Letters: Pennsylvanians have no real voice in PA legislature; Danger in giving in to bullies
Pennsylvanians have no real voice in PA legislature
Once upon a time, a Pennsylvanian highly concerned about an issue felt compelled to take action. So he decided to reach out to his elected representatives in Harrisburg.
He made a bunch of phone calls and wrote several letters to his state representatives in the Pennsylvania House and Senate. He pushed them to get behind legislative bills which could actually help to resolve the issue concerning him. He even participated in a rally in Harrisburg!
And he felt good. About taking action on a critical problem. About doing something important that would improve the lives of others. About how much public support there was across the state for a resolution to the problem. And about how supportive so many members of the legislature seemed to be.
Alas ... here the fairy tale ends. For in spite of everything a committed citizen might do, none of these actions is likely to matter in today’s Pennsylvania legislature — where the rules are rigged and neither the voter nor most rank and file legislators have a real voice.
The truth is, our Legislature operates by rules that place all legislative power into the hands of majority party leaders and committee chairs. This enables a select few, elected by just a few thousand voters, to override the priorities of millions of other voters across the state.
Outraged? Then vote for candidates interested in having a real voice in Harrisburg ... and willing to support rule changes to make that happen. Learn how rules block reform in Harrisburg at fairdistrictspa.com.
Danger in giving in to bullies
Trump and Putin have repeatedly helped each other in order to satisfy their mutual authoritarian desires, and together they represent the most serious threat to the world’s democracies since World War II. In 2016, Trump asked Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s e-mails, and Russia complied to help Trump get elected. As President, Trump repeatedly attacked NATO and tried to weaken the relationships between its members. There is little doubt that Trump’s corrosive criticism of NATO was a gift to Putin.
Trump tried to help Putin again by withholding Congressionally approved military aid from Ukraine. This impeachable behavior was a poorly veiled blackmail attempt to force President Zelensky to investigate Biden so that Trump could improve his chances of reelection.
Recently, the January 6 Congressional Committee found that Trump and his Republican minions were closely involved in planning the January 6 insurrection. These treasonous toadies also helped some purple states develop official certificates of fake electors so that they could pressure Vice-President Pence to send the electoral process back to those states so that they could nullify the popular vote. These events came dangerously close to toppling our Democratic Republic. There can be no doubt how Putin interpreted this Trumpian attack on our Constitutional values. He liked it!
Putin and Trump are dangerous bullies. They repeatedly lie and do whatever is necessary to destroy governments whose power is derived from the consent of the governed. That’s why we must never give in to these bullies. It only emboldens them.
No surprises from SCOTUS appointees
According to a leaked draft of the upcoming Supreme Court decision regarding Roe v. Wade, all three of the Trump appointees (Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett) will be voting to overturn it.
They were asked about this specifically at their Senate confirmation hearings. They danced adroitly around the issue, never overtly promising to support Roe, but doing their best to leave Senators with the impression that support it they would. Senator Susan Collins, in particular, announced that she would vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh because she was convinced that he would not vote to overturn Roe.
Does she now regret her naivete?
Donald Trump had promised to appoint to SCOTUS only persons who would pledge to overturn Roe. All three were appointed. Had they not promised to vote to overturn, they would not have been nominated. But they were nominated, so it follows that they must have privately made the pledge to overturn.
Why is anyone surprised by the recent news?