Another week goes by and we get another happy Facebook report from our happy Congressman Fitzpatrick. More photo-ops with smiling faces and happy people abound. Our happy leader is obviously oblivious to the many crises facing our country today. Most of these assaults on our freedoms, rights and first principles are principally due to the zombie legacy of the twice impeached former president who lost the popular vote twice, but still was able to pack the Supreme Court with enough radical right-wing ideologues who now are turning back to prior centuries the progress we have made in a variety of arenas critical to our nation’s well-being. Having a razor thin “majority” in the Senate doesn’t help either.
SCOTUS has attacked women’s reproductive freedom in taking away a right every woman possessed for 50 years by reversing a half century of settled case law and jettisoning us back to the deadly for women previous century. Since their decision was also an attack on privacy, what is now on the horizon are attacks against any other right which rests on the principle of privacy such as the right to use contraception or the right to gay marriage. Backwards we go.
SCOTUS has attacked everyone’s right to safety in schools, supermarkets, movie theaters and any public space by affirming the right of any citizens to carry weapons of death anywhere and also doing nothing to restrict the presence of deadly weapons of war on our streets. The gun industry celebrates while parents mourn for their dead children.
SCOTUS has attacked the fundamental principle of the separation of church and state by allowing prayer on public school grounds at a public school event and has allowed public funding of religious schools in Maine. Are we theocracy bound? Which God will win the contest?
SCOTUS has delivered a severe blow to our battle against life-killing climate change by severely restricting the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing regulations to energy industries without specific legislation from Congress (and we all know how fast Congress comes to agreement on legislation). What is now on the horizon are further attacks on government agencies which exist to protect the general health and welfare of ordinary citizens. You are all on your own now!
Republican state legislatures across the nation are issuing legislation that restricts accessibility to voting and allows legislative and administrative interference into how votes are tallied. Meanwhile, Republican leaders either actively promote or say nothing to contradict the Big Lie that the former president won the last election with the result that millions of Republicans actually believe that President Biden is not the true president of the United States. These lies weaken our democracy every day as millions of Republicans, despite the evidence presented to their eyes and ears, believe that what happened on January 6, 2021 was “legitimate political discourse” and not an attack on our Capitol Building that wounded and killed brave Capitol Police officers in a disgraceful and seditious attempt to thwart the peaceful transfer of presidential power in our embattled democracy.
But judging from Congressman Fitzpatrick’s Facebook feed, he thinks like Mad Magazine’s Alfred E. Neumann: “What?, Me Worry?” Let’s all keep smiling, take some happy pictures and keep drinking the happy juice while our nation burns.
We desperately need a leader who is willing to face these problems head on with a clear-eyed vision of what they truly are: fundamental existential threats to our democracy, our freedoms, and our very existence on this planet. That’s where we need you so desperately to do your part. Democrats must win in November. The Republican Party has clearly gone off the rails.
Yet, I see two losing trends emerging in both the left- and center-wings of the Democratic Party. In the last election many registered Democrats actually split their ticket, voting for President Biden and for Congressman Fitzpatrick. They evidently bought into his facade of being a moderate Republican despite his voting record of so often voting for the Trump agenda on critical issues and his failure to vote to impeach Trump twice. We have seen how little compromising is done with this radical Republican Party on critical issues. If we lose control of the House, there will be no compromise whatsoever, but only an endless stream of even more radical legislation and an endless news cycle of Benghazi-like phony conspiracy hearings. Get ready for a 24 by 7 Hunter Biden show on the nightly news. Voters in PA-01 have the opportunity to help keep the House in Democratic hands by firing Congressman Fitzpatrick just like we helped to fire Donald Trump. It’s up to you. No more split tickets, please.
Also, I am again hearing despair from some in the left-wing of the Democratic Party that since the current Democratic leadership is losing so many battles, why even should they bother to vote for Democrats again? This is the same cynicism that emerged in 2016 when many Democrats who thought Hillary was not progressively pure enough either stayed home and failed to vote or wasted their vote on a third party candidate. Such cynicism resulted in four years of a devastating Trump presidency and three Supreme Court picks that is now manifesting itself in a terrible reactionary devastation to our progressive principles. Do not fall into that trap again in November. Vote. Democracy, women’s freedom, and the ability of our planet to sustain life are on the line.
Refusal to participate at all or unwisely during this critical time is to me complicity in the bad decisions that will be unleashed if we fail to win. Democracy can be wonderful because it gives each of us the possibility to shape our country for the common good. Democracy can also be terrifying because if we abdicate our responsibility or if we choose poorly (based on lies or the lure of a narcissistic authoritarian), we run the risk of destroying the common good and even our very democracy. So now more than ever is the time to exercise your right to participate in the political process. Vote for every Democratic candidate in 2024 so that the radical reactionary Republican agenda can be defeated. You know the problem now so accept the responsibility to act to solve it.
Vote Democratic in 2022.
