Rep. Elise Stefanik and Sen. Ted Cruz are vociferously expressing their displeasure. They are issuing strong statements, making media appearances, and demanding accountability.
The focus of their righteous anger?
Harvard University.
Specifically, a number of student groups at Harvard who released an outrageously inappropriate statement that many argue is anti-Semitic and implies support for terrorism by solely blaming Israel for Hamas’ brutal attack. Rep. Stefanik, along with some of her Republican counterparts, is insisting that the university’s president resign and the students face consequences.
One could dismiss politicians resorting to sensationalized rhetoric as nothing more than a common occurrence. However, in Ms. Stefanik’s case, there’s more to it.
Let’s not forget that Ms. Stefanik is leading a conference that has been unable to elect a new speaker for the past two weeks, due to the actions of some of its most extreme members which led to the removal of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. With this legislative branch deadlock, important matters such as a looming federal budget deadline and military aid to Ukraine and Israel are stalled, potentially causing significant harm. Thus, the paralysis within the government holds far more substantial consequences than a misguided letter from a group of college students.
No doubt, Harvard President Claudine Gay has faced criticism for her measured and delayed response to the statement made by 35 student groups, which essentially justified Hamas’ attack. Ms. Gay denounced the attack and made it clear that no student group, or group coalition, speaks on behalf of the university, while simultaneously defending the importance of free speech on campus. A statement from over 350 Harvard faculty suggested that this could have been a valuable opportunity for education, emphasizing that certain actions, such as war crimes, are unquestionably wrong. However, it did not question Ms. Gay’s integrity.
On the other hand, Ms. Stefanik and her colleagues in Capitol Hill accused Ms. Gay of intentionally creating an environment that fosters rampant and dangerous anti-Semitism.
This accusation is quite a contradiction for Ms. Stefanik, who has been a prominent voice lambasting student protests against Republican and conservative student organizations for inviting white nationalist, racist, and anti-Semitic speakers to campuses across the country. In those instances, she decried “cancel culture,” “radical woke ideology,” and the suppression of free speech. Regrettably, her outrage concerning the Harvard letter seems disingenuous.
It’s important to note that there is a backstory behind all of this: In 2021, Ms. Stefanik was removed from a senior advisory committee on politics at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government due to her reprehensible support of Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. This disinformation, in turn, helped incite the seditious attack on the U.S. Capitol. Although Ms. Stefanik may view her removal as a “badge of honor,” it appears that she still harbors a significant grudge. In fact, she has gone so far as to falsely claim that Harvard attempted to revoke her degree.
The crass political opportunism embedded in all of this is evident. Ms. Stefanik and her colleagues are capitalizing on a tragedy to attack an institution they perceive as too liberal. Moreover, Ms. Stefanik has an added motive as she takes a jab at the school that rightfully removed her from a board for providing support and comfort to insurrectionists.
It is also evident that these tactics are diversionary. While the conference she leads is once again immersed in chaos, Ms. Stefanik is attempting to redirect attention by fueling outrage over an atrocity. Ultimately, her aim is to divert attention from her own and her colleagues’ inability to lead effectively.
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