#Doug Mastriano For Governor | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

selimislam · 2 years

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cazort · 2 years

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Wow, Josh Shapiro won the election in PA and it looks like he is winning by a landslide. Not all precincts have reported in, but the preliminary vote has him winning by more than +12%.

This is a really big deal because his opponent, Mastriano, was a Trump-endorsed candidate who bought into election conspiracies and held a large number of other extreme views. It's also a big deal because PA voted for Trump in 2016 and only narrowly voted for Biden in 2020. This means a lot of people who voted for Trump either voted for Shapiro or didn't vote. The nearly 2% going to third-party candidates may also reflect Republicans and GOP-leaning independents rejecting Mastriano. I'm hoping this will be the beginning of the end for GOP extremism.

It's also great news because Shapiro is just an all-around awesome person. I know someone who works directly under him and says he is really nice and easy to work with, and also really sincere and committed to doing his job. When he was attorney general, he worked to crack down on the Catholic Clergy child sex abuse scandals. He is progressive but also respectful to people with a range of political views, making him able to work effectively with Republicans.

He's a perfect choice to represent a "purple" state like Pennsylvania and I'm super excited to see him win, and to see the electorate reject GOP extremism.

#josh shapiro #pennsylvania #2022 elections #pa governor #governor election #politics #extremism #doug mastriano

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geezerwench · 2 years

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If You Need to Panic about DOJ’s Investigation into January 6, Panic First about Doug Mastriano

He wants to be the head fuhrer Christofascist of Pennsylvania

#doug Mastriano #DoJ #Department of Justice #Merrick Garland #gop #Rachel Maddow #candidate for Governor of Michigan #Ryan Kelley #Stop the Steal #Michigan #Washington DC #Donald Trump #the Chair of Nevada’s Republican Party #Michael McDonald #pennsylvania #PA

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gamer2002 · 1 year

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Residents would come to public meetings and read excerpts from books they wanted to ban, cherry-picking explicit passages so they could accuse the libraries of having pornographic material.

“They take ‘Genderqueer’ and they open it up to the page where there is a dildo blow job, but they don’t talk about the rest of the book or what the book is even about,” Smith said, referring to Maia Kobabe’s bestselling book that describes their journey to figuring out they’re nonbinary.

How dare they throw accusations of child grooming over pornographic content in the book.

#genderqueer #trans #lgbt #sjw #sjw bullshit #child grooming #grooming #us politics #us education #politics

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qqueenofhades · 2 years

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Another optimistic result from last night. Michigan's state legislature went blue for the first time since the Reagan administration. Dems were a superminority four years ago and now we run the entire state government, thanks in no small part to the independent redistricting commission that was created via a statewide ballot proposal in 2018.

We also passed a measure to protect abortion rights and broaden/strengthen voting rights. Basically, last night I had stress dreams all night about the end of democracy and I woke up to some good news. Things still aren't great and I'm anxious about races across the country, but I'm hopeful for the first time in a long time.

Michigan, Colorado, and Pennsylvania all had particularly good nights. Michigan Democrats won the governor and secretary of state races against cuckoo crazypants Q-challengers, protected abortion access, flipped the legislature, and expanded voting rights and access. In Colorado, all the Democratic incumbents won in a walk and might get an extra House seat from newly created CO-8. The biggest news there is that MAGA Barbie Lauren Boebert is still behind by about ~3500 votes in CO-3 with almost all the votes in. This is a R+9 district and shouldn't even be close. In Pennsylvania, Fetterman picked up a Senate seat for the Democrats despite all the doom and gloom and the intense GOP focus on Dr. Quack, Democrat Josh Shapiro easily beat MAGA lunatic Doug Mastriano for governor, and the state legislature is agonisingly close to flipping Democrat or at least almost even control.

