{"id":33497,"date":"2020-12-06T09:22:18","date_gmt":"2020-12-06T14:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=33497"},"modified":"2020-12-06T09:22:26","modified_gmt":"2020-12-06T14:22:26","slug":"gop-members-in-pa-legislature-again-want-to-throw-out-your-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=33497","title":{"rendered":"GOP members in Pa. legislature \u2014 again \u2014 want to throw out your vote"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><strong>By Mike McGann<\/strong>, <em>Editor, The Times<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mikemcgannpa\">@mikemcgannpa<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/UTMikeColLogo.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-12980\" src=\"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/UTMikeColLogo-251x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"251\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>It\u2019s been a month since Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump for the presidency \u2014 as it turns out by some seven million votes and more than 70 electoral votes, the biggest win by a challenger for the presidency since Franklin Roosevelt defeated Herbert Hoover in 1932.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">And yet, too many seem convinced that somehow state legislatures, the U.S. Supreme Court or the Easter Bunny will somehow step in and turn over the election for Trump \u2014 even some members of our own state legislature, including one member from Chester County.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">They yell \u201cfraud!\u201d They offer specious claims with no evidence \u2014 if there was actual evidence, it would have been presented in court, where Republicans and the Trump Campaign are 1-46 as of this writing, the won win allowing observers slightly closer to ballot counting. Worse, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn called for the \u201csuspension\u201d of the U.S. Constitution and for the military to administer a \u201cnew\u201d election.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Yup. Really. These guys are using the banana republic playbook, except they don\u2019t have the military or the courts on their side, thankfully.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The basic Republican message is this now: your votes don\u2019t count unless they\u2019re for our candidate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">They don\u2019t like the outcome and are advocating for Trump to be given the presidency, regardless of the facts and regardless of the actual votes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">For a multitude of reasons legal and political, it will not happen.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Let me repeat that for you: it will not happen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Even the harebrained attempt Friday by members of the state legislature \u2013 including State Rep. Tim Hennessey (R-26) \u2014 calling on the Congress to set aside our vote \u2014 your vote \u2013 and elect Trump anyway is futile. I\u2019ll note Republicans in other states rejected the Trump claims of fraud, but Pennsylvania\u2019s legislative GOP, much like the old Merlino Crime Family, the gang who couldn\u2019t shoot straight, are rushing right in to embrace this stupidity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Democratic state Senate Leader Jay Costa summed it up this way on Twitter, Friday:<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cAny attempt to steal this election away from the winner chosen by voters is an act of sedition. Full stop,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Hard to argue, even if this effort is doomed to fail.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Lt. Gov. John Fetterman actually offered something like an explanation of why Republicans are acting like crackheads on Twitter:<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cIt must be said: it is tough being a Republican and telling the truth about this election. Many officials are even getting death threats \u2014 just look at Georgia. Virtually all are threatened with a primary for simply acknowledging that this was a fair, free election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Well, maybe, but the Irwin Mainway school of politics is getting pretty damn tiresome.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Consumer Probe: Irwin Mainway - SNL\" width=\"615\" height=\"461\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/veMiNQifZcM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Continuing to listen to this crap is a lot like finding The Big Bag of Broken Glass under the Christmas Tree.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Pennsylvania\u2019s legislature or the U.S. Congress won\u2019t be reversing the will of the people and changing the electors. The current slate of electors \u2014 including Chester County Commissioner Marion Moskowitz \u2014 won\u2019t be changing their votes.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Congress will go through a dog-and-pony show of challenging the results in various states, but will not intercede in the end, Republicans in the U.S. Senate have made that clear.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Biden will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2021 and will be president. Trump will have to face his own demons, history and likely, criminal charges.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">We know Trump is a self-absorbed egomaniac who won\u2019t stand down, even if convicted of various crimes, he\u2019ll claim he was unjustly convicted and robbed of his \u201crightful\u201d election \u2014 yet another lie.