Representative Lee Zeldin does not believe in democracy.
This statement is not hyperbole. His actions and words prove it to be true.
Mr. Zeldin has been claiming that Donald Trump won the election and was one of 126 House Republicans who signed a letter in support of a lawsuit filed last week by the lieutenant governor of Texas. The lawsuit, which was dead on arrival at the Supreme Court, had asked the justices to throw out millions of votes in four swing states because of alleged fraud.
Seven of the justices said the State of Texas did not have standing and refused to hear the case. The remaining jurists said the court should hear the case, but if it did they would deny the “relief” sought by the plaintiffs.
First, let’s discuss the substance of Mr. Zeldin’s claim that the election was not legitimate. In not one of the more than 50 lawsuits filed on behalf of Mr. Trump have his lawyers been able to convince a court that the election was anything but free and fair.
Those lawyers, led by Rudy Giuliani, have claimed outside courtrooms that electoral fraud was rampant. But when inside the courtrooms and under oath, those claims seemed to disappear.
It would be hard to find a more ardent supporter of President Trump that Attorney General William Barr. On the election, he is quoted as saying, “To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.”
Until being fired by the president, Chris Krebs was the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Appointed by the president, he was the person in charge of election security. He described this election as “the most secure in American history.”
Additionally, not one state election official, Republican or Democrat, has claimed that this election was not fairly run.
I am sure Mr. Zeldin knows all this to be true. He may be many things, but he is not an idiot.
So I find it reprehensible that he and his fellow Trump sycophants would attack our democratic values in such a blatant way. Free and fair elections are not a byproduct of democracy. They are the foundation upon which our democracy is built. When Americans begin to doubt the fairness of our elections, we are one step closer to dictatorship. One step closer to no longer being a beacon of hope to the world.
To Mr. Zeldin, I have just one question: How can you face your children in the evening knowing that your efforts to overthrow the will of the people may result in their losing the freedoms we all now enjoy? How can you?
John Neely
Westhampton Beach
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