To the editor:
Mr. Molinaro — As the great Yogi Berra once said, it’s like déjà vu all over again. The fanatics in your party have taken over the House again, shutting down any potential legislative activity, fighting to derail efforts to keep the government open and operational, and threatening to depose the Speaker of the House just 3 months into his appointment as Speaker because their destructive agenda hasn’t been enshrined into the ongoing budget process.
As one who continually flouts his “bipartisan” credentials and achievements in your newsletters to constituents, surely you must be appalled at the actions and behavior of your Republican colleagues. And just as surely, it must be quite apparent to you that the only way to instill sanity in the proceedings in the House chamber, sanity that has been sorely absent since your party became the majority party in the House just a short year and more ago, is to marginalize those whose sole aim seems to be to rip the fabric of American government and society to shreds and work with Democrats who are desperately trying to work for the betterment of all Americans no matter their creed, color, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, or country of origin, in short, all Americans.
This country does not need to be made great again. It now needs to be rescued from the descent into racism and bigotry and cruelty that some, including many of your colleagues, want to hasten. We are a nation of diversity, that beautiful mosaic of blending languages and cultures and traditions that made this country the beacon for those seeking freedom and opportunity worldwide, and for those still seeking such freedom and opportunity. My ancestors emigrated to this country from Ireland in search of work, food, shelter, and a future better than that which they faced in their beloved native country. They were proud people, dignified people, leaving their beautiful green isle and their families and friends in full awareness that they would probably never see the isle or their loved ones ever again, to flee hunger, poverty, and strife. They faced uncertainty and wrath — “no Irish or dogs need apply” was a common insult for all to see in places of domicile and work. But they persevered and today the generations that came forth from them enriched and continue to enrich America in a multitude of ways — common laborers, union metal workers, carpenters, NYC firefighters, nuns, priests, dish washers, teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, librarians, artists, bankers, among many other professions that my large, proud Irish-American family can boast of past and present.
This country of ours truly provided the promised land for my ancestors and subsequent generations. And that is what, Mr. Molinaro, America must now defend as the vile forces that want to unravel that beautiful mosaic relentlessly try to cruelly squash the spirit of America’s past and its hopeful future by tearing down the government programs that help lift people up in their time of need, that welcome the poor immigrants seeking food and shelter and work and a brighter future for themselves and their children as they flee violence, climate disaster, poverty and starvation in their native countries. We need government agencies (and policies) that make certain taxes are paid equitably by everyone, that health care for both physical and mental maladies are affordable and available to all. We need an agricultural industry that protects the small farmers and promotes safe practices that not only sustains the earth but also nourishes the health of those reliant on its products. If the weather events of this month alone are not sufficient to ring alarm bells to the catastrophic damage done to our planet due to human folly and literal gaslighting by the fossil fuel industries, and to protect and enhance the scientific skills of the EPA to bring a stop to the relentless onslaught of our planet Earth, I don’t know what will.
You profess to represent your constituents and to work in a bipartisan manner, and you proclaim to do so loudly in every newsletter you send. If that is true, prove it. Work with your colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stop the continuing madness of those whose only dedication seems to be to themselves as bad performance screechers. They are a small minority of the current ruling faction of the House and surely you can figure out how to render their shrill voices and destructive tendencies nil.
If not, then what is your purpose as a member of Congress? Send the clown car with the screechers in it down the highway and get to work, for us, your constituents. We want a functional government. We want a helpful, fair, compassionate government. We want a responsible, accountable government. And we want a bountiful, blooming, prosperous future in every color of the rainbow and more. Get to work and provide it for us! We will continue to watch and pay attention.
Count on that.
Grace Kelly
New Baltimore