Cover photo: Majority Leader Scalise is greeted by Congressman LaLota and PBA President Lou Civello (Credit – Matt Meduri)
With the campaign having officially wrapped up on Monday night, the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association (PBA) threw a celebration to recognize its volunteers who helped campaign for PBA-endorsed candidates this autumn.
The event, a casual evening at Patchogue’s Standard Rec, featured a slate of local elected officials, Congressmen Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) and Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), as well as one of the country’s most respected Republican heavyweights, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R, LA-01) (pictured below).
Scalise has been an ardent supporter of conservative policies in Washington, and gained further recognition from an attempt on his life at a practice for the 2017 Congressional Baseball Game. Scalise was shot by a Bernie Sanders (I-VT) supporter in the 2016 election and was placed into immediate critical condition with a shattered pelvis and damaged organs, which later resulted in infection. Miraculously, Scalise survived the near-death experience and returned to the Capitol in September.
Scalise’s presence in Patchogue was just part of the national barnstorming effort by leaders of both parties, with extra emphasis on New York’s role in delivering the GOP a House majority in 2022. Scalise even noted LaLota’s presence in the caucus, stating that when the party had just a one-seat majority earlier this year, LaLota was effectively the majority-making member.
“That’s what y’all do every day; you risk our lives for our communities,” Scalise told a room full of PBA members and officers, specifically referencing his 2017 attack and the police officer who accompanied him as security to the event. “For some reason, over the last couple of years, this lunatic movement called ‘Defund the Police’ actually started to take hold. All of a sudden, their crazy ideas start to catch hold of the Democratic Party to the point where that is the norm today in Washington.”
Scalise cautioned attendees to take Democrats at their word, as he says they have already started implementing such policies around the country.
“As Majority Leader, I get to determine what bills come to the floor and what bills don’t. When they [Democrats] started bringing bills to take away qualified immunity, I made it crystal clear that under our majority, those bills are dead on arrival,” said Scalise, reiterating support for Congressmen LaLota and Garbarino, as well as for former President Donald Trump (R-FL).
Scalise added that the media “doesn’t know what to do” with the enthusiasm for Trump, referencing his Madison Square Garden rally last week that was “packed to the rafters” for him in deep-blue New York City.
The Louisiana Republican’s Monday guest appearance marks the fourth time he has stumped on Long Island for congressional candidates in the last two years. He even received a Suffolk PBA windbreaker, which he gladly donned upon his arrival.
“Leader Scalise has been at this for a long time; he’s no stranger to Long Island, and certainly no stranger to Suffolk County,” said Nick LaLota, (pictured above) who cruised to re-election Tuesday night over former CNN anchor John Avlon (D-Gramercy Park). “We’ve been outspent in many of these races, but it takes two or three times for [the left] to sell their lies as it takes for us to sell our truth.”
LaLota lambasted one-party rule in Albany, offering a warning to voters to not hand Democrats a similar trifecta in Washington.
“2018 was a pivotal moment in our state’s time, when we lost the Republican majority in the State Senate. And subsequent to that was bail reform, issues with qualified immunity, and sanctuary city policies,” said LaLota. “The United States of America is in a 2018-like moment. We know the right reasons about this election; this is about securing the border, bringing prices down, and reasserting America’s dominance on the world stage.”
“This election cycle, we had 1,500 of our members come out to knock on doors to get pro-police candidates elected, and we need it now more than ever,” said Suffolk PBA President Lou Civello (pictured below). He referenced a recent Third Precinct street racing call, which resulted in the attack of an officer, who was dragged by one of the vehicles, while another perpetrator slashed the tires on the officer’s vehicle.
“This is what one-party Democratic rule has given us here in New York State. The message is, there are no consequences for criminal behavior,” said Civello. “We cannot have one-party rule in Washington, because if we do, they [Democrats] will defund the police.”
Joining the evening were Senators Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) and Dean Murray (R-East Patchogue), as well as Assemblymembers Jodi Giglio (R-Baiting Hollow), Joe DeStefano (R-Medford), and Ed Flood (R-Port Jefferson Station).
