‘She scares me’: Stefanik’s emergence as Trump’s cheerleader sparks criticism ( www.theguardian.com )

Representative has become his most powerful ally in Congress – and her name is frequently mentioned as a potential running mate

As Donald Trump aggressively fights multiple legal and political threats, New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik has become his most powerful ally in Congress in key ways by echoing Trump’s dangerous falsehoods and pushing outlandish conspiracy theories around the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

To bolster Trump, Stefanik has mimicked Trump’s calling convicted January 6 prisoners “hostages”, declined in a TV interview to say she would certify the 2024 election in advance, and filed ethics complaints against two judges overseeing cases against Trump or his allies.

Stefanik’s emergence as a major Trump cheerleader has sparked sharp criticism from historians, ex-Republican members and Democrats for fueling election denialism and disinformation which weaken democracy. But it has earned Stefanik a notable distinction: her name is frequently mentioned as Trump’s potential 2024 running mate.

“She scares me in several ways,” said Harvard government professor Steven Levitsky, the co-author of How Democracies Die. “Stefanik appears to be willing to go down Trump’s authoritarian path wholeheartedly.”

tacosanonymous ,

It just blows my mind how many people are so eager to jump on a train that is so willing to throw them onto the tracks at the earliest convenience.

spider ,

Stefanik’s emergence as a major Trump cheerleader has sparked sharp criticism from historians, ex-Republican members and Democrats for fueling election denialism and disinformation which weaken democracy.

Stefanik's vote to keep Santos was a big misfire

Well, at least she's consistent.

Dagwood222 ,

It's a story as old as Joe McCarthy. Tailgunner Joe needed something to make him stand out in the Senate. He knew that a lot of college folks had flirted with the Communist Party back in the 1930s. He jumped on it and made a name for himself. Even if she gets swept out in November, she'll be famous enough to get work as a talking head and 'author.'

meleecrits ,
@meleecrits@lemmy.world avatar

I live in the district below hers. There is no way she's losing her district. New York's North Country is as conservative and poorly educated as many southern states.

Viking_Hippie ,

This should be shocking to everybody but surprising to nobody given that her "breakthrough" in the GOP was being the third most obnoxiously aggressive denier of obvious truth at his first impeachment (just barely surpassed by Gym Jordan and Mark Meadows), which is what immediately made her "a rising star in the Republican Party" 🤮

dhork ,

It sounds like you, kind sir, are a part of the Reality-based community, so you will never understand what they do:

The aide said that guys like me were 'in what we call the reality-based community,' which he defined as people who 'believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.' [...] 'That's not the way the world really works anymore,' he continued. 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors...and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do'.

Dagwood222 ,

Yes, the exact same people who repeated Reagan's line about government being the problem were fine with thinking they could create a working government in Iraq without speaking the language.

PeepinGoodArgs ,

Reality-based community? God damn it, Francis Bacon, you've deluded us all with your empiricism!

dhork ,

Mmmm bacon

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