House Sitting

Marc Molinaro: Defender, or Defunder, of Senior Citizens?

by Ann Reichlin

Having recently received a mailer trumpeting how local congressman Marc Molinaro supports seniors and wants to save Social Security, I decided to check out Molinaro’s voting record on issues that pertain to seniors. The Alliance of Retired Americans gave him a score of 10 percent, based on the nine out of ten of his votes that they disagreed with.

Then I decided to check out the votes Molinaro is bragging about, which supposedly demonstrate his support for seniors. In his mailer, he claims that he “Voted to protect Social Security, Medicare, Veterans Benefits.” Further examination revealed that what he actually voted for was the short term budget extension. This is bare minimum governance, and doesn’t come close to qualifying as advocacy for Medicare or Social Security.

The second item on his list: “Led a bipartisan effort to strengthen Social Security;” is a little more supportive of his claim of supporting seniors, since if the bill passed it would remedy an unfairness in the system. But to call himself a leader is quite an exaggeration. While it’s true that he’s a cosponsor of this legislation, it is also true that there are 319 other cosponsors of H.R. 32, in a House with 435 members.

The third item on his list, “Opposed plan put forth by own party to cut benefits” does not tell the full story. While Molinaro says he will not support cutting Social Security or Medicare, he has been evasive about his views on raising the age for benefits. According to a March 2023 article in the Daily Freeman, “When pressed if he’d support raising the age for Social Security to 70 from 65 or ending the program, Molinaro asserted he did not want the program to end, but did not say if he supports an age increase.” It’s also worth noting that even Molinaro realizes that his own party wants to cut benefits for seniors.

By contrast, his Democratic opponent, Josh Riley, is a strong advocate for seniors. He believes Medicare should be expanded to include dental, hearing and vision, and wants to expand long-term care options for seniors. In an AARP forum from 2022 (minute 14:45), Riley makes clear that he does not support raising the eligibility age for Social Security and will not cut anyone’s Social Security payments.

Unlike his opponent, Democrat Josh Riley actually stands up for seniors. You can count on it.

As this issue of DASH was being laid out, Donald Trump became the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a felony—and just like his fellow GOP sycophants, enablers and accomplices, Marc Molinaro defended Dear Leader by trashing the justice system in a Facebook post.

So much for the so-called “law and order” party.

Through his shameful willingness to turn facts inside out and twist reality to demonstrate loyalty to Donald Trump, Molinaro shows that he cares about his political career within his party more than he cares about the needs of our nation.

Marc Molinaro cannot be trusted.

As Democrats, we know how Congressman Molinaro has failed us. He is campaigning hard on a false narrative that he is a moderate who works across the aisle. It’s up to all of us to counter this phony message. Spread the word to your neighbors by writing a letter to the editor setting out some of the truths about him. There’s a lot of material in the “House Sitting” column. Submit your letter to one of these local publications:

The Ithaca Journal no longer publishes letters to the editor (or much news about Ithaca, for that matter).