“But are there not many fascists in your country?”
“There are many who do not know they are fascists, but will find out when the time comes.”
Ernest Hemingway, For Whom The Bell Tolls, published in 1940.
This should be an easy choice. Given the binary nature of our political establishment, a vote for Mazi Pilip is a vote for House GOP Chair Michael Johnson, who is connected to organizations that seek to tear down the wall between church and state, and has allied himself with lunatic fringe Pentecostal organizations that are as anti-democratic as they come.
These include one called “Answers in Genesis” which advocates for a literal interpretation of the Bible and “Creation Science.” He detests pluralism, and he makes no apologies for it.
He voted against certifying the 2020 election, which in a normal political party would be immediately disqualifying. But the GOP ceased being normal a long time ago.
In his own words: “People are curious. What does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the sun?’ I said, ‘Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it.’ That’s my worldview. That’s what I believe.”
The Constitution? Not so much.
You want to be this guy’s enabler? You want to empower him? Then go ahead and vote for Pilip.
A vote for Mazi Pilip is a vote for Paul Gosar, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and a host of House GOP clowns who have defaced the dignity of the House of Representatives.
The ones who cowered in fear when the Capitol was under attack and later called the perpetrators “hostages.” You want that?
Pilip will have to side with these degenerates every time, and the nation will live with the consequences.
The 3rd Congressional District also needs to redeem itself from the Santos debacle. Job 1 is to rebuke the man who put him up for election, Nassau GOP Chair Joe Cairo.
Mr. Cairo is not only the Chair, which pays him $120,000 a year, but he also heads the OTB at a salary of $198,000 a year. Then he has his private law practice, which has had some, shall we say, ethical questions in the past.
To his credit, George Marlin, a regular contributor to this paper and who I agree with on nothing, has come out loud and clear against this self-dealing. He walks the walk.
The Nassau GOP isn’t a political party. It’s a crime family. Stop voting for them. Wake up, damn it.
The other rebuke should be for yourselves. There are people who spend a lot of time complaining about government. They lose credibility when they’re so politically apathetic they pull the lever for a walking joke like Santos.
A little more time spent on studying policy instead of your lease-end options or a store front expansion would be appreciated, folks. It’s only your country, after all.
Most of the people of the 3rd District are well educated, tolerant and believe in Democratic ideals. There is more civic literacy here than you give yourselves credit for. All you have to do is show up.
Please do so. You can’t compromise with monsters.
Donald Davret
Roslyn
Thank you, Mr. Davret. To continue your very apt Hemingway quote:
“But you cannot destroy them until they rebel?”
“No,” Robert Jordan said. “We cannot destroy them. But we can educate the people so that they will fear fascism and recognize it as it appears and combat it.”
Any candidate who claims, as Mazi Pilip did to Fox News at the start of her campaign, “I am the only solution to the problems we face”, rhetoric straight out of Mein Kampf, is indeed propped up by fascists.
Thank you again for helping to educate us all.