Other morning-after thoughts from about four and a half hours of sleep:

As I said last night, the Democrats and Florida are Charlie Brown and the football. This isn't entirely their fault, as DeSantis has made it into his personal fiefdom and redrew the already-red maps to be EVEN MORE RED, threatened voters with his own goon squad, and otherwise turned it into Fascist Disneyland, literally. He cruised to re-election (ugh), but we still don't know how that plays outside his carefully curated media bubble where he only does interviews with right wing hacks like Fox and never answers tough questions. Lil Marco Rubio likewise beat Val Demings. Double ugh. So yeah, Florida Democrats are MIA. At least we got the first Gen Z member of Congress, 25 year old Democrat Maxwell Frost.

Whatever its untapped demographics, and unfair restrictions from obviously nonsensical voting laws, on the institutional level, Texas is not a blue state either. It just isn't. Beto ran a good campaign, but yet again, it wasn't close and Texas is just... Texas.

Hey anyone else think we should just let Florida and Texas secede?

However, my heartfelt sympathies to sane Floridans and Texans who worked hard but still had to see the same old crazy win.

Ohio and North Carolina also had Republicans win their Senate races. Tim Ryan and Cherie Beasley ran strong campaigns but it wasn't enough to overcome the increasing reddish tilt of those states (especially Ohio, which is also starting to look lost for the foreseeable future). However, they were both replacing retiring Republicans, so no change as far as the balance of power. Still despicable that that carpetbagging hack JD Vance is in the Senate, though.

Jury is still out in Arizona, where both Democratic governor and Senate candidates have narrow leads (governor more narrow), but if Katie Hobbs and Mark Kelly can pull this out, every single MAGA election denier candidate for governor/SOS will have lost.

That is GOOD NEWS for democracy.

Swingy Nevada is still looking dicey, though. As expected, its Democratic governor and Senate incumbent are behind after Election Day vote counting. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto is in a slightly better position than Governor Steve Sisolak. If big blue Clark County (Vegas) delivers its usual tranches of Democratic mail vote, they could both still probably win (CCM somewhat more likely since her deficit is smaller), but Nevada kept us anxiously waiting for days on end and seems fully set to do it again.

If Senate control comes down to yet another Georgia runoff between Raphael Warnock and Herschel "Me Good At Concussions And Abortions" Walker, I am going to scream.

Warnock is ahead but probably not enough to avoid a runoff under Georgia's ludicrous Jim Crow Senate rules where a candidate has to reach 50% to win outright.

Stacey Abrams also lost again to Brian Kemp. Ugh.

New York Democrats won the governor, AG, and Senate races, in not too much surprise but some of the late polling was close. They've had some struggles in suburban and rural NY, though managed to keep Pat Ryan's seat from the recent special election.

Way too many white people are still voting for Republicans, with the noted exception of 18-29 year olds, the only white age demographic to vote Democratic (by almost 2 to 1).

Looking at the data, 18-29 year olds from all demographics voting Blue are quite probably the only reason there wasn't a red wave. Good job, guys. I give you a lot of stick on here, but well done.

God, when will all those old white Republicans finally croak. They vote like clockwork every time and it's always bad.

Abortion access won everywhere it was on the ballot, including in deep red Kentucky (not overturning the current ban, alas, but rejecting a state constitutional amendment to ban it). Abortion rights are popular! Who knew.

This is an absolutely stunningly good result for an incumbent president's first midterm in any year, let alone with 8.5% inflation, economic pain, crazy fascists, and all the rest. Obama lost 63 House seats in 2010. So far, there hasn't really been a major change, and we still don't know who will control the House, after a lot of doomsters were insisting it would be Republican by 9pm ET on election night.

Democratic incumbents also won several tough re-election races in seats they would probably have lost in a red wave year.

Sarah Palin appears likely to lose in Alaska for the second time in three months. HA.

Trump was by no means the kingmaker. Almost all of his handpicked candidates have lost, with the exception of Vance in Ohio. Jury still out on Laxalt in Nevada (come THROUGH for CCM, Vegas, PLEASE).

