We already know Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) has been overtly concerned about antisemitism, and spouting the so-called “Great Replacement Theory.” [1] Oh, and attacking Harvard University President Claudine Gay as “a plagiarist,” and showing absolutely no sympathy for the terrorized people in Gaza.
So it was high time someone came along and gave Stefanik a dose of her own medicine. Which is exactly what Rep. Kathy Manning (D-N.C.) did — accusing Stefanik of plagiarizing one of her letters just a few hours after the Republican congresswoman denounced Gay, Mediaite [2] reports.
Stefanik was out of sorts after Harvard announced its decision to stand with Gay.
“This is a moral failure of Harvard’s leadership and higher education leadership at the highest levels,” Stefanik kvetched. “And the only change they have made to their code of conduct, where they failed to condemn calls for genocide of the Jewish people, the only update to the code of conduct is to allow a plagiarist as the president of Harvard.”
But while Jews were definitely the victims of genocide during World War II, this time around, far more Palestinians are dying. As Al-Jazeera [3] notes, more than 18,200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bombardment since October 7, whereas the death toll in Israel stands at 1,147.
So it would be nice if Stefanik and other Republicans spewing bile over this would get their facts straight.
This makes it especially sweet that Manning is pointing out the error of Stefanik’s ways regarding plagiarism.
“Can anyone spot the difference between the first 3 paragraphs of these two letters…? Manning tweeted. “One is my letter, and one is @RepStefanik plagiarizing my letter to try and get her 15 minutes of fame. Don’t take my word for it, see for yourself.”
Manning shared photos of the two letters, and they really are almost word-for-word identical in the first three paragraphs.
Can anyone spot the difference between the first 3 paragraphs of these two letters…? One is my letter, and one is @RepStefanik [4] plagiarizing my letter to try and get her 15 minutes of fame. Don’t take my word for it, see for yourself. pic.twitter.com/YzIiTSkz9R [5]
— Congresswoman Kathy Manning (@RepKManning) December 11, 2023 [6]
That wasn’t all Manning had to say.
When I shared my letter with @RepStefanik [4] to try to make this a bipartisan effort, she made it clear with her “edits” that she didn’t care about protecting Jewish students. All she cared about was calling for the resignation of university presidents to score political points.
— Congresswoman Kathy Manning (@RepKManning) December 11, 2023 [7]
The biggest difference between these two letters:
I am working to make real changes to university codes of conduct so Jewish students and faculty are protected from hate.
Rep. Stefanik is trying to get a soundbite & media hits. https://t.co/AdSg4nAS7P [8]
— Congresswoman Kathy Manning (@RepKManning) December 11, 2023 [9]
Mediaite reported that Stefanik hadn’t yet responded to Manning’s accusations.
But really, it’s eminently clear that Stefanik wants media attention and she is allergic to facts. I think I proved that above by citing Al-Jazeera. There’s nothing wrong with expressing sadness over the deaths of Jews and Palestinians as this horrific tragedy continues. It would just be nice if Stefanik and her fellow GOP sycophants would remember this.