Posted on 09/24/2020 7:01:00 PM PDT by lightman
Gov. Tom Wolf is accusing the GOP-controlled General Assembly of acting irresponsibly in ways that will harm Pennsylvanians at a time when he is trying to save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At a Thursday news conference that was billed as focusing on government reform and COVID-19 mitigation efforts, the governor spent a good part of the time criticizing lawmakers for pursuing “dangerous legislation” this week.
He was referring to the House’s failed attempt on Wednesday to override his veto of a bill that would have allowed local school officials to set attendance limits at sporting events and extra-curricular activities.
Additionally, both chambers this week passed legislation with strong bipartisan support to relax rules on restaurants and bars to help this financially struggling industry. It would allow them to expand their capacity, permit seating at the bar, and lift a requirement for a food purchase to buy alcohol. Wolf has said he will veto this bill as well.
“This irresponsible behavior simply has to stop,” Wolf said at the news conference held outside the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Susquehanna Township. “This is not the time for grandstanding. This is the time for doing things that are actually going to help people and save lives.”
Spokespeople for the state House and Senate Republican caucuses rejected Wolf’s remarks and called on the governor to work with lawmakers instead of acting on his own. They criticized Wolf for governing through news conferences to call on the Legislature to act on a particular issue, instead of working with lawmakers to find ways to compromise on them.
“He has held more than 15 press conferences since Aug. 1 and has not once talked with Republican legislative leaders himself,” said Senate GOP spokeswoman Jenn Kocher. “His continued posture is holding Pennsylvania back.”
Kocher added Wolf calling the high school sports bill “dangerous shows how out of touch Governor Wolf really is.”
The only communication that House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre County, has had with the governor were ones Benninghoff or the lawmaker’s staff initiated to assist with the release of federal CARES Act dollars to Lebanon County that Wolf withheld for violating his closure order, said House GOP spokesman Jason Gottesman.
“This has been a one-way street with us trying to work with them and them trying to do nothing but disparage and attack us publicly,” he said.
What’s more, Gottesman said it is disingenuous for the governor to stand before the media and “call on us to stop grandstanding while he is literally grandstanding.”
Wolf defended his news conferences, saying, “I believe that free press deserves to hear directly” from him. He further denied that there has been a lack of dialogue between himself and the GOP leaders.
He said he couldn’t recall the last time he spoke with them but said it wasn’t that long ago.
“I have them on speed dial. They have me on speed dial. We have all kinds of opportunities to talk together. I think that’s a red herring,” Wolf said. “I think we can all agree that’s a lame excuse.”
Besides, he said his chief of staff and their staffs talk daily, if not hourly.
Both Gottesman and Kocher denied that to be the case.
Along with lambasting the General Assembly for “wasting time fighting against public health measures,” the governor called on them enact some government reform measures.
They include putting in place a gift ban for all public employees as he has done for those under his jurisdiction; requiring public officials to disclose outside income sources, amounts, and the work done to receive it; and imposing limits on campaign contributions.
“These reforms are needed to restore confidence in government and curtail the role of campaign spending in the political process,” he said.
Suzanne Almeida, interim director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, said these proposed reforms "allow transparency, sunlight, and remove the appearance of impropriety and help restore Pennsylvanians' confidence in our democratic system.”
He’s angry because two days ago (Tuesday) a Judge DENIED him the stay he wanted, that his demands were unconstitutional.
Levines death house for the elderly and the rioters and looters in the streets with no masks yeah hes doing a great job of protecting Pennsylvanians from the china flu
Scratch that. I transposed. I read HOSPITALIZED as DEATHS.
CDC says:
From April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, CDC estimated there were 60.8 million cases (range: 43.3-89.3 million), 274,304 hospitalizations (range: 195,086-402,719), and 12,469 deaths (range: 8868-18,306) in the United States due to the (H1N1)pdm09 virus.
Also:
“The United States mounted a complex, multi-faceted and long-term response to the pandemic, summarized in The 2009 H1N1 Pandemic: Summary Highlights, April 2009-April 2010. On August 10, 2010, WHO declared an end to the global 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. However, (H1N1)pdm09 virus continues to circulate as a seasonal flu virus, and cause illness, hospitalization, and deaths worldwide every year.”
Do you remember any of this? “The United States mounted a complex, multi-faceted and long-term response to the pandemic...” I sure don’t. Wonder why? ;)
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/2009-h1n1-pandemic.html
Because the government figured, per Obama and the CDC’s usual response at the time, that they did what they could do under their control. People were vaccinated, so it was considered alright. And the political party in power as well.
Rioters can wear all the masks they want. Still dangerous and damaging.
Did the men chasing after Kyle Rittenhouse have masks on during the confrontation?
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