Politicians
do what politicians do. The March 30 announcement ("FDR historic site
could grow with land deal") of a congressional bill to expand the
acreage of the FDR site in Hyde Park gave both U.S. Rep. John Faso,
R-Kinderhook, and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro the
opportunity to take a swing at a giant softball pitch, in baseball
parlance. (Note: both are running in November.) After the land was
gifted to Scenic Hudson in 2014, the National Park Service’s takeover of
the land, eventually, was inevitable. But fair is fair. Republicans got their press conference and the favorable publicity.
But
credit and accountability run in multiple directions. On April 17, the
Dutchess County Republican Committee advertised a fundraiser with
headliner former Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke (VIP ticket: $1,000).
Clarke has juggled lawsuits and federal officials over alleged abuses in
his jail. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hate Watch tracks his
incendiary speeches. He has called Black Lives Matter a “hateful
ideology.” He claimed, “Obama-Marxist types want to start a
civil war in this country” by taking people’s guns away. He was
temporarily banned from Twitter for threatening the “lying lib media”: “Punch them in the nose & MAKE THEM TASTE THEIR OWN BLOOD.”
What
is Rep. Faso’s view of David Clarke? At a 2016 gathering of Oath
Keepers, a far-right group whose response to Parkland was to warn of
“leftist ‘blood dancers’” coming for everyone’s guns, Faso said, “What a
tremendous patriot we have in Sheriff David Clarke . . . I truly appreciate what you are doing.”
Want to buy a ticket for the fundraiser? Too bad, it’s been cancelled. Perhaps
Faso and the GOP feared the event would take the sheen off of their
feel-good ceremony and cast a light on the dark money that fuels
extremism in their party.
Publishing history
Poughkeepsie Journal online, 4/8 & 4/11 amended
New Paltz Times 4/12
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