From Fair Districts PA (http://www.fairdistrictspa.com):
If you haven’t, please sign the Fix Harrisburg petition at https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/fix-harrisburg/.
Last week an estimated 20 million Americans watched the eighth public hearing held by the January 6th Select Committee. As evidence accumulates, the danger to our nation, both past and present, becomes more clear.
Representative Liz Cheney, the formidable daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has repeatedly described the mob actions of January 6th as “the worst attack on this Capitol since 1814.”
But as Representative Adam Kinzinger made clear last Thursday evening, the danger goes beyond the physical harm, threatened and real, to capitol personnel, legislators and staff, and the capitol building itself.
In his final remarks, Rep. Kinzinger said the following:
The militant intolerant ideologies, the militias, the alienation and the disaffection, the weird fantasies and disinformation, they’re all still out there ready to go. That’s the elephant in the room. But if January 6th has reminded us of anything, I pray it reminded us of this: laws are just words on paper.
They mean nothing without public servants dedicated to the rule of law and who are held accountable by a public that believes oath matters. Oaths matter more than party tribalism or the cheap thrill of scoring political points. We the people must demand more of our politicians and ourselves.
Oaths matter. Character matters. Truth matters. If we do not renew our faith and commitment to these principles, this great experiment of ours, our shining beacon on a hill, will not endure.
The dangers Kinzinger warns of are all very much at work in Pennsylvania, dividing families and communities and threatening the health of PA’s representative government. There are reasons why PA was and is so vulnerable to threats to our democratic institutions: decades of gerrymandered districts, decades of an unaccountable legislature, and leaders willing to incite party tribalism rather than insist on truth and legislate for the good of all.
It’s important for Pennsylvanians to remember that our Commonwealth was one of just a handful of states pivotal to the plot to decertify the 2020 election. According to PennLive reporter Charles Thompson, “Pennsylvania – and Pennsylvanians – have figured pretty prominently in the proceeding thus far.”
NPR station WITF continues to report aspects of this continuing story: How Pennsylvania played a role in a fake elector scheme during the 2020 election. As part of a policy decision, WITF maintains a list of PA legislators connected with the election-fraud lie that fueled the January 6 attack.
Even before the 2020 election, PA legislative inaction was setting the groundwork for the storm our Commonwealth has suffered ever since. Former Representative Gene DiGirolamo predicted such a man-made storm months before the election and urged his former colleagues to take action to prevent it. The Pennsylvania Association of County Commissioners and former PA Governor Tom Ridge also sounded the alarm. The requested bipartisan solution, a simple bill allowing pre-canvassing of ballots before election day, was never enacted. Check our web update for more details.
Our legislators return in mid-September for a few short weeks of session before the November 8 election. From what committee leaders say, it’s unlikely a pre-canvas bill will be one of their priorities.
To repeat Rep. Kinzinger’s words: ”We the people must demand more of our politicians and ourselves.”
If you haven’t, please take time to watch the January 6th hearings.
If you haven’t, please sign the Fix Harrisburg petition.
And consider joining me for the monthly Zoom meeting August 1 at 7 pm for an update and conversation with FDPA leaders about ways to become more involved as volunteers. Democracy is NOT a spectator sport and we welcome your help and ideas. Register here.
Thank you for your part in demanding more of our politicians and ourselves.
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