Thread by @BrianMannADK

Thread: For 20 years I covered the political & cultural life of a small region of rural America in northern NY, the #adirondacks and the #ny21 congressional district. If you had told me this story would have been possible, I wouldn't believe it. @ncpr 1/ northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/449…

I covered hurricanes, fires, wars, tragic event after tragic event. In every instance there was a palpable coming together, a tone that was broadly apolitical and a deep sense that small towns must, in the final equation, work together to survive. 2/

I say the tone was apolitical but the political leadership class of #ny21 is largely Republican. In moments of crisis leaders like Betty Little, John McHugh, Janet Duprey, Teresa Sayward and many others worked closely across party lines to help communities heal. 3/

Those past crises were all infinitely smaller than #covid19. It's impossible to know how past leaders, Republican & Democrat, might have responded to the pandemic. What we know factually is that the most powerful leaders in #ny21 are silent when their constituents are dying. 4/

They have chosen not to champion vaccinations and mask wearing. In their social media feeds and at their public events they are largely silent about proven scientific measures their neighbors can take to keep safe, avoiding serious illness and death. 5/

I can't explain this political behavior and won't speculate about it cause. @danstec @EliseStefanik @SenatorRitchie @SenGriffo are some of the smartest leaders I've met in my career. They're clearly making a decision based on calculations that remain unclear. 6/

What I can say based on past reporting is this behavior wasn't the norm. This isn't how elected leaders in #ny21 #adirondacks used to behave in a crisis. They led. They worked to keep people alive. Understanding why this changed & what it means seem like urgent questions. /End

Update: Here's the latest tweet from @EliseStefanik @RepStefanik about the crisis she's focused on./End+1

https://twitter.com/RepStefanik/status/1469311922642292748