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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Tuesday, May 04, 2021

Vote Yes on Statewide Ballot Questions

Voters will decide on four statewide ballot questions, including three changes to Pa's Constitution, on May 18. You can see the ballot questions and a "plain English statement" at the state elections webpage. All voters, including independents, can vote on these questions. I believe you should vote YES to them all. 

Two of the questions are noncontroversial. One enshrines protections against racial and ethnic discrimination. Another makes it easier for volunteer fire and EMS companies to apply for loans through state-run programs. Neither of these has any opposition. 

Two questions limiting the Governor's emergency powers are controversial. One would give the state legislature the power to terminate, by simple majority, a Governor's disaster declaration  The other would limit an emergency to 21 days, unless the legislature agrees to extend it. 

These latter two limitations on Executive power are opposed by the Governor, unsurprisingly, and most Democrats. This opposition is a mistake.

For too long, and at all levels of government, legislatures have been far too complacent in the exercise of executive authority. But this country was founded on a disdain for a monarchy.

The framers of the US Constitution believed that concentration of power in one branch of government poses an "extraordinary threat to individual liberty." James Madison, in Federalist No. 47, states, "The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, . . . may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."

Thomas Jefferson warned that "concentrating [all the powers of government] in the same hands is precisely the definition of despotic government."

This is what we experienced last year. It makes no difference that this concentration of power was supposedly for our own good. Had Governor Wolf reached out to the legislature, as he should have, his bitter pills would have been easier to swallow. 

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Voted NO on all of them

Anonymous said...

"Had Governor Wolf reached out to the legislature, as he should have, his bitter pills would have been easier to swallow."
And the Republican led legislature did nothing but use the pandemic as an political attack on Wolf.
Initially what Covid was the mantra. denial was the name of the game.
At best they stirred up the armed thugs at the State capital and they did not even have the nerve to show up there and state their case.
Lastly when the ship hits an iceberg you have one Captain not fourteen captains.
Or the entire crew.

Anonymous said...

I suggest similar logic be applied to Federal Government administrative rulings. Things are getting a little questionable there, to say the least.

Anonymous said...

I agree with 6:43. The "let's all just get along for the greater good" ship sailed years ago and was torpedoed and sunk with the 16' election. Where Obstruction is the name of the game 21 days to fix a problem that has lasted over a year is not going to cut it. If an elected official was using their powers to stop a fair election, yes I would be very concerned, but as long as the majority (at least in state elections) still has the power to vote our governor in or out then we must hope we have a competent leader for 4 years.

Anonymous said...

Wolf issued authoritarian edicts that lacked any scientific or mathematical basis. These edicts destroyed the state economy. He joked about masks being political theater and rushed out to attend crowded political rallies while telling us to remain under house arrest. His overweight and utterly unqualified health secretary issued hilariously incorrect and inconsistent numbers with a straight face, on a daily basis. Remember souls being brought back from the dead every week or two? How about his edict for LTCFs to accept CoViD positive patients? He killed people. The initial vaccine rollout was one of the worst in the country. No governor should ever again be given this much authority to cause this much damage for political reasons. Wolf is the poster boy for restricting executive authoritarian power.

Anonymous said...

@ 10:56

Drink kool-aid much?

Anonymous said...

Executive branches of government are evolving into on man rule. They ignore legislatures. You still protect your favorite authoritarian n the county as he doe what he wants and then just gets a pass. Time to shake things up.

Anonymous said...

10.56
so tell me what the republican led legislature did to remedy this problem?
https://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/legislative-oversight-of-executive-orders.aspx
"The General Assembly by concurrent resolution may terminate a state of disaster emergency at any time."
The republican's used Covid for political attacks against Wolf.
They were gutless.

Anonymous said...

Voted no. One can only imagine the toll if the Trump Republicans had it their way. Thank God we didn't have Ron DeSantis as our Governor.

Anonymous said...

Amend the Home Rule Charter to get rid of the King Executive. Not needed. Jus more corruption in one person.

Anonymous said...

Vote NO on the first two Proposed Constitutional Amendments. If you vote YES, you are taking this power away from the Governor and given it to the Republican controlled PA House & Senate.

Anonymous said...

right on 9:28! Disagree with Bernie on the first 2. He's had a bug up his ass on this issue ever since Covid restrictions affected his title searching income last year. Sorry Bernie, I'm glad Wolf was so cautious. Only reason we had as many cases as we did is because "freedom" lovers were too inconsiderate and childish to recognize the true scope of this health crisis. Indeed, they are the reason we will not achieve herd immunity.

Anonymous said...

Voting no on the first 2 for all of the good reasons stated by many above!

Anonymous said...

So you people want one man rule simply because you like the party of the governor? That is stupid. Time for legislatures to reign in these mini-tyrants. Vote for strong people.

Anonymous said...

Wolf killed people for politics when he was given that much power. Lack of checks and balances killed our elderly, but not before they suffered and died without friends and family present. Then, they didn't get funerals. Then, Wolf joked about masks and went after family owned businesses. Enough.

Anonymous said...

Even The Atlantic agrees that liberals like Wolf are crazy ....

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/05/liberals-covid-19-science-denial-lockdown/618780/

Anonymous said...

So the folks that voted no assume two things. First, we will always have a Dem governor and two, we will always have a Republican legislature. Very shortsighted indeed. My fear, as a Republican, is the next governor will take this as a blessing to do as he wishes, just as Wolf has done. This is not a check on Wolf as much as a check on the executive branch.

I'm saddened at how ill informed we are as an electorate. Wolf, as the governor has acted unilaterally on a host of issues, all the while ignoring his advisory committees and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC). He knows that he has total support from the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) and the PA Supreme Court.
Wolf is sidestepping democracy right under our noses.

Anonymous said...

Not quite correct 6:48. It talked about some progressives that are still working under original guidance of the disease instead of using the growing knowledge that we have about how it spreads. Wolf is not any of these folks.

New Pol said...

Not me - Vote No on the first two, particularly since I have no faith in nearly all Republicans in the state legislature, and Yes on the second two.