IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
ICYMI – Is There Such a Thing as Too Extreme for Lee Zeldin?
Congressman Lee Zeldin has been under some heat recently for meeting with the radical fringe group – the Oath Keepers. Zeldin has been busy trying to dodge directly answering for his associations with a group best known for conspiracy theories and hateful rhetoric by claiming he meets “with a very wide range of groups from the entire ideological spectrum.”
At the very least, Zeldin owes Long Island families some real answers to questions raised by press just last week – “Is there any group that Zeldin might consider too extreme for a member of Congress to meet with? And if so, why doesn’t the Oath Keepers meet that standard?
Capital New York: Democrats Target Zeldin in July 4 ‘independence’ push
“The DCCC cited ‘many statements and beliefs Zeldin might want to take the chance to declare his independence from,’ including comments made by the group’s founder comparing Hillary Clinton to Hitler and Mao, as well as the posting of YouTube videos by members suggesting that the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in Connecticut was a hoax. Twenty children and six adults were killed in the massacre…Zeldin’s office did not respond to a request for comment.”
“The national group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes…said in May that Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), who survived torture in a North Vietnamese prison camp, is “a traitor who should be hung by the neck until dead.”
“…Zeldin met with an extreme conservative group called the oath keepers. Critics claim they dabble in “conspiracy theories.”
AP: Race already on for 2016 House seat in key swing district
“The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee regularly issues missives blasting Zeldin for his votes and views, recently criticizing him for meeting with the Long Island chapter of Oath Keepers, a group of retired military, police and fire department employees who say they are committed to fighting ‘the tyranny we experience in our local, state and federal governments.’”
ICYMI: The company elected officials keep
MSNBC.com
By Steve Benen
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-company-elected-officials-keep
Even among right-wing groups, the Oath Keepers organization is a pretty alarming bunch. As recently as May, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes told a conservative gathering that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) should be tried for treason and “hung by the neck until dead” for going “along with the program of the destruction of this country.”
A month later, Rhodes was in New York, insisting that President Obama is “trying to” create “a race war.” He added, “[T]he leftists in this country hate this country, they hate it, and they will get in bed with radical Islamists because they have a common enemy, western civilization.”
With this in mind, it was of interest to see the New York Daily News report that Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) recently spoke to an Oath Keepers chapter.
A Zeldin spokeswoman acknowledges that last month he addressed the Long Island chapter of Oath Keepers, a group of retired military, police and fire department employees who say they are committed to fighting “the tyranny we experience in our local, state and federal governments.”
The organization has dabbled in what critics call “fringe conspiracy theories,” citing concern about concentration camps and martial law in the United States. The chapter’s website includes postings by a member embracing a film that claims the December 2012 Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax and calling President Obama a “Muslim/Extremist.”
The congressman’s office doesn’t deny Zeldin, an Iraq war veteran, attended the Oath Keepers event. Rather, the Republican lawmaker’s spokesperson said he’s met with a variety of groups “representing all sides of the ideological spectrum.”
“It is completely absurd to make it a litmus test for a member of Congress to agree with every individual or group 100% in order to meet with them,” Zeldin spokeswoman Jennifer DiSiena told the Daily News.
At first blush, that might seem vaguely compelling. Lawmakers often have diverse constituencies, so they’re bound to meet with a variety of organizations, some of which they’ll like, some of which they won’t.
That said, is there really no limit? Zeldin apparently doesn’t agree with “100%” of the Oath Keepers’ message, and I’m glad to hear it. But what percentage does he agree with?
Is there any group that Zeldin might consider too extreme for a member of Congress to meet with? And if so, why doesn’t Oath Keepers meet that standard?