Midterms are now not quite over, but at least moving to the rear view mirror. So when is Trump gonna get fucking indicted. That is the major next step on the Save Democracy checklist.

I likewise didn't think it would happen right after the midterms, regardless of who won; early 2023 remains my best guess. But also, like. Soon, please??

Anyway. If we lose the House (still not for sure) but keep the Senate, we can at least continue to confirm judges and other such important things. Having a tiny Republican majority (bleck) in the House would at least make it more difficult for them to do anything outrageously stupid, or at least have it succeed, as they would be sure to waste everyone's time with pointless stunts anyway.

Meh.

Still, though. By any metric, a big failure for Republicans, considering what their expectations were and how goddamn hard the media tried to help them at every turn, and a good showing for democracy as Democratic control was retained in key swing states and election deniers did not win any of their targets.

Stay tuned for more Election PutinDestielNevadaNovember5th...uh...8th redux!!!

UGH, NOT AGAIN.

#liptonrm #ask #politics for ts

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oldguardleatherdog · 10 months

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How And Why We're Getting "Christian Reconstructed" Out Of Civil Society: An LGBTQ+ Activist's Guide To Action

This is based on my response to a recent Reddit post about the New Apostolic Reformation/Dominionist/Christian Reconstructionist political movement that's behind anti-trans, anti-drag, anti-LGBTQ+ laws, parental rights, systematic destruction of libraries, book bans, harassment of librarians and teachers, the "don't say gay" movement, the 303 Creative Supreme Court "right to discriminate" decision, school board takeovers, curriculum cleansing, the antics of Roger Stone and General Flynn, and every other damn thing that's making our lives hell in America. Here's how to understand the whole toxic mess so we can fight these jackals off, protect ourselves, claw back our rights, and put this movement down for good.

7 Mountains: Gotta Catch 'Em All! "There's no reasoning with these people and their cultish beliefs," many people are saying, and I think it helps to understand the source of those beliefs in order to fight effectively against the tide of hatred that is on the brink of destroying what's left of our rights and freedoms in this country.

I grew up Fundamentalist Evangelical in the 1960s and 70s. Looking back, the seeds of today's poison were being planted even then in ways that were subtly but unmistakably aligned with the New Apostolic Reformation ("NAR"), the movement based on Dominionist "7 Mountains" Christian nationalism that's the driving force behind Moms for Liberty, Gen. Flynn and Roger Stone, the Alliance Defending Freedom (the org that brought the anti-LGBTQ+ web designer to the Supreme Court), Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA, the GOP candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania last election cycle (Mastriano), and more. (Check out Jennifer Cohn, jennycohn1 on Twitter, a journalist whose coverage of Christian Nationalism is amazing and essential.)

Evangelical involvement in politics was minimal until the rise of Ronald Reagan, Jerry Falwell, and the "Moral Majority" in 1981. In the 42 years since, it's been a steady march to bring the seeds planted in us kids in the 1970s to today's hideous bloom.

I don't adhere to those beliefs, but I have a deep native knowledge of their intent and the ways believers are impelled by them to make these laws and file these lawsuits and elect slavering semi-sane madmen to power and stoke cultural panic.

These people aren't just getting started - they've got traction, scalps on their belt already, and they're gaining steam and hungry for more.

NAR Christians (such as Ginni and Clarence Thomas, Sen. Ted Cruz' father Rafael, former Rep. Michelle Bachmann, failed GOP candidate for governor of Pennsylvania Doug Mastriano, Jan. 6 co-conspirator Phil Waldron, General Mike Flynn, insurrectionist Roger Stone, and the Moms For Liberty) believe that it's their Divine Mission to prepare the nation and the world to become the Kingdom of God.

