Letters

Our representative, Nick LaLota, must have been sniffing glue before he decided to pen his recent letter [“Striking Hypocrisy,” Letters, October 2]. With his usual laziness, he strikes out against Democrats for their procedural right to draw a government shutdown, calling the maneuver reckless.

But I need not remind Mr. LaLota that our current brand of obstructive politics was born by Tea Party Republicans who forced a similar shutdown against Barack Obama for much dumber reasons: passage of the widely supported and beneficial Affordable Care Act.

The same Republican Party that blocked the nomination of Merrick Garland in 2016.

The same Republican Party that blocked voting rights legislation under Biden.

The same Republican Party that blocked a 2024 border security bill once Donald Trump came out against it.

The same Republican Party that is currently stalling the appointment of Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva, because her vote might finally compel the release of the Epstein files.

Does this walking thumb need any more receipts?

These are called procedural maneuvers, Mr. LaLota. And unlike Republicans’ use of them, this is being done for good reason.

Hilarious that LaLota should continue on like a bleeding-heart liberal, decrying the hard-felt impact of this shutdown on people in our district. Meanwhile, he votes for a funding bill that would strip science grants from places like Brookhaven National Lab. A bill that would strip health care from millions of children. A bill that risks shutting down the majority of rural hospitals in New York State.

Of course, LaLota cites national security, since that’s become the asinine justification for every Republican policy that strips us of our civil liberties and public programs. Meanwhile, our greatest threat is internal.

“National security planning and oversight could grind to a halt, leaving America less safe and emboldening our adversaries.” Sir, are you on drugs?

Does he even believe what he says anymore? There have been more than 308 mass shootings in 2025, 53 of them being school shootings. And this man has the callousness to still chirp on about national security?

Frankly, we should all be offended that we’re represented by this single-issue bozo given how socially and economically diverse we are as a district.

Good job, bud, focusing solely on the SALT cap that benefits a whole 1 percent of your constituents. Bold strategy, Cotton — let’s see how it plays out for him.

My guess is LaLota is pining to follow the path of his predecessor Lee Zeldin and find himself appointed to some backwater government agency he has never heard of, his sole job being to run it into the ground. What a policy platform! How’s that coming along?

Behold, the new Grand Ol’ Party.

Signed: A registered and responsible Republican.

Michael Pintauro

Sag Harbor

The number of incidents involving guns can be difficult to quantify: The Gun Violence Archive has documented 324 mass shootings in 2025, through the end of September; Everytown Research and Policy says that there have been at least 91 incidents in 2025 in which a firearm was discharged on a school property — Ed.