Ihave often used my column to take advantage of a teachable moment. After all, I spent years in graduate school and taught political science for three years at Bucknell University.

So when I recently received a press release from New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has been preparing to become a candidate for governor next year, I immediately went into teaching mode.

Stefanik was once regarded as a pragmatist who reflected the views of most Republicans from the Northeast. But she has instead become a follower of President Donald Trump and fills her statements with exaggeration and hyperbole.

The Stefanik press release cited an article in NewsMax , a conservative, pro-Trump media company, that allegedly showed the results of an internal poll by Stefanik’s campaign. That was a

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