| Greetings Marty,
I can think of nothing more symbolic than the Republican Party embrace of a small number of grievance-driven, anti-vaccination Canadian truckers. These semi road warriors have been using their eighteen-wheelers in protest, snarling border traffic, blocking bridges and further exacerbating supply chain interruptions and commerce between the United States and our northern neighbor. And Republicans here are eager to help clog things up. This is standard operating procedure for them, who at all levels, specialize in blockading. Donald Trump and his co-conspirators have spared no effort in delaying court processes, defying subpoenas and generally blocking judicial procedures and Congressional oversight at nearly every turn. In the U.S. Senate, Minority Leader Mitch “The Grim Reaper” McConnell brags about the role he plays in killing legislation and bottling up deliberations. In Harrisburg, Republicans in the Pennsylvania House and Senate have taken stonewalling legislative action to new levels of feckless inaction. All clogged up In Pennsylvania, Republican leaders in the House and Senate consistently block consideration on a variety of bills that clearly enjoy majority support in the Commonwealth. The Grievance Only Party (GOP) leaders with the full compliance of their rank-and-file members, refuse to allow important bills to get to the floor for a vote. They prefer protecting their members from taking a position on legislation the people of Pennsylvania want. Bills to raise the minimum wage, codify Roe v. Wade in state law, end workplace discrimination against LGBTQ workers, establish common-sense gun reforms and more are locked down in committees while the current Republican majority keeps the legislative agenda in limbo. In a recent absolute abuse of power and authority, Harrisburg Republicans have been using an obscure legislative agency under their control to freeze implementation of Governor Wolf’s executive action entering Pennsylvania into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The sole purpose of the agency in question is to publish the weekly official record of Pennsylvania state government agency actions. By not publishing the Governor’s executive order on RGGI, the Republicans are essentially exercising a veto they do not have the constitutional authority to do. There is more. The Republican gerrymandered majority, which in fact represents a minority of Pennsylvanians, is blocking the legislature from appropriating $5 billion in federal coronavirus relief funding. Democrats want to use the money to help people, small businesses and local governments financially impacted by the now two-year-old pandemic. Republicans are blocking spending of the relief money, presumably sitting on it until after the next election for Governor. Stuck in reverse To suggest Republicans in Harrisburg are not willing to move on anything at all would be misleading. The Republican truckers in the legislature are keen on moving in reverse. Their recalcitrant members consistently propose and pass grievance-powered, culture-war legislation intended to pursue goals clearly only visible in our rearview mirrors. Abortion rights, environmental regulations and gun reforms are only a few examples of issues where the Republicans want to take us full speed backwards. Full speed ahead Only a few weeks from now it is likely we will have new, more balanced legislative districts. If we, as Democrats interested in progress are successful, we can change the majority in Harrisburg and suspend the drivers’ licenses of the Republican legislators who are snarling our legislative traffic. Please join me in the fight to elect a new majority. Thanks for reading, Kristine |