Readers sound off on Elise Stefanik, Biden’s wins and a Christmas truce

Somers, N.Y.: While Rep. Elise Stefanik is not my representative, I am still blown away by the complete reversal of her opinion of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.

Numerous articles have been written basically asking, “What happened to Elise Stefanik?” Well, it’s obvious that power, fame and ability to raise hoards of money override duty to the country. It clearly shows that while Stefanik has had reasonable, ethical and moral beliefs, it was time to get on board the MAGA train. Politics has always had its dirty side but these last number of years have seen the two parties pull further apart, with little agreement on any issues.

The lies spouted by MAGA followers are repugnant — that the 2020 election was rigged or stolen. Joe Biden is the president, not Donald Trump. The Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol was not simply a protest. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Stefanik was not on board the Trump train. She blasted his politics and rhetoric and said this “is not who we are as a country.” As Barbara Comstock, a Virginia Republican who served in Congress with Stefanik, said of her, she is an individual of “ambition unmoored to principle.” Margaret Hoover, who worked with Stefanik in the George W. Bush administration, said she was a “person of sheer ambition and not principled at all.” That may help explain how she metamorphosed into her current adherence to the MAGA stance. It’s all about her and her rise in the MAGA Republican Party.

Our great country sorely needs sensible Democrats and Republicans to get things done. The likes of Elise Stefanik do not further this quest. Michael Gold

Great Neck, L.I.: California Republican Kevin McCarthy should heed the words of Kenny Rogers in “The Gambler”: “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold them, know when to walk away and know when to run.” It is time for a new generation of GOP leadership to go forward. There is a deep bench of other Republican Congress members to select from to be the House speaker. Larry Penner

Brooklyn: Wow! I pity poor Kevin McCarthy. For him to achieve that wished-for job title, Kev-baby will have to really get down and dirty. Aside from crawling to those wacko Republicans, who vote for alternate choices like (perish the thought) Jim Jordan, he’s going to do considerable boot-licking and butt-kissing to gain their favor and votes. By the time he’s done, his lips will be awfully raw. But then, McCarthy did as much, if not more than that, when kissing up to the Trumpster, so nothing new for him there. Better break out the lip balm, Kevin — you’re going to need it bad! Kevin Hanley

Manhattan: It’s now an established tradition that every two years, Republicans try but fail to take control of Congress on Jan. 6. Jay Dobkin

Swarthmore, Pa.: Arguably, President Biden is the most underestimated president and politician in the modern age. He just seems to keep his head down and relentlessly power forward toward achieving his goals, even after critics say they are beyond his reach. With only a bare majority in the Senate, Biden’s legislative achievements have been substantial. When you consider that he has ushered through Congress the passage of substantive aid to families suffering from COVID-related economic misery, the CHIPS Act (funding essential semiconductor chip development capability), a massive infrastructure reinvigoration and, recently, an omnibus spending plan of more than $1.5 trillion, the man has delivered. Now he has all but announced that he will run again in 2024. Maybe it’s time we stop underestimating this man and appreciate his political savvy. Ken Derow

Mahopac, N.Y.: So the City Council wants to know why people are leaving the city workforce (”City eyes exit interviews as more workers flee agencies,” Jan. 5)? Look at how you are treating the people who carried the city for the last 30 years. Unions aren’t interested in helping because there is no upside for them. All of the people on the city payroll right now, look at how you are treated after you’ve done all the hard work. I stayed in the city working for the Department of Education because of the benefits when I retired. Now I pray that I have half a chance at some decent medical care when I need it in the future. J. Garry

Brooklyn: Considering the craven attempt to curtail a promise made by the city to maintain retirees’ health care choices as initially made, it’s no wonder city workers are leaving in droves and that new hires are hard to find. Who can trust any promises made by the city? And let’s not forget the unions’ cooperation with the city on this issue, pitting current members, who vote in elections of union leaders, versus retired members, who do not. Herman Kolender

Brooklyn: Mayor Adams is making an effort to electrify the city’s municipal fleet (“Cop cars among 925 electric vehicles city will buy,” Jan. 5), but zero-emissions vehicles aren’t yet making a dent. Gov. Hochul and DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos want to make zero-emissions vehicles the norm. They have just enacted the new Advanced Clean Cars II regulations that require all cars and light-duty trucks sold in New York to be zero-emissions by 2035. The 2021 Advanced Clean Trucks II rule increases the required proportion of clean medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Hochul has committed to 100% electric school buses by 2035, protecting school kids from development-impairing diesel fumes. With federal aid adding to state funding, we need a zero-emissions deadline for state vehicles as well. With transportation responsible for nearly 30% of greenhouse gases emitted in the state, our political leaders need to focus on reversing gasoline and diesel fuel’s damage to the climate and our health. Ella Ryan

Floral Park: Your front-page story (“Cop beats girl amid brawl,” Jan. 5) should have been the page 15 story “Brooklyn jeweler, 79, clinging to life after brutal $100G robbery” (Jan. 5). The teenager will recover quickly. And why did you not show the surveillance photo of the two thugs leaving the scene? I guess your editor considers the cop brutality story more important. What a shame. Your paper has always been anti-cop. You love to show law enforcement in a negative way. Please have your top guy, Rocco Parascandola, find the surveillance photo of the bad guys and print it. Edward Rankin

Brooklyn: Voicer Demos Poulos cherry-picks history to make an extremely rickety point: that Palestinians are to blame for the horrible situation in the Mideast. Saleh Abdul Jawad lists 68 villages where acts of indiscriminate killings of Arab civilians happened when no threat was posed to Israeli soldiers. The original sin that started the ball rolling was the Balfour Declaration, put forth in November of 1917, which gave license for the usurpers to begin the theft. That predates by at least 10 years any indiscretions committed by the grand mufti, who was essentially acting in self-defense as the usurpers were methodically going about the rigorous business of taking over his country. Demos, show me any other example of when one group has, for the better part of 2,000 years, left a land and then demanded and gotten it back. By that logic, I should be receiving the family farm my Scottish ancestors vacated in the early 1600s. I don’t think that’s going to happen. Nick Smith

Flushing: Vladimir Putin, how thoughtful of you to give the troops and everyone fighting in this war you started a Christmas “break” this weekend so they can pray in peace. Spoiler alert! What do you think everyone (except you) in Ukraine and Russia will be praying for? It’s peace! And only you can answer that prayer. Stop acting like a wiseguy by offering a break for prayers that only you can answer. Ben Jordon