Letters

Lee Zeldin would like voters to think that his hands are clean in the attack on the Capitol. He has yet to apologize in any way for his conduct.

He would have us believe that the domestic terrorists’ attack after being egged on by the president is no different from some isolated legislators making inappropriate comments about the looting in neighborhoods. He would like us to think that he was just protesting faulty election procedures, similar to what Democrats have done in other recent presidential contests, without recognizing that, in all those cases, the Democratic candidate conceded the results within days or a few weeks of the election, removing any doubt in the outcome — unlike Trump, who was trying to overthrow a government.

The biggest Zeldin deception, however, goes to motive. He would like us to believe that he was more interested in protecting the rights of his constituents in future elections, rather than actually overthrowing a duly elected president and advancing his own political future.

There are facts that tell us otherwise:

1) If Zeldin was not trying to overthrow the election, why didn’t he acknowledge Joe Biden’s victory until after the attack, when his position had become politically untenable? After all, nothing had changed in the basic facts.

2) If he wasn’t seriously trying to overthrow the government, why didn’t he defend Vice President Mike Pence for protecting the Constitution when Trump was putting Pence and his family in danger for not taking the unprecedented action of singlehandedly throwing out the election results?

3) If Zeldin was interested in the country’s well-being, why didn’t he reverse his position like other, more principled Republicans and vote for certification after the attack and Trump’s designs were clear?

4) And, finally, if this was all just a matter of protecting electoral process, why did he take on a leadership role in defending Trump and “The Big Lie” in the recent House impeachment trial, when he has clearly been guilty of impeachable offenses?

What I really want to know is why Zeldin did it and what was he promised. He’s a smart guy, so why would he jeopardize his reputation, his career and his place in history?

I think the answer is found in what the humbled John Dean of the Nixon administration referred to in titling his autobiography “Blind Ambition.” I think Zeldin realized there was no place to advance in a Democratic-run New York. His best shot was a plum job in the next Trump administration.

It remains to be seen what price Zeldin is going to pay for his blind ambition, but, like Dean, I think it’s going to be higher than he ever imagined.

Ron Schaefer

Hampton Bays