Times Union: “We haven’t forgotten that Mr. Molinaro… shrugged off concerns that abortion rights were in danger under an increasingly conservative U.S. Supreme Court – concerns that would prove painfully valid when the court struck down Roe v. Wade.”
Headlineafterheadline last week exposed Marc Molinaro for his “rightward pivot” that’s “baffling his allies as well as some institutional supporters” — and now, this week isn’t starting off on a good note for the vulnerable New York Republican after the Albany Times Union Editorial Board endorsed Josh Riley.
In their editorial board endorsement of Riley, The Times Union highlights that despite Marc Molinaro’s long time in politics, he’s failed to get anything done on issues impacting Upstate New York families – like securing the border or protecting reproductive rights.
Josh Riley, on the other hand, has a strong record of fighting for Upstate New Yorkers and doing what’s right — like standing up to his own party to fix the broken immigration system and pledging to support a national law to restore Roe v. Wade.
Riley — whom the Editorial Board calls the “the far better choice to represent the 19th Congressional District” — would “help bring about sensible, comprehensive immigration policy, safeguard reproductive rights and, if necessary, defend our democracy.”
DCCC Spokesperson Ellie Dougherty:
“With each day, it becomes even more clear that Marc Molinaro’s days in Congress are numbered because Josh Riley is the only candidate in this race who will fight for Upstate New Yorkers’ priorities.”
The race for New York’s 19th Congressional District is one of the most watched in the country, and for good reason: The outcome may figure heavily in which party controls the House of Representatives for the next two years.
If Mr. Trump wins what’s now an exceedingly tight race against Vice President Kamala Harris, we will need strong watchdogs in Congress more than ever.
We are concerned, though, that we can’t expect Mr. Molinaro to exercise the necessary vigilance in a possible second Trump term that would be demanded of a member of Congress. This is a sitting lawmaker who refuses to acknowledge the validity of Mr. Trump’s conviction by a jury of his peers on 34 felony counts in connection with his attempts to manipulate business records and violate federal campaign laws in order to cover up hush money payments to a porn star.
Voters would certainly want to see the same commitment to Congress’ role as a check on the executive branch should Ms. Harris become president, and on that count we are far more confident that Mr. Riley would fulfill that duty. He has not hesitated, for example, to sharply criticize the Biden-Harris administration for its handling of immigration, particularly on the U.S.-Mexico border.
And speaking of immigration, it is an issue that is long overdue for serious attention and bipartisan cooperation from Congress, which we haven’t seen from Mr. Molinaro or his caucus. Voters will recall that a bipartisan deal had been negotiated in the Senate earlier this year, only to be sabotaged by Mr. Trump, who did not want President Joe Biden — who was still running for reelection at that point — to score “a win.” Mr. Molinaro refuses to blame Mr. Trump, much less his Senate partisans, for that cynical move; he instead seeks to fault Mr. Biden for not negotiating a House immigration bill that lacked bipartisan support.
Mr. Molinaro… won’t support a national law to restore abortion rights, arguing that it wouldn’t pass and would probably be less protective than New York’s statutes. Perhaps so, but we don’t send representatives to Washington to decide that such important causes aren’t worth fighting for. And we haven’t forgotten that Mr. Molinaro, running for New York governor in 2018, shrugged off concerns that abortion rights were in danger under an increasingly conservative U.S. Supreme Court – concerns that would prove painfully valid when the court struck down Roe v. Wade.
Mr. Riley, on the other hand, promises that if elected, he’ll immediately sponsor a law protecting women’s reproductive rights.
He also commits to advocating for even more consequential immigration legislation that addresses border security, reduces backlogs in asylum cases and creates a better visa program for farmworkers, among other features. His other local and national priorities include pushing back on federal regulations that would hurt volunteer fire departments and introducing a measure that would reverse the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which opened the door to unbridled corporate spending in elections.
While we appreciate Mr. Molinaro’s long public service, we believe he has left his political moderation behind. Mr. Riley is the far better choice to represent the 19th Congressional District, to help bring about sensible, comprehensive immigration policy, safeguard reproductive rights and, if necessary, defend our democracy.
