Josh Riley: New Yorkers “know Johnson found a reliable ally in Molinaro”
A new op-ed from Red to Blue Democratic candidate for New York’s 19th Congressional District Josh Riley highlights how increasingly vulnerable Republican Marc Molinaro repeatedly falls in line with Speaker Mike Johnson’s far-right extremism.
Molinaro – who played a “pivotal role” in electing Speaker Johnson – has prioritized extremism over Upstate New York families, from “criminalizing abortion and killing Medicare and Social Security” to grandstanding on the border crisis in order to “exploit the problem for political purposes.”
In Upstate New York, we saw jobs sent overseas, communities hollowed out, poverty rates increased, opioid deaths spike. And instead of standing up for working folks, career politicians pocketed corporate cash and looked the other way or, even worse, helped the special interests profit at our expense.
And it’s not just that we’ve been sold out; we’ve been looked down on, too. Just look at what 30-year career politician Marc Molinaro told reporters about us around the time he voted to make Mike Johnson—an anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ+ extremist—Speaker of the House. In Molinaro’s own words:
“The people I represent wouldn’t know the Speaker of the House on any given day.”
“They don’t give a sh*t who the Speaker of the House is.”
“They would like a Speaker although admittedly most won’t know who that is anyway.”
“The people I represent wouldn’t know the Speaker of the House if he backed them with a pick-up truck—and I hope they don’t.”
That’s what Molinaro thinks of us—of our friends, our families, and our neighbors.
When I hear Molinaro say stuff like that, I think about people from my neighborhood growing up in Endicott. A lot of folks didn’t have high school or college degrees, and most of them worked in the factories. But they read the newspaper I delivered to them every morning, and they watched the evening news every night. And they know full well that the conversations the politicians are having in Congress have a direct impact on the conversations they’re having at their kitchen tables.
Last Thursday morning, Molinaro held a fundraiser with Mike Johnson, charging up to $1,000 per person, to support their extreme agenda of criminalizing abortion and killing Medicare and Social Security. I spent that morning across the street at Chris’ Diner, hearing from everyday people about the issues that matter to them. Here’s what I heard:
Folks know that Johnson and House Republicans want to criminalize abortion with no exceptions, and that Johnson even said abortion should be punished with ten years’ hard labor. And they know Johnson found a reliable ally in Molinaro, who opposed the Reproductive Health Act in New York, blocked the Women’s Health Protection Act in Congress, and voted to make it harder for women in the military to get reproductive healthcare—all after making campaign promises that he wouldn’t restrict abortion rights.
I believe women have the right to make their own healthcare decisions, and politicians should stay the hell out of it. I am proud to have been endorsed by Planned Parenthood, and in Congress I’ll sponsor legislation to codify abortion rights into law.
People also know full well that Johnson is the chief architect of the Republican plan to slash Social Security. And they know that Molinaro has taken thousands in campaign contributions from Johnson while voting to cut funding for the Social Security Administration. Now Johnson and Molinaro have come up with a smoke-and-mirrors “commission” to raise the retirement age and slash funding.
I’ll oppose cuts to Social Security, period. The generations that came before us worked so hard, and sacrificed a lot. I think of my grandpa, who grew up on a farm, served in the Army, then worked in the IBM plants. He deserves to retire with dignity. So I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Johnson and Molinaro take a nickel of the benefits he’s earned.
Voters also know that Molinaro and Johnson voted to cut heating assistance for seniors, voted to cut Head Start programs for kids, voted to cut funding for law enforcement, voted to cut apprenticeships for workers—all while cutting taxes for the billionaires and big corporations funding their campaigns.
They know that Molinaro and Johnson killed a bipartisan deal to address the border crisis because they want to exploit the problem for political purposes during campaign season.
And they know that Molinaro and Johnson have presided over the most chaotic, least productive Congress in decades. Even with all the challenges we’re facing as a country both at home and abroad, this Congress has spent more time infighting than legislating.
So, yeah, folks know who the Speaker is, and they care. Marc Molinaro and Mike Johnson can have each other.
