“Extreme views, views that purport the Big Lie of a rigged election, don’t have a place in a democracy, and they don’t have a place in Pennsylvania.” – Cumberland County Commissioner Jean Foschi
PENNSYLVANIA — Yesterday, ahead of the first Republican gubernatorial debate, local elected officials, community leaders, and concerned Pennsylvanians gathered in Carlisle to call out the GOP field’s commitment to focusing on the Big Lie instead of the issues that matter most to Pennsylvanians.
Cumberland County Commissioner Jean Foschi, Carlisle Mayor Sean Shultz, Cumberland County Democratic Committee Vice Chair Karl Marchut, and concerned Pennsylvanian Rick Coplen joined community members at LeTort Park on the eve of the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection to make clear that Pennsylvanians deserve better than a crowded far-right GOP field obsessed with election conspiracies and an extreme and unpopular agenda. From endorsing extreme abortion bans, promoting an anti-worker agenda, and championing the Big Lie — these candidates are making clear to Pennsylvanians that no matter who wins this messy GOP primary, it’ll be an out-of-touch far-right wannabe committed to putting Trump and