This is called "post-millennialism" - the term for the set of beliefs upon which the NAR is based and that drives its adherents. NAR believes that we are in the End Times as foretold in Scripture, and that today's Christians are commanded by the Lord to do everything humanly possible in pursuit of one singular goal: to bring God’s kingdom to pass on Earth and prepare the way for Christ's return. Viewed for decades as a far-out fringe heretical movement populated by apostates and quacks, these zealots will stop at nothing to bring this to pass.

See all the "cleansing" that's going on now? Roe v. Wade overturned, the abortion bans, the trans bans, the anti-drag laws, books being pulled from school shelves, public libraries being shuttered and defunded, anti-immigrant laws, the Twitter takeover and its right-wing reformation - the list goes on. This is ALL a direct result of the NAR/Christian Reconstructionist influence and the untold dark-money billions and shadowed billionaires that finance it.

We're in a very dark and deep hole, as a country, as a culture. But we're not helpless. We start by arming ourselves with knowledge, by reading and heeding the reporting of Jenny Cohn and Bruce Wilson and Kira Resistance on Twitter and in the Bucks County (PA) Record reporting from the epicenter of Dominionist/NAR politics, take action online and in the places where we live. In today's world, we can be activists and influencers for good without having to leave the house, and if you want to protest in person or march in support of the cause, you won't be alone.

There are movements and organizations gathering steam in our community that have been preparing for action and are ready to launch. Some are more visible than others, but all are made up of committed activists, funders, legal advisors, and LGBTQ+ citizens who are tired of being abused by these people and the violence (literal and legislative) against us. Old-line AIDS activists like me are disgusted at the sight of our life's work and our decades of progress being rolled back and obliterated seemingly overnight. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are just not having it and are rightly pissed off by what's shaping up to be a bleak future.

It's not going to be easy or quick, but I know there are enough good people among us to hold back the worst of the current moment, rebuke and reverse the legislative oppression and physical danger, restore full access to HRT and gender-affirming care, roll back the "abortion bounty" laws and support vulnerable individuals and families with assistance and relocation, claw back and secure the civil rights that have been stolen from us, and restore light to our country, our culture, our lives, and our future.

I'm engaged in this fight, and after nearly 40 years of activism I've never been more lit up with passion and determination than at this moment. This fight is winnable. You're needed now. Watch this space for opportunities where your presence, your effort, your voice is wanted and will be welcomed, and feel free to message me with your questions, ideas, activist resources needed or offered, organizations you know of that need support, general questions, strategic advice, and words of encouragement you wish to give or need to hear. Let's gooooooooo

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robertreich · 2 years

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The Election Deniers on the Ballot: What You Need to Know

Donald Trump and his MAGA Republicans allies who tried to overturn the 2020 election results are now just one step away from taking control of the election process itself.

BUT we can stop them if we turn out in full force for November’s midterms.

If we don’t stop them from taking over the election process, we can kiss what’s left of our democracy goodbye.

This fall, 60% of voters will have an election denier on their ballot, including key battleground states that decided the 2020 election and will be pivotal in 2024. Many are running for positions like secretary of state, where they'll have power to determine which votes get counted in future elections — and which don't.

In 37 states, secretaries of state are the chief elections officers — overseeing things like election infrastructure and voter registration. In 2020, they were the last line of defense for our fragile democracy, upholding Joe Biden’s win despite heavy pressure from proponents of Trump's Big Lie.

But now, Big Lie proponents are vying to hold this key position in important swing states.

In Michigan, the GOP candidate for Secretary of State is Kristina Karamo — who rose to prominence in conservative circles after claiming to have witnessed election fraud as a pollster. She’s also previously claimed that Trump won the 2020 election and that Antifa was behind the January 6th insurrection.

In Arizona, Mark Finchem, a QAnon-supporting member of the Oath Keepers militia who participated in the January 6 insurrection cruised to victory in the GOP primary by claiming that “Donald Trump won.”

