On Sunday, June 7, a sold-out crowd of 1,300 people were set to gather at the Shames Jewish Community Center in Tarrytown to hear two local congressmen from different parties “share their perspectives on the state of U.S. foreign policy, how Congress is addressing the international landscape, and their views on the best way forward on issues including international trade and the economy, the wars in Iran and Ukraine, relations with China, and more,” according to the JCC’s website.
What a fascinating and informative evening that would have been.
Democrats chose optics over public’s right to hear
In a pathetic pressure campaign of partisanship and fear, local Democrats harangued Rep. George Latimer, the Rye Democrat and former Westchester County Executive who represents New York’s 16th Congressional District, to cancel his participation.
Why? Latimer was due to appear with Rep. Mike Lawler, the Pearl River Republican who represents New York’s 17th Congressional District.
Latimer’s district comprises parts of southern Westchester County and the Bronx. Lawler’s includes all of Rockland and Putnam counties and parts of Westchester and Dutchess counties.
Latimer told me it was only postponed until after election season. We shall see.
Latimer and Lawler have a lot in common — including the Hudson Valley
Both Latimer and Lawler sit on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the subcommittee on Africa and the Middle East.
They were going to meet in the village of Tarrytown, the only municipality that both men represent. They were both going to be on home turf.
I’ve known both congressmen for a long time. They are career politicians and they excel at the craft.
They are both excellent communicators and formidable debaters.
The only significant difference is that Latimer has no real competition in this November’s midterm elections. His Republican opponent, Joseph Cinquemani, does not even appear to have a web site or social media presence.
On the other side, Lawler is going to be challenged by a well-funded and highly competitive opponent in one of the nation’s most watched battles that will likely decide the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives.
And that difference is why Democrats forced Latimer to back out of the scheduled forum.
What did George Latimer say?
I asked Latimer why he gave into the pressure from his own party to withdraw from what promised to be a productive conversation with his Republican counterpart.
“I perceived the timing, on the cusp of a very competitive election, caused concern that this would affect the election cycle,” he told me.
That seems like a reasonable response, but let’s talk about what it really says. The Democrats are telling the community that they cannot have a serious discussion about war and foreign policy until after the elections are over.
In other words, Democrats believe elections take precedence over the public’s right to hear their representatives debate the most important issues of the day.
There was more cause for concern. One Democrat I spoke with who liked the idea of Lawler and Latimer meeting for a public discussion told me that if Latimer did appear, Democrats would employ the same tactics they’ve used to disrupt Lawler’s town hall events.
Shouting over the speakers, protesting outside and generally creating what my source described as a “s— show”.
‘Forceful’ and ‘respectful’ debate should be normalized
Latimer had accepted JCC’s invitation more than a month ago. He told the Yonkers Times he viewed this event as a chance to make his case “forcefully but with respect”.
That is exactly how a sitting congressman should approach this opportunity — but for a large faction of Democrats it is also an unforgivable sin.
They railed on social media that Latimer shaking hands with Lawler would “normalize” Lawler’s record.
The Orangetown Democratic Committee joined in the chorus criticizing Latimer for his bipartisanship. According to a report in the Yonkers Times, the committee posted on social media, “Please call George Latimer’s office today to urge him to cancel his joint appearance on Sunday with Mike Lawler. Trump is helicoptering into Rockland on Friday to boost Lawler’s reelection chances, and we should all be leaning in on equating Mike with MAGA. Latimer has made strong statements about wanting to win back the House, but this joint appearance normalizes Lawler, who will definitely manipulate it for his campaign. Ask George why he is contributing to Lawler’s claim to be ‘moderate.’”
Lawler will make that claim and he has a lot of examples as evidence.
Forcing Latimer to abandon the event is more proof that, regardless of which candidate prevails in the Democratic primary election on June 24, the only plan of attack is to keep yelling “MAGA Mike” until November.
I’m going to vote for George Latimer in November
I live in Latimer’s district. We have crossed swords on various issues over the years, but we remain on friendly terms. I’ll vote for him in November.
I’m sure the Democrats behind this effort think they are playing smart politics. Truthfully, they are behaving in a manner that has alienated millions of Americans from both parties.
Reflexive tribalism and fear of anything that undermines their “MAGA Mike” narrative is not smart.
Frankly, it amounts to civic cowardice.
The people who pressured Latimer into withdrawing should be embarrassed.
Matt Richter, a veteran Hudson Valley journalist, is local news and regional opinion manager for lohud.com and The Journal News. He can be reached at mrichter@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Latimer and Lawler must appear together. Democrats are wrong | Opinion
Reporting by Matt Richter, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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