This diary is about how progressives in PA are moving to blunt the impact of the 2010 elections in Pennsylvania.
Specifically, it focuses on strategies to fight any implementation of "Arizona" type immigration laws in the Keystone state - a probable major focus of Tea-Partier Daryl Metcalfe.
It quotes mainly from a e-mail I received from my sister. After reading it, I asked her if I could post it, with a few relevant YouTubes inserted. She cautioned me not to watch some of these on a full stomach. So if you're reading this at breakfast time, you may want to skip the videos.
Dear Progressive Dems,
As the new legislative session is not yet underway I thought it best to hold off on a discussion of state legislation until our February meeting, but then I took a look at the website of leading PA tea-party boy Daryl Metcalfe and thought an advance warning might be in order.
Rep. Metcalfe (Rep. Butler County) was a candidate for Lt. Governor last year. There are a lot of wacko Republicans in Harrisburg but Daryl has some national breakout potential. There are basically four points to his political philosophy:
- He hates immigrants:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/...
http://abovethelaw.com/...
http://www.nytimes.com/...
- And gays:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/...
http://gayrights.change.org/...
Pennsylvania State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe has led a continuous campaign against the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) people in Pennsylvania for ten years. He has called LGBT people sinful and not normal, and recently refused to honor the month of October as Domestic Violence Awareness month, because he thought doing so would cater to what he calls "the homosexual agenda."
- He loves guns:
http://www.repmetcalfe.com/...
- and Ronald Reagan too!
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/...
The item he got the most traction on in the last legislative session was his Arizona-style anti-immigration bill. It passed in the Republican Senate but the Democratically controlled house never let it out of committee and Ed Rendell promised that he would veto it if it ever passed. That was then. Now both houses are controlled by the Repubs and we have a Republican in the Governor's mansion. I think immigration will be his big play this session. It's the perfect wedge issue that hits a sore spot among independents and conservative Dems.
So as we get ready for the new legislative session, we might want to consider how best to organize to deal with the Repubs next move.
Amen!