Dont Be A Stefanik: Why Harvard Removed A GOP Congresswoman From Its Leadership – Forbes

On Tuesday, Harvard University removed Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) from one of the advisory committees for its school of public policy. In doing so, Harvard joined a growing list of businesses and other institutions that are making complex choices about how to engage with politicians who amplified President Trumps false claims of fraud in the 2020 election. Harvards message wasnt just about politics though; it was intended to be an unambiguous leadership lesson to both its students and the nation.

Dont be a Stefanik.

The conservative Congresswoman, who represents a large portion of upstate New York, has been one of the Presidents most vocal supporters, and following Trumps failed reelection campaign, Stefanik was one of the 147 members of Congress who voted to reject the certification of Joe Bidens electoral college victory. The congresswoman, who has been frequently lauded by Trump for defending him during his impeachment last year, is a steadfast supporter of the President, and joined him at his controversial rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma last summer. Stefanik, who handily won reelection this past November, has been seen as a rising star in the Republican Party, yet she has also faced withering criticism in her home district for her comments on the election.

It appears that criticism has now extended to Cambridge, Massachusetts as well.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 21: Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York, listens ... [+] during a House Intelligence Committee impeachment inquiry hearing on Capitol Hill November 21, 2019 in Washington, DC. The committee heard testimony during the fifth day of open hearings in the impeachment inquiry against U.S. President Donald Trump, whom House Democrats say held back U.S. military aid for Ukraine while demanding it investigate his political rivals. (Photo by Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images)

In a message to the Senior Advisory Committee of the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School on Tuesday, the Kennedy Schools Dean, Douglas Elmendorf explained his decision to remove Congresswoman Stefanik, a Harvard alumnus, from the committee after she declined his request to resign.

My request was not about political parties, political ideology, or her choice of candidate for president, Elmendorf wrote. Rather, in my assessment, Elise has made public assertions about voter fraud in Novembers 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 countrys leaders are chosen.

In other words, Elmendorf asserted that it was Stefaniks failure to speak and act consistently with the fundamental norms of American democracy that cost her the role on the committee a damning assessment from a school that is one of the flagship institutions on the topic.

Stefanik, for her part, strongly criticized the decision. In a statement she tweeted on Tuesday, Stefanik said the decision by Harvard's administration to cower and cave to the woke Left will continue to erode diversity of thought.

The Ivory Towers 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. Stefanik added.

While Stefaniks words and actions may very well play to her political base as well as the outgoing Presidents supporters, the removal from an advisory committee of her alma mater is an embarrassing turn of events for someone who many saw as a one of the next-generation stars of the GOP. It also reinforces the fast-moving shift in attitude following the violent riots in the nations capital last week.

Through its decision, Harvard is making Stefanik a cautionary tale for what happens when elected officials and other leaders stretch the credulity of their statements beyond the boundaries of constructive and, some might say even civil, discourse. With no empiracal evidence to support her claims regarding the fairness of the recent elections, it is not surprising that the Kennedy School, one of the nations leading public policy schools, found her actions to be beyond the pale of mere policy disputes.

Harvard may be one of the first, but will unquestionably not be the last, of the institutions that will face similar decisions in the weeks and months ahead both in the halls of higher education, as well as in board rooms across America. As a result, there will no doubt be strong debate about what constitutes political free speech, as well as political correctness. But Harvards opening volley in the debate is as direct as it is unambiguous: if you choose to lead through deception, then you may very well be left standing alone.

But for now, rather than being an advisor for one of the finest institutes of higher education in America, of which she proudly affiliated herself, the disgraced Congresswoman is now just as likely to be in a case study like the ones she studied at Harvard. But in this case, it wont be for how she led

But for how she didnt.

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Dont Be A Stefanik: Why Harvard Removed A GOP Congresswoman From Its Leadership - Forbes