The fact the Republican Mazi Pilip is ducking debates with Democratic rival Tom Suozzi is a slap in the face of the district that is still smarting from being deceived in addition to being defrauded by George Santos.
Clearly she is either afraid she is ignorant of policy or positions that would come to her as a U.S. congresswoman – a huge jump up from a county legislator where she mostly rubber stamps whatever the Republican Party decides – or is afraid her positions on everything from guns, abortion rights and immigration to climate change, healthcare and taxes would be exposed as counter to the majority of the district, which voted for Biden over Trump.
Pilip’s only qualification to seek this office is her two years on the Nassau County Legislature. And how has that record been? She barely opened her mouth, never went against the Republican line, not even to hire 100 more police officers or spend some of the millions of federal dollars the county received for opioid treatment.
Here’s the list of questions that Pilip should be required to answer and we would have liked to ask but repeated requests have been ignored:
- Abortion rights: Would you support Republican-led national abortion ban, or Democratic-led women’s reproductive rights? Where do you stand on the Texas court ruling that the state does not have to follow federal HHS guidelines on providing emergency care to pregnant women in crisis.
- Immigration: Texas is dumping migrants on New York and other Democratic states/cities without notice or assistance, without regard for welfare of those individuals. How is this different from human trafficking? Would you support the bipartisan compromise Immigration Reform legislation that passed the Senate in 2013, was introduced in 2018, Suozzi’s “Grand Compromise” of 2019, or Biden’s immigration reform, which he introduced on Day One of his presidency? You have absurdly accused Suozzi of advocating “open borders.” What Immigration Reform would you propose or support?
- You were an immigrant to Israel and then an immigrant to the USA. What was your experience in obtaining citizenship? How long did it take? What was the process for you? Do you believe that people whose lives are in danger should have the ability to seek asylum? What is your position on asylum, which is required under federal and international law. What is your position on DACA? What is your position on a path to citizenship for DACA recipients? For their parents? Do you support Trump’s plan to round up five million undocumented immigrants?
- What is your position on gun reform? Assault weapons ban? Banning high-capacity ammo clips? What gun violence prevention measures would you advocate or support?
- Republicans from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman to House Majority Leader Mike Johnson have blamed Biden for the drug crisis, yet you blocked a Democratic proposal to spend millions of federal dollars on opioid treatment. What is your position on funding for mental health? On repealing Obamacare? On universal health care?
- What is your position on shutting down the government unless Biden goes along with repealing infrastructure spending, climate action, drug cost caps?
- What is your position on aid to Ukraine? Aid to Israel? Would you block aid unless Biden agrees to ending asylum, closing the border?
- What is your position on cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid? How do you propose cutting the budget deficit, national debt? What policies would you advocate?
- What is the inflation rate? How does the U.S. inflation rate compare to England’s, Argentina’s? If you say inflation is too high, what is your proposal to reduce?
- Corporate profits, at a 70-year high, have skyrocketed well past the rate of inflation. What is your position on taxing billionaires? A minimum tax for corporations? Do you support Republican demands to cut funding to the IRS as provided in the Inflation Reduction Act? What is the amount of unpaid taxes per year? How much money has the Biden Administration collected from tax cheats in 2023?
- What is your position on the Disclose Act? On the John Lewis Voting Rights Act? On state legislatures choosing electors regardless of the popular vote? On the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact?
- Do you support the impeachment of Biden? Republicans are obsessed with Hunter Biden’s business interests though he never served in government. Should Congress investigate the $2 billion Jared Kushner got from Saudi Arabia as he left the White House, his deals with Qatar, how Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump managed to net $960 million during their time in the White House, the trademarks she got from China?
- In your comments to the North Hempstead inauguration event, you took praise for stopping Gov. Hochul’s housing plan to address the housing/affordability and availability crisis, which is impacting Long Island’s economic growth, availability of teachers and other professionals. The Biden administration has a housing policy, and is working to make housing affordable and available especially for groups that have been effectively shut out. Would you support that policy? What is your position on housing? On homelessness?
- What issues do you intend to champion in Congress? What’s important to you?
- Your mailings go to the age-old Republican attack, accusing Suozzi of raising taxes. But it was the Trump/Republican Congress that passed tax “reform” that added $2 trillion to the national debt, overwhelmingly benefitted but wealthiest while increasing the tax burden for middle-class families and capped SALT deductions in order to punish Blue (donor) states, which Suozzi has worked consistently to try to restore. What will you do to end the cap on SALT deductions?
When I tried to ask Pilip a question at the North Hempstead inauguration event, I was told to call Joe Cairo, the Republican county chair (who she specifically thanked for her re-election, “were it not for you…”). I called multiple times to request an interview. I have yet to hear back.
But if you look at Mazi Pilip’s “about me” campaign website the address (but no phone number) given for her office is Huckaby Davis & Lisker, an Alexandria, VA., law firm that handles Republican candidates’ campaign funds. That speaks columns about who and what Pilip is.