In Nevada, Jim Marchant won his Republican primary by making Trump's baseless claims of election fraud a cornerstone of his campaign. He also falsely claims that mail-in voting is rife with fraud and wants to eliminate it altogether in Nevada, despite the fact that he himself has voted by mail MULTIPLE times over the years.

We simply cannot have MAGA election deniers overseeing any element of our elections.

But it’s not just secretaries of state who will be able to pull trickery in future elections. Governors also play a critical role in certifying votes and upholding the will of the people. Which is precisely why Trump and Steve Bannon have had their eyes on running election deniers in these races.

In Pennsylvania, Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano — who was also at the Capitol on January 6th and has been subpoenaed by Congress for his involvement in the insurrection — helped lead the push to overturn the state’s 2020 results. If he wins, Mastriano would appoint Pennsylvania’s top election official.

In Arizona, GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake has said she does not recognize Joe Biden as the nation’s legitimate president — adding that she would not have certified Arizona’s 2020 election results had she been governor.

In Wisconsin, Tim Michels is the Trump backed candidate for governor who still questions the results of 2020 and won’t say whether he would certify the 2024 presidential election. Right now, elections in Wisconsin are administered by the bipartisan Wisconsin Election Commission. But if Michels wins, he supports scrapping the commission in favor of a plan that could tilt oversight of the state’s elections into the hands of Wisconsin Republicans.

These extremist gubernatorial candidates also support abortion bans, openly denegrate the LGBTQ community, oppose common sense gun-control measures, and want to chip away at the rights of workers.

Ultimately, if any of these candidates wins their election this fall — governors or secretaries of state — that could be enough to tip the balance in a tight presidential election.

So how can we fight back?

First, spread the word about the GOP's extremist plans to capture the election process and entrench minority rule. Make sure your friends and family — especially young voters — know what’s at stake in the midterms this fall. It will mean a lot coming from you. Make sure they register AND vote down the entire ballot.

Next, get involved locally. Volunteer to be a poll worker or join a campaign for a candidate running to protect democracy where you live. From school boards to secretaries of state, every position matters.

And of course, vote! Check your registration early and make a plan to cast your ballot.

The future of our country and our basic rights hang in the balance. All progress rests on maintaining our democracy. Let's get to work.

#youtube #video #videos #politics #election #2022 #donald trump #maga

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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 1 year

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A GOP fundraising event in New Hampshire was interrupted Friday evening after two protesters ran onto the stage and yelled "Jews against DeSantis" while Governor Ron DeSantis spoke at the podium.

The Amos Tuck Dinner, hosted by the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, featured DeSantis as the headline speaker.

The nonprofit behind the action, IfNotNow, said in a press release sent to Insider that the protest was meant to bring attention to the Governor's policies as well as his upcoming planned trip to Israel. The country is responsible for "increased violence towards Palestinians," the group said.

IfNotNow describes itself as "a movement of American Jews organizing our community to end US support for Israel's apartheid system."

In a video posted to Twitter, two people with signs reading "Ron DeSantis: Loves Israel, Hates Jews" briefly make it on stage before immediately being grabbed by security and escorted away from the Governor.

In the video, DeSantis can be seen brushing off the encounter and questioning why the protesters spent money on tickets for the event, which started at $150 per person.

"You've gotta have a little spice in the speech. You got to have a little fun," DeSantis said, as the pair were directed away from the governor.

Jewish rights groups have long called out DeSantis for his failure to immediately condemn neo-Nazis who showed up at a 2022 rally, his promotion of antisemitic conspiracy theories about billionaire George Soros, and his association with politician Doug Mastriano.

DeSantis has also previously dubbed himself the most "pro-Israel Governor in America."

A representative for DeSantis and the New Hampshire Republican Party did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. A representative for IfNotNow did not immediately respond to questions sent by Insider. When reached by phone, the DoubleTree by Hilton in Manchester, where the event was hosted, declined to comment.