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The problem is with the enablers, like Rep. Hennessey, who should know better.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Hennessey and his colleagues know that there was no fraud \u2014 they\u2019ve presented no evidence. Aside from the lack of evidence, the claims that something happened in Philadelphia and other urban places where people of color vote, literally don\u2019t add up. Biden didn\u2019t do unusually well \u2013 in some cases, worse \u2013 in urban settings with large minority populations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">You want to know where Trump got his butt kicked? Here. In the suburbs, where educated, white folks basically said, \u201cenough.\u201d He lost Chester County by a whopping 17 points \u2013 and no one seems to be claiming fraud here. And it is those votes that Hennessey seeks to void \u2014 your vote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">When Hennessey took his oath of office, he pledged to protect and defend the Constitution. Signing this letter is literally trashing the Constitution, trashing democracy and our republic. He should have retired before this election cycle.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Now? He must resign. Immediately.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Chester County cannot have a representative in Harrisburg who does not respect our fundamental right to vote and select our leaders.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Hennessey has betrayed all of us and doesn\u2019t deserve the public trust. He must resign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\">***<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Meanwhile, COVID-19 is starting to burn through Chester County like a wildfire. the latest numbers show a testing positivity rate of 10.2% for the week of Nov. 27 through Dec. 3, up from 7.9% the week before. We\u2019re seeing about 200 new cases per day now, with an average of 89 people hospitalized in the county this past week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Still, Chester County is doing better than the rest of the state. More people wear masks and are being careful here. Statewide, we\u2019re averaging 48,000 new cases a week with an eye-popping 14.4% positive test rate statewide. There are counties in the middle of the state \u2014 where local and state officials resisted common sense behaviors such as masks and distancing \u2014 with positivity rates near 30%.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Thee are really bad numbers \u2014 and likely to grow. These numbers do not reflect the likely post-Thanksgiving spike, as people gathered for the holiday despite warnings not to do so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Already, neighboring counties Delaware and Montgomery are running out of Intensive Care Unit beds in their hospitals. Chester County is likely to have the same issue in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Honestly, we need more aggressive intervention from state and federal government, but we\u2019re not likely to get it. The state is unlikely to push for a widespread shut down of business \u2014 we probably can\u2019t even close restaurants and bars. Alleged pro-business groups in the county continue to scream for steering into the iceberg and we probably will \u2014 with the resulting illnesses, deaths and loss of local businesses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">As it begins to better register on people that eating at a restaurant or having a drink at a bar could literally kill them, these businesses will struggle to survive. We need federal intervention \u2014 cash \u2013 to keep them afloat until the late spring when enough of us will have had the vaccine to make eating and drinking in public safe again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">It seems unlikely to happen anytime soon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Those vaccines don\u2019t appear to be ready to bail us out in the coming weeks, as it appears that the Trump Administration is bungling the roll out of the vaccine \u2014 yet another mess that the Biden Administration will have to clean up in 2021.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">This is not going to end well, but it is going to end. We need to remember those who resisted common-sense solutions that could have made this much more survivable for our county\u2019s residents and small business owners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Until then, stay safe. Stay home, when you can. Wear a mask and keep as much distance as possible, when you can\u2019t. Don\u2019t travel or host big gatherings for Christmas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Please. Act like your life and those you love depend upon it.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Because it does.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa It\u2019s been a month since Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump for the presidency \u2014 as it turns out by some seven million votes and more than 70 electoral votes, the biggest win by a challenger for the presidency since Franklin Roosevelt defeated Herbert Hoover in 1932. And yet, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[138,12210,6722,11786,6269,11424,1085,12859,4214],"class_list":["post-33497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-chester-county","tag-covid-19","tag-donald-trump","tag-election-2020","tag-featured","tag-joe-biden","tag-legislature","tag-pagop","tag-state-rep-tim-hennessey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33497"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33498,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33497\/revisions\/33498"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}