Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) says she is proud to join a growing list of conservatives who have been banned or shunned by college campuses. On Tuesday, the Harvard Kennedy School informed the conservative lawmaker that they have decided to boot her from the school's Senior Advisory Committee for what they referred to as her baseless claims of voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election. Stefanik was in Harvard College's class of 2006 and has been mentoring students ever since.
In a message to the Senior Advisory Committee of the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, Dean Doug Elmendorf explained his decision to kick Stefanik off the panel. He added that he was still "grateful for her long and committed service."
Following this consideration, I spoke with Elise and asked her to step aside from the Senior Advisory Committee. My request was not about political parties, political ideology, or her choice of candidate for president. Rather, in my assessment, Elise has made public assertions about voter fraud in November’s presidential election that have no basis in evidence, and she has made public statements about court actions related to the election that are incorrect. Moreover, these assertions and statements do not reflect policy disagreements but bear on the foundations of the electoral process through which this country’s leaders are chosen.
In their conversation, Rep. Stefanik refused to resign, and so Elmendorf told her he would remove her from the panel himself.
"The decision by Harvard's administration to cower and cave to the woke Left will continue to erode diversity of thought, public discourse, and ultimately the student experience," Stefanik writes in a blunt new statement.
????My statement on @Harvard @harvardiop @Kennedy_School bowing to the woke Far-Left ???? pic.twitter.com/DjvgdqAI1O
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) January 12, 2021
"The Ivory Tower's march toward a monoculture of like-minded, intolerant liberal views demonstrates the sneering disdain for everyday Americans and will instill a culture of fear for students who will understand that a conservative viewpoint will not be tolerated and will be silenced," she said of the school.
With her expulsion, Stefanik added that congratulations are in order for the Senior Advisory Committee, which is now composed solely of "Joe Biden voters."
Stefanik was one of several Republican lawmakers who still followed through on their plans to object to last week's electoral college certification, despite the violence that occurred in the Capitol following a Trump rally. She has since fielded demands for her resignation.
"They have the right to those opinions, and they also have the constitutional right to speak out,” Stefanik told her critics. “President-Elect Biden was certified, but that debate was important for the American people to hear.”
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