Tenney must back up paid protesters claim

Madison Chenango Call to Action, a nonpartisan group of Congressional District 22 constituents, has demanded that Congresswoman Claudia Tenney back up her statements about “paid disrupters,” made in a Feb. 3 interview on Capitol Tonight, a week night political show on Time Warner Cable news stations across Upstate New York. Tenney had made such statements a number of times, in various venues.

Referencing Ms. Tenney’s statements, “If I didn’t have disrupters who are paid, who are trying to prevent me from getting to my constituents and helping them,” and “… there are groups that are being funded to go out and disrupt,” Madison Chenango CTA has requested, in a letter, that Tenney provide them with evidence regarding who has hired and is paying the disrupters, how much they are being paid, and how arrangements are being made as to the nature and loca- tion of the “disruptions.”

Madison Chenango Call to Action is a nonpartisan group of Representative Tenney’s constituents who share concerns over many of her policy decisions. We are dismayed by her refusal to meet her constituents in Town Halls, and her characterization of those who disagree with her as “paid disrupters.” We would simply like Ms. Tenney to show us the evidence she is using to draw this conclusion.

Following is the full text of the letter: Dear Ms. Tenney, In a Feb. 3 interview on Capitol Tonight, you commented that, like President Trump, you too found yourself having to cope with “paid disrupters.” You stated, “If I didn’t have disrupters who are paid and people who are trying to prevent me from getting to my constituents and helping them…” You further stated, “… there are groups that are being funded to go out and disrupt.” When asked, “funded by whom,” you were unable, or unwilling to give a specific answer.

Madison Chenango Call to Action is a nonpartisan group of constituents from your district who are concerned with the extreme policies of the Trump administration and with your voting record that so far supports them. We are also concerned with your characterization of your constituents who have expressed these concerns as “paid disrupters.”

We are therefore requesting, respectfully, that you provide us with evidence of who has hired and is paying these “disrupters,” and how much they are being paid, as well as how the arrangements are made as to the type and nature of the “disruptions” they are paid to cause.

We look forward to hearing from you soon. Lisa Oristian, Madison Chenango Call to Action