OLEAN, N.Y. — Cattaraugus County Republican Party Chairman Robert C. Keis Sr., was among the first in the state to endorse Donald Trump for president during the Republican presidential primaries.
Keis had initially planned to attend the 45th Presidential Inauguration on Friday, but has decided not to compete with those planning to attend — including many Trump protesters — and fill the streets of Washington, D.C. He will watch it on television instead.
With about two-thirds of the voters in Cattaraugus County turning out for the November election, Trump outpolled Democrat Hillary Clinton by better than 2 to 1 — 18,668 to 8,717.
Keis, the longtime Mansfield town supervisor, said he was not aware of anyone from Cattaraugus County who planned to attend the inaugural.
“I’ve never been to a presidential inauguration,” Keis said. “This would have been a good one to go to. Our side won. What a great way to celebrate with your people.”
Keis noted a number of issues are popping up just before the president-elect’s inauguration Friday: Congressional investigation of Russian influence in the election, Rep. John Lewis’ comments questioning Trump’s legitimacy and the Republican repeal of Obamacare in the House and Senate.
“Political correctness is killing this country,” Keis said. “When Obama won, a lot of us were not happy. With Obama, we did not always feel he had America’s best interest at heart.” But he said he felt in voicing those opinions, “we would have been accused of being racist and bigoted.”
KEIS SAID HE did not believe Congress intends to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as “Obamacare,” and not replace it with something else. Passing a bill that includes a future date for repeal would give Congress time to “come up with something else,” he said.
“I don’t think they should or will arbitrarily repeal Obamacare and leave everybody hanging,” he added. “Just because they pass something, doesn’t mean it takes effect today. I would agree with something that makes more sense that Obamacare.”
At one time, having health care was associated with having a job, Keis said.
“Then all the sudden, everybody has a right to health insurance,” he said. “But others ended up paying significantly more.” He added he believed tort reform would “help a little.”
ON RUSSIAN INFLUENCE in the U.S. presidential election, Keis said there was “no doubt Russia was trying to hack everybody. I think everybody is trying to hack everybody else.”
As to why Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to have favored Trump, Keis asked, “I think he (Putin) would have it easier with Hillary Clinton (as president) than Donald Trump. He (Trump) will be much more of a hawk. Hillary would be embroiled in legal stuff with here emails. I don’t think it was to Russia’s advantage to have Donald Trump as president.
“I think Putin will be sorry Trump became president if he had anything to do with it (hacking),” Keis said. “The count was not changed. Did it have an impact? It might have brought out facts” that wouldn’t have come out.”
Keis said he didn’t think Rep. Lewis, a Democrat from Atlanta, should have publicly questioned the legitimacy of Trump’s presidency because of Russia’s attempts to influence the election.
ON ANOTHER ISSUE, Keis said he is “confident the economy is going to do better and we will be more respected in the world under Trump.”
Keis was upset over the Obama Administration’s recent abstention in the recent U.S. Security Council vote in the U.N. that condemned Israel over the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
“Not supporting Israel was absolutely outrageous,” he said.
Trump was elected, Keis said, “to get rid of political correctness, get control of our borders and stop the same old stuff in Washington. His drain the swamp call is appropriate. We need to get people in charge that don’t do things the old way.”
“I’m very optimistic for America,” Keis said. “He will do things to help the less fortunate. I want to see him build our military back up so we will be respected again.”
Keis added: “I like his style of doing things, instead of hemming and hawing. He better come through.”
(Contact reporter Rick Miller at rmiller@oleantimesherald.com. Follow him on Twitter, @RMillerOTH)