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socialjusticeinamerica · 1 year

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Jan 6th terrorist who organized busses of insurgents and attended the attack himself.

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mariacallous · 2 years

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Pennsylvania’s Democratic Governor-elect Josh Shapiro does not care if his Republican challenger, Doug Mastriano, ever calls him to concede the race, he told CNN Sunday.

“Who cares if he calls, right?” Shapiro said on "State of the Union," days after his win in the Keystone state’s gubernatorial race. The Democrat earned 56.2% of the vote, as CNN reported.

“He doesn’t get to pick the winner, the people pick the winner, and in a resounding way they made clear that they wanted me to lead this commonwealth forward,” Shapiro told CNN’s Dana Bash. “I could care less if the guy calls me.”

Shapiro said his campaign’s success came from connecting with voters in often forgotten areas across rural, suburban and urban parts of the commonwealth.

“We showed up and treated people with respect,” Shapiro said. “We showed them how we’re going to make their lives better.”

Shapiro thanked President Joe Biden for encouraging Pennsylvanians to get out to the polls.

Shapiro also dodged questioning from Bash about throwing his hat in the ring as a future presidential contender.

“Dana,” Shapiro said. “I have an ambition to get a little bit of sleep.”

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protoslacker · 1 year

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This End Times movement is well underway and is being felt throughout society. At least since the January 6th insurrection, there’s wide recognition that the stability of constitutional democracy is at stake. Less well recognized (although reported here at RD) is the role of NAR in the events leading up to January 6th. Even less well known is how NAR theology makes it politically tick. But sound knowledge of these formidable opponents of democracy is simply not optional in this volatile time.

Frederick Clarkson and André Gagné in Religion Dispatches. The Spirit of January 6th: The Theology of This Seldom Discussed Movement Animates the Growing Threat to US Democracy

It is an election day here in Pennsylvania. Doug Mastriano did not win his 2022 bid for Governor, but he garnered a whole lot of votes. I got a sinking feeling every time I saw someone wearing an "I Voted" sticker. NAR stand for New Apostolic Reformation and this article is a good introduction to it and its threat to democracy not just here in Pennsylvania, but across the country and even internationally.

#religion #politics #christian nationalism #new apostolic reformation

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liberaleffects · 2 years

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Every citizen of Pennsylvania needs to see this. No extremist can be allowed into political office. Especially this guy. ..

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rapeculturerealities · 2 years

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Pennsylvania Republicans Introduce Extreme 'Don't Say Gay' Bill

It is patterned after the Florida bill, but mine goes further,” Republican Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, the legislation’s lead sponsor, said at a rally at the state capitol Tuesday, Harrisburg’s Patriot-News reports.

Her bill, House Bill 2813, would stipulate that public and charter schools “may not offer instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity to a student in kindergarten through fifth grade.” The Florida law, which went into effect this year, bans instruction on these topics in grades K-3 and says any lessons in higher grades must be age-appropriate.

Borowicz said she ideally would like the prohibition to go through 12th grade. “It really needs to be protected up through 12th grade; we need to go all the way,” she told reporters at the rally. She endorsed a similar measure in the state Senate, SB 1278, “which would allow schools to be sued for material that is ‘not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate”’ at any grade level,” the Patriot-News notes.

SB 1278 has passed the Senate, but Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has promised to veto it or any bill like it, including HB 2813, which he said “denies humanity by reinforcing homophobic ideologies,” according to news site Local Today. Wolf is not up for reelection this year due to term limits, but the Democratic nominee for governor, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, opposes this type of legislation as well. Lawmakers should stop “wasting time and tax dollars on these attempts to bully LGBTQ Pennsylvanians,” a spokesperson for Shapiro’s campaign told Local Today.

However, the Republican nominee for governor, Doug Mastriano, attended the rally to voice support for HB 2813, SB 1278, and restrictions on LGBTQ+ content in general, the Patriot-News reports. Mastriano is a close ally of Donald Trump.

