Former Rep. Mondaire Jones — Democratic challenger to U.S. Congressman Mike Lawler in New York’s 17th District — blatantly called Lawler a “liar” after Lawler came after Jones accusing him of advocating “anti-police policies.” Jones claimed in response that it is Lawler who “has voted to cut law enforcement funding on multiple occasions.”
Jones cites two instances this year when Lawler cast votes that OMB Director Shalanda Young said would result in the defunding and elimination of 12,000 FBI agents and 1,000 ATF agents.
Fox News reported that conservatives “cheered” these proposed cuts to law enforcement, despite Republicans’ consistent claim to being the “law and order” party.
In Congress, I consistently voted for record levels of police funding. This year, Lawler has voted to cut law enforcement funding on multiple occasions, including last spring and on September 29, when he voted to eliminate 12,000 FBI agents. He’s a liar, and he must be defeated. https://t.co/lMF8lA2x0i
— Mondaire Jones (@MondaireJones) October 31, 2023
In addition to characterizing Jones as anti-police, Lawler has been going at his opponent for the company he keeps, recently implying that an endorsement from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would hamstring Jones in the district. But the purplish 17th district in New York isn’t a place, some say, where Pelosi is a dirty word politically — as it is in predominantly MAGA circles.
One commenter points out that Lawler’s support for new House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has a history of espousing far-right views on social issues and who has been a consistent election denier, could be more problematic for Lawler than Pelosi’s endorsement is for Jones.
Lol if you really think that #NY17 will have a bigger problem with a Nancy Pelosi endorsement than your vote for an anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-Ukraine, election denier as Speaker, then please save us the time and just resign now, because you are clueless about your district.
— TrumpsTaxes (@TrumpsTaxes) October 31, 2023
