Sundays With Stefanik
From the North Country To Albany: Ambition Without Roots - Stefanik's Hollow Legacy
Elise Stefanik has, in her usual avoidant fashion, kept New Yorkers on the edge of their seats whether she will challenge Governor Kathy Hochul for the governorship of New York State. Stefanik has been priming the playing field for months with constant attacks on Hochul attempting to rewrite the narrative to suit her own purposes. There is no denying that Stefanik is a brilliant strategist and to date has been mostly successful in her backdoor, no substance approach to leadership.
Reading the Landscape
Stefanik announced her bid for Congressperson of NY21 in August 2013. Her opponent at the time was incumbent Republican Bill Owens, who had been in that office for roughly five years. The government was in the midst of a shutdown, the climate was ripe with discontent, voters were frustrated with performative politics and Stefanik reading the landscape accurately made her move.
She came out of the gates true to form with an attack on her strongest opponent, Bill Owens. Her first press release accused him of playing politics by choosing to support the government shutdown at the time. She cited four bills in that press release and Owen’s no vote for all of them.
HJ Res 59 – the main continuing resolution (with Obamacare defunding).
HJ Res 71 & 366 – piecemeal “reopen” bills during the shutdown.
HJ Res 368 – a procedural move that made compromise harder.
When pressed on her comments and asked whether she would have voted as Owens did, she refused to answer, setting the stage for how she has made her time in office a chess game rather than a service calling.
(Full press release available on her 2013 campaign website (archived January 9, 2014).)
An Inherited Win
Owens announced his retirement in January 2014 citing his frustration with Washington dysfunction and indirectly the fatigue and stress it was causing him. Although his retirement was understandable, it essentially handed Stefanik the win. There was no time for the Democrats to regroup and find a strong candidate. Stefanik walked into her role as Congressperson from NY21, touting her role as the youngest person to win a seat in Congress but never really having to fight for it.
(See North Country Public Radio, “Owens Steps Aside, Opening Fierce NY-21 Battle”.)
Let Others Do the Dirty Work
Even then, she refused to appear at unscripted local forums and used photo-ops and professional ads to present her persona to the public. She remained above the fray of mudslinging herself but did not check her PACS behavior when it came to the same. She smiled her pretty smile, appearing all lady-like while allowing her surrogates to do the dirty work. Karl Rove’s American Crossroad’s PAC released a nasty video which, in true Republican form, took minor issues with Doheny and magnified them into full-blown character flaws. Back then, Stefanik allowed others to do her dirty work. Now, she is comfortable taking on that role herself.
(View the ad here: American Crossroads, “Doheny” ad on YouTube.)
The Resume Without Results
And what about her time in office as Congresswoman of NY21. Did she accomplish anything that would endear her to her constituents? Did she help to make NY21 or NYS a better place for residents? What exactly are her accomplishments?
The about Stefanik page on her campaign website lists her six terms in office, multiple committee titles, a leadership title, her Harvard education, her role as a mother and claims to being a businesswoman. What is not there, is any authored bills or results for her district. Her resume is a placard for status, visibility, and symbolism, not service, accountability or results. It isn’t that she doesn’t have any accomplishments, she does. Which begs the question, why isn’t she listing them. The simple answer is that if she lists them, it opens the door to scrutiny. Questions would be asked that she would have to answer. For example, how did the American Battlefield Protection Program Act benefit NY21? What was its impact nationally? As stated above, Stefanik does not like open-ended questions that require her to defend her position and actions. Appearance is everything to her, and the only way she can control that is to not put herself in situations that would reveal her true character to those she claims to serve.
(Current campaign site: Elise for Governor.)
The Surrogates’ Campaign
Which brings us full circle to her announcement to challenge Governor Hochul for the governorship of NYS. Well, not her announcement, her surrogate’s announcement which reads;
“Elise Stefanik is running for Governor to fire the Worst Governor in America, Kathy Hochul to Save New York. Elise will fight every day to make New York more affordable and safe for families. Under Kathy Hochul’s failed leadership, New York is the most unaffordable state in the nation with the highest taxes, highest energy, utilities, rent, and grocery prices.”
Note, the entire campaign site for Elise Stefanik is written in third party. It provides complete “duck and cover” for her. There is literally nothing personal on this site other than a few photo ops with her family. There is no love of NY21 or NYS displayed, no claims to how her service has improved the lives of NY21 residents.
The Outsider Still Wanting In
Stefanik won NY21 with a little bit of strategy and a lot of luck. Now, she is attempting the same model in an effort to get, not earn, a new title to add to her list. She has spent months rewriting reality by attacking Governor Hochul. Each attack is a little more outlandish, a little more out of touch. She offers no solutions to the crimes she accuses Hochul of. She is relying on emotional rather than informed voters to move up the ladder one more rung. Her promises speak of families and hardworking people, but never of actual lives, jobs, traditions or places that make NY21 and NY a place worth serving in. She will be our savior, she says, he will lift us out of the horrible existence that Governor Hochul has created for us here in NY. Our struggles, our successes, the beauty of where we live are not on her radar. She was and remains a carpetbagger, climbing the rungs of status like the power hungry politician she is. Being the youngest, being the first, being seen are more important to her than the people. The only change she has made is that she is now more emboldened to use divisive rhetoric and hatred to claw her way to the top. The wounds she leaves behind on her way up leave no impression on her heart.
She believes she has a winning strategy, one that does not involve the well-being of New York. The truth is, she is what she always was, an outsider wanting in. We see her.
Works Cited
Politico – Stefanik Hit by GOP Rival After Launching NY Governor Bid
Elise for Governor
Elise for Congress (Wayback Archive, Jan. 2014)
Congress.gov – Elise Stefanik (S001196)
North Country Public Radio – Owens Steps Aside, Opening Fierce NY-21 Battle
YouTube – American Crossroads Ad
Excellent summation of the years of abuse NY21 has endured at the hands of Stefanik. We can't let her do the same to our state.