by Doug La Rocque
Those were the words used by 21st Congressional Representative Elise Stefanik to describe President Joe Biden, as she made her first visit to Rensselaer County on Thursday afternoon, February 24. Ms. Stefanik was visiting Herrington Farms in Brunswick to critique the pending lowering of farm worker overtime threshold from 60 to 40 hours. The talk, however, quickly turned toward the Russian invasion of Ukraine, her thoughts on it and what she would like to see done.
She pointed out she does not think the United States should be putting “boots on the ground” in Ukraine at this time but called for the immediate imposition of new sanctions that “will cripple the Russian economy.” She also called upon European countries, whether members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or not, to follow suit.
The Congresswoman stated that Republican members of Congress, only a month ago, called for the imposition of sanctions on Russia, only to be shot down by the Democratic House and Senate members and President Biden. Ms. Stefanik also said Europe needs free and open democracies which is something Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want to see.
Congresswoman Stefanik is the House Republican Conference Chair, the third highest ranking Republican in Congress.