WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JANUARY 21, 2021 13
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.”
This month’s insurrection and riot, for
me and most Americans, was a defi ning
moment for our country. It was a moment
of clarity. There 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 fled Nazi Germany
in 1939 in order to save her life.
The 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 office. I have also
called for the resignation of the four
members of Congress from New York
OP-ED
state who voted against the certification
of the Electoral College — even
after the violent insurrection that
threatened their lives, the lives of
their colleagues, the lives of Capitol
Police officers and the future of our
democracy.
The 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. Their 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.
The “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 after 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.
This 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
Loeffler, who had similarly vowed
to oppose certification, 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.
The “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 officers among them.
They own that. You are either for
democracy or against it. There 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 office and stained both
the American Republic they serve
and the name of the party on whose
ticket they ran.
The 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
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