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

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More from @BrianMannADK

8 Dec
Thread: NoCo Rep. @EliseStefanik @RepStefanik today called out Democrats for silence on a local politician involved in alleged drug use. Meanwhile her social media feeds were completely silent on the death and healthcare 'gridlock' being caused by #covid19. #ny21 1/
Here's a sampling of what local media outlets looked like on this day when the Congresswoman made no mention of the pandemic. This from @poststar 2/ poststar.com/news/local/war…
Read 4 tweets
5 May
Thread: For six+ years I covered @EliseStefanik @RepStefanik as closely as any journalist, following her through rural Upstate #adirondack towns in #ny21, watching her build political strength, visiting her in Washington DC. Here are my takeaways. 1/
In 2014 she presented herself as a moderate and her past career suggested as much - including her writings at Harvard and her work with Democrats like @SenatorShaheen northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/249…
She also worked closely early in her career with moderates and people who've emerged as never-Trumpers like @MittRomney @SpeakerRyan @BillKristol including a stint in the Bush-Cheney White House. 3/
Read 11 tweets
5 May
North Country thread #ny21: this has huge implications for the #adirondacks region. Our population is already older than the national average which means even fewer births 1/
When you combine this with our lack of appeal to immigrants the math is devastating. Demographic decline is inevitable without a profound shift 2/
Because so many of our communities and counties are already very low population the impacts could be felt very swiftly and indeed are manifested in closing schools churches groceries etc 3/
Read 5 tweets
21 Jan
This is the gravity of the facts @EliseStefanik @RepStefanik has yet to address in a substantive interview, laid out by presidential historian Michael Beschloss (link at end of thread). “This is the only president in American history who incited an insurrection..." #ny21 /1
Trump "incited an insurrection against Congress that could have resulted in assassinations and hostage-taking and, conceivably, the cancellation of a free presidential election and the fracturing of a democracy." #ny21 /2
"It’s very hard to think of a scenario under which someone might imagine some wonderful thing that Donald Trump did that will outshine that. He did, literally, the worst thing that an American president could ever do.” #ny21 /3
Read 6 tweets

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