Letters

Would someone please tell Congressman Lee Zeldin that it is safe to wear a mask now. His idol, President Trump, was seen wearing one in public for the first time last week. This after refusing to follow his own administration’s advice to wear a mask, and even at times chiding mask wearers for being “politically correct.”

Mr. Zeldin, ever the Trump sycophant, has been photographed maskless in public on numerous occasions, most recently at the recent Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which has been blamed for a subsequent COVID-19 outbreak in that city. Obviously, our congressman did not think he should lead by example and wear a mask, lest he be on the receiving end of one of the president’s mean tweets.

Reader Ed Surgan, in his latest letter, claims that bringing up Zeldin’s mask habits is “a ridiculous, petty” attempt to tar the congressman [“Not Since Nazis,” Letters, July 16]. Science says otherwise. The fact that wearing a mask helps prevent the spread of the virus is indisputable. Numerous peer-reviewed studies have concluded that wearing a mask prevents the spread of the virus. The fact that Zeldin, Trump and their followers have made masks a political issue would be laughable if it were not leading to countless unnecessary deaths.

If Lee Zeldin cared about the health of his constituents, he would do everything in his power to convince them to follow all of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 guidelines. But he is more interested in currying favor with Mr. Trump.

The congressman’s record on health care offers more evidence of his willingness to hurt his constituents. He has done absolutely nothing during his tenure to ensure affordable health care for hardworking Americans. He and his party controlled all three branches of government for two years. During this time, we were told that the Affordable Care Act was a disaster, and that the Republicans were going to repeal and replace it. Thanks to John McCain, the repeal part failed, partly because the replace part never seemed to materialize.

Even now, the Trump administration, with the support of our congressman, is fighting in court to destroy the Affordable Care Act, which would leave more than 23 million American citizens with no health insurance. If successful, the destruction of the ACA would also remove protections for those with pre-existing health conditions. This would presumably include those who have contracted the COVID-19 virus.

At a time when millions of Americans are losing their jobs and health insurance, Lee Zeldin wants to harm them even more. What would make any person want to do that?

Perhaps a look at the congressman’s campaign contributors would offer a clue.

John Neely

Westhampton Beach