this person even exist?
The other night, Santos declined an invitation to the White House reception for freshmen representatives. Instead, he went to a D.C. Karaoke bar alone. Speculation abounds that for security reasons, all visitors have to be vetted in advance to prove who they really are and he did not want to reveal his true identity or other details about who he really is.
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Mr. Levy,
Publius fears that you have misinterpreted his piece. Please note that he did not say nor suggest that the NY 3rd Congressional District in its current configuration is the result of a gerrymander. He said that it is the result of a “overreaching gerrymander” the state legislature.
That overreach resulted in a state supreme court intervention and the appointment of a “special master” who re-configured the district in a manner that did, it fact, benefit the Republican candidate Santos.
Secondly, in its re-reading Publius did not find any language suggesting that the congresswoman represented Saratoga Springs. But, in fact, the previous configuration of her district did include a small area of Saratoga Springs and a large portion of northern Saratoga County.
As you know, Publius is quite old and can, perhaps, be forgiven an error but in this matter he believes he was correct.
Publius
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