FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 21, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 21
oped
Are you for or against democracy?
BY JAY S. JACOBS
As chairman of the New York State
Democratic Committee, there are many
who will immediately discount my words
as “political.” Th is month’s insurrection
and riot, for me and most Americans,
was a defi ning moment for our country.
It was a moment of clarity. Th ere is nothing
more important to me than this country.
My family comes second, my party a
distant third.
Without this country, I wouldn’t have
a family. My father’s ancestors emigrated
in the 1840s in search of a better life.
My mother fl ed Nazi Germany in 1939 in
order to save her life. Th e democracy they
were drawn to, imperfect as it is, created
everything we hold dear. And, at our end
of the bargain, as citizens of a democracy,
is that we accept the results of free and
fair elections whether we like them or not.
For the attack on our democracy, the
president needs to be impeached and
removed from offi ce. I have also called
for the resignation of the four members of
Congress from New York state who voted
letters & comments
RELAXING VIEW IN KISSENA PARK //
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY LEANN BUGARIN
Send us your photos of Queens and you
could see them online or in our paper!
To submit them to us, tag @qnsgram
on Instagram, visit our Facebook page,
tweet @QNS
or email editorial@qns.com
(subject: Queens Snaps)
against the certifi cation of the Electoral
College — even aft er the violent insurrection
that threatened their lives, the lives of
their colleagues, the lives of Capitol Police
offi cers and the future of our democracy.
Th e president, predicated on the clear
lie of a stolen election, incited his adherents
to come to Washington and then
march on the Capitol with the malicious
intent of stopping the constitutionally
mandated count of the electoral votes.
He wanted to overturn the election. He
knew there was no massive fraud and no
credibility to his claims. And so did the
“New York Foul Four”: Lee Zeldin, Nicole
Malliatokis, Elise Stefanik and Chris
Jacobs (no relation, thank God) that supported
and propagated that lie. Th eir fear
of Trump’s base led them to put ambition
and opportunism above our democracy
and our country.
Yet as bad as their support of this lie
was, I don’t call for their resignations
because their personal ambitions and
political opportunism got the better of
them. History is replete with examples of
failed politicians who succumbed to the
same temptations and yet continued in
service to their constituents.
Th e “New York Foul Four,” as well as
all of their Congressional colleagues who
cast that same vote, need to resign because
aft er seeing what occurred in their House
— in our House — aft er hearing the president’s
exhortations to the mob and aft er it
was clear that those lies were the cause of
an insurrection which resulted in the desecration
of our Capitol, the death of protesters
and police offi cers, and an attack
on our Democracy, they continued forward.
Th is was a violent coup attempt. Even
though the mob chanted “Hang Mike
Pence” as they violently occupied the
Senate Chamber, these members saw
nothing wrong with voting in support
of that lie and the mob’s insurrection.
Even recently defeated Georgia Senator
Kelly Loeffl er, who had similarly vowed
to oppose certifi cation, found the day’s
events too odious to sustain her previous
position. She had the courage to do the
right thing. Zeldin, Malliatokis, Stefanik
and Jacobs found no such courage.
Th e “Foul Four” chose to cast their lot
with the insurrection they were complicit
in fomenting and they now own the sad
consequences of their unpatriotic judgment.
People died because of that insurrection
— now two police offi cers among
them. Th ey own that. You are either for
democracy or against it. Th ere is no middle
ground.
While I would always favor a Democrat
in their seats, unlike them, I fully respect
the rights of the voters in their districts,
if they choose, to be represented by a
Republican. It just should not be those
Republicans. By their actions, they have
violated their oath of offi ce and stained
both the American Republic they serve
and the name of the party on whose ticket
they ran.
Th e Republican Party has no shortage
of honorable, courageous, decent, patriotic
Americans who can represent those districts.
Unfortunately, the “New York Foul
Four” have clearly established that they
are not among them.
Jay S. Jacobs is chairman of the New
York State Democratic Committee
WE NEED MORE OF THE
COVID19 VACCINE NOW!
As reported, the cases of COVID-19
infection rate continues to rise in New York,
but in New York City alone, there is only
one more week of vaccinations available.
Places like the Brooklyn Army Terminal
have shut down due to lack of vaccine.
Additionally, Mount Sinai has canceled
appointments and NYU Langone Health
stopped scheduling new appointments. I
fi nd this development most troubling.
My wife Eva is 67 years old and I am
71. We both need the vaccine, as do most
people our age. Th e government needs
to do more to get the COVID-19 vaccine
to the American people to help stop the
spread of the deadly disease.
Soon-to-be President Joe Biden has
already promised to deliver more vaccinations.
I truly hope he succeeds. Until then,
my wife and myself are practicing good
health habits like wearing face masks, getting
tested, frequent hand washing and
using hand sanitizer, and staying six feet
apart when in stores. We are also taking
more Vitamin D supplements.
But that doesn’t change the fact that we
all need the vaccine, and we need it now!
Frederick R. Bedell Jr., Bellerose
TWO STANDARDS
OF JUSTICE
Th e Jan. 14 issue of Th e Queens
Courier covered the violence at the
Capitol as did other county newspapers.
While I do not excuse Mr. Trump
completely in the recent violence at the
Capitol, the reaction only further reinforces
that there are two standards of
justice in this country.
It is not for rich or poor, Black or white,
infl uential or powerless. Th e new standard
is whether one is politically left or
right.
In 2020, there were riots, looting, burning,
destruction and endless violence.
Police were attacked and precinct houses
burned to the ground. Neither the
media, Hollywood, college students nor
so much as one Democrat demand any
action against any one of them
Th ere was hardly a whimper of condemnation
by the Democratic Party.
Rather, there were those who encouraged
it, such as Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris,
Chris Cuomo and Ayana Pressley.
But let someone on the political right do
exactly the same, and there are swift and
immediate calls for justice.
Edward Riecks, Howard Beach
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
