Editor, River Journal:
At a recent town hall, Representative Mike Lawler recalled that his dying father urged him to always follow his moral compass. I was heartened when Lawler added, “It’s something that guides me as I serve in public office.”
Yet, in practice, Lawler routinely disappoints me. While claiming to be a moderate, he votes to take money from programs that help vulnerable people to pay for tax breaks for the rich.
Here is a telling example. At his last two town halls, Lawler patted himself on the back for defending PEPFAR, a program that provides life-saving drugs to people with HIV. “PEPFAR,” he said in June, “has been one of the most successful foreign assistance programs in the history of the world. It has saved over 25 million lives over the last 20 years.”
How did he follow through on his defense of this critical, life-saving program? Last week, he voted for the House’s “rescissions” package that would pull back $9.4 billion in previously authorized funds for Public Broadcasting, National Public Radio, and foreign aid, including—you guessed it—PEPFAR.
Wise voters will monitor what Mike Lawler does, not merely what he says. He claims to be a moderate, but he routinely votes with radical MAGA Republicans against the public good. In my book, that’s immoral.
Ricki Rusting
Croton on Hudson, NY