#Pennsylvania #don't say gay #Homophobia #LGBTQIA #Lgbtq youth #Borowicz

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angesaurus · 2 years

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I cannot wait until election day is over 😂 PA is such a shit show 😂 like I literally just heard a commercial that said “John fetterman - will let killers kill again” 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Like I can’t believe my choices are John fetterman or Dr freaking Oz????????? And then Doug Mastriano or Josh freaking Shapiro for governor?????? I promised myself like 5 years ago I would NEVER vote for Josh Shapiro because he was for a thing that would affect my family very badly…. And now I’m going to have to vote for him because Doug M is a psychopath.

Why are all political candidates clowns!!!!!!

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kp777 · 9 months

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By Jake Johnson

Common Dreams

Sept. 20, 2023

"If automatic registration can make the voter rolls more accurate and make the system of enrollment and registration more efficient and user-friendly," argued one observer, "that could make voters less susceptible to that sort of demagoguery."

Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Tuesday that unless they deliberately opt out, eligible residents of the key battleground state will now be automatically registered to vote when they obtain or renew their driver's license or ID, a step that voting rights groups applauded as a win for democracy—and an important counter to right-wing election deniers.

An estimated 8.7 million Pennsylvanians were registered to vote last year but more than 10.3 million were eligible to register, a gap that Shapiro said automatic voter registration (AVR) could help to fill by removing unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.

"Pennsylvania is the birthplace of our democracy, and as governor, I'm committed to ensuring free and fair elections that allow every eligible voter to make their voice heard," said Shapiro, who timed the announcement to coincide with National Voter Registration Day. "Automatic voter registration is a commonsense step to ensure election security and save Pennsylvanians time and tax dollars."

"Residents of our Commonwealth already provide proof of identity, residency, age, and citizenship at the DMV—all the information required to register to vote—so it makes good sense to streamline that process with voter registration," he added. "My administration will keep taking innovative actions like this one to make government work better and more efficiently for all Pennsylvanians."

As The Washington Post's Greg Sargent noted in a column Tuesday, the governor's move comes as the Pennsylvania GOP "continues to elevate election deniers to positions of local importance, in effect feeding doubts about the state's voting system itself."

Shapiro defeated election denier Doug Mastriano, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, in Pennsylvania's gubernatorial race last year.

"If automatic voter registration is well received in Pennsylvania, it could act as an antidote to that MAGA mania," Sargent argued. "That's because efforts to weaken public confidence in elections often seek to exploit existing public beliefs that the system is cumbersome and prone to human error and hacking, even if those beliefs are wrong. If automatic registrationcan make the voter rolls more accurate and make the system of enrollment and registration more efficient and user-friendly, that could make voters less susceptible to that sort of demagoguery."

Shapiro's office pointed to a 2021 study by the Public Policy Institute of California showing that early state adopters of AVR have seen significant boosts to registration and higher voter turnout.

With Pennsylvania included, two dozen U.S. states and Washington, D.C. have implemented some form of AVR, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Kadida Kenner, CEO of the New Pennsylvania Project (NPP), celebrated Shapiro's announcement as a step that "will undoubtedly help to close the voter registration gap, especially in communities of color where the gap is most pronounced."

"NPP looks forward to continuing our year-round work of civic education, voter registration, mobilization, and advocating for additional necessary steps to improve Pennsylvanians' access to democracy such as same-day voter registration and true early voting," Kenner added.

#pennsylvania #automatic voter registration #josh shapiro

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bighermie · 2 years

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'The Only Way Democrats Win This Time Is If They Cheat': Former NYC Police Commissioner

‘The Only Way Democrats Win This Time Is If They Cheat’: Former NYC Police Commissioner https://link.theepochtimes.com/mkt_app/the-only-way-democrats-win-this-time-is-if-they-cheat-former-nyc-police-commissioner_4829236.html?utm_source=andshare

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