To the editor:
“Democracy is not a spectator sport.” I don’t know who first said it, but I’ve embraced it strongly since the 2016 election. Until then, I was just a spectator. Now I read about issues, write articles for a newsletter, volunteer for campaigns of candidates I believe in and protest against the policies of our government and its elected officials when I don’t agree with their actions.
Recently, in Sherburne, I did just that. Congressional Representative Claudia Tenney was attending an event celebrating the Trump tax law that was passed earlier this year. I strongly disagree with many aspects of this bill. Bottom line: It added to the deficit, and the Republicans are talking about reducing programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security (and denying federal employees their planned salary increase) to compensate.
I joined a group of about 30 people from around the 22nd district to protest outside this event. Subsequent to it, a recording of the entire event was posted on Facebook. In it, Tenney can be heard to say (these are only two excerpts from her talk. The entire talk is available on YouTube, and these are the exact words):
“If we lose this election, we’re going to have socialism, which is probably … they’re all probably Colgate professors and things like that back there [pointing at the protesters]. I went to Colgate. I can speak with authority on that. Cazenovia, Hamilton … you know, they don’t know what it’s like to make a payroll. They don’t know what it’s like to fight every day whether you are a business owner or a small dairy farmer. And I look and I see them talking about abolishing ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency] and raising taxes and that’s their solution to everything and so socialism is the problem and it’s something we’ve been fighting in New York … and we know it all too well. … They are against all of us. It’s not just me. It’s what I represent. It’s you. There is something wrong with you if you are a business owner or you are Conservative or you care about your community. It’s not just that they disagree.”
Point of clarification: we were not advocating abolishing ICE or raising taxes. We are advocating that tax breaks go to the middle class, not the top 1 percent that are getting most of the benefit of the tax law that Tenney voted for earlier this year.
I, along with many others, am working hard to elect Anthony Brindisi to replace Claudia Tenney. Her talk in Sherburne reinforced why: She sees many of us as enemies, not constituents; she disparages those who disagree with her; and she doesn’t vote in the best interests of the people of her district.
Ms. Tenney: Many of us in Cazenovia and Hamilton know what it’s like to have to make payroll every week. We are not against business owners (many of us are business owners). And we most decidedly do care about our communities. It’s why we are working to make sure you become #onetermtenney.
Maureen Zupan
Cazenovia
