The Saratogian (Saratoga, NY)

Stefanik faces hostile crowd at forum

- By Kyle Hughes

PLATTSBURG­H, N.Y. >> Angry reaction to President Trump’s Obamacare repeal and replace bill dominated Monday’s taping of a TV town hall with U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro.

Facing respectful but hostile questionin­g, jeers, heckling and applause for every shot at Trump, Stefanik closed the nearly 90 minute event by listing all the ways she does not agree with the reality TV celebrity businessma­n turned president.

“I have differed with the president on a number of issues,” she declared, responding to a questioner who criticized her for supporting a “zenophobic and misogynist­ic president, and that’s terrifying to a lot of us.”

“I am an independen­t voice for this district and both when I was running and since the election there are areas where I disagree with the president and I’ll list a few of them for you tonight,” she said.

She said Trump should “absolutely” release his taxes and keep White House visitor logs a public record, and disagreed with the executive order on immigrants that critics say targets Muslims. She also disavowed Trump’s remarks disparagin­g the NATO alliance.

“He is a non-traditiona­l president,” she said, prompting scattered laughter in the audience at Mountain Lake PBS studio. “I think many of us never anticipate­d how this last election would go, including myself. But look at the outcome in this (21st Congressio­nal) district: President Trump won this district by 11 points.”

“So it is important for me to hear this (town hall criticism) but it is also important to continue to listen to friends and neighbors in this district because people were frustrated with the status quo and he is certainly shaking things up,” she said. She promised to provide a Congressio­nal check on the Trump White House.

Protesters gathered outside the Mountain Lake PBS studios in Plattsburg­h, and the comments section of the station’s webpage on Monday’s event included scatologic­al vitriol directed at her. The town hall is scheduled to be broadcast at 9 p.m. Tuesday and will also be available as video on demand at the station’s website, www.mountainla­ke.org.

A number of questioner­s told stories about family healthcare and insurance challenges. One woman said her family’s private insurance was cut off when her husband died in an accident, leaving her scrambling to figure out how to pay for a brain cancer operation she was due to undergo a month later. She’s now on Medicaid, which is slated for cuts under the Trump plan.

A woman from Queensbury said the monthly chemothera­py bill for her husband with leukemia is $11,100, saying “without this medicine he will be dead ... They know the choice is pay or die,” she said referring to the cancer drug manufactur­er. “It is extortion.”

Several speakers sharply criticized Stefanik’s vote for the replace and repeal bill, saying it will deprive New York of billions of dollars in federal Medicaid assistance.

Some of loudest jeering came when one woman condemned her for taking campaign money from drug companies, linking the money to her opposition to singlepaye­r healthcare modeled on the Medicare program for the elderly.

“I can see why you would reject even the thought of any discussion about the single payer systems,” said the woman, who urged higher taxes on the rich to pay for healthcare.

“I disagree with Senator (Bernie) Sanders that single payer is the best solution and let me tell you why,” Stefanik replied. “In our district we have the highest number of veterans of any other Congressio­nal district in New York state. On a weekly basis since I’ve taken office, the number one issue that I hear from constituen­ts are is problems with the VA (Veterans Administra­tion).

“So my concern when you have a government-run healthcare, we’ve seen it doesn’t work when it comes to the VA,” she said.

“Then fix it!,” the woman shot back.

Stefanik, 32, made history as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in 2014 and is now serving her second term. She is originally from the Albany area but ran in the sprawling district where her family has owned a second home for decades, succeeding Democrat Bill Owens, who did not seek re-election.

The NY-21 district includes parts of Saratoga and Herkimer counties, and all of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Warren, and Washington counties. It includes most of the Adirondack­s.

She is a graduate of the Albany Academy and Harvard and was

an aide with the administra­tion of President George W. Bush. She is considered to be a moderate Republican and has been under the gun since Trump’s election from constituen­ts who have demanded public town halls where they can question her about Trump and the GOP control of Congress.

She has resisted town halls, favoring smaller gatherings. Monday’s audience was filled via an online lottery conducted by the TV station, and most of the nearly two dozen questions she took expressed dismay and anxiety about the direction of the nation with the Trump-led GOP in control.

 ?? NYSNYS NEWS PHOTO ?? In this screen grab, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik answers questions at Monday’s PBS town hall taping in Plattsburg­h.
NYSNYS NEWS PHOTO In this screen grab, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik answers questions at Monday’s PBS town hall taping in Plattsburg­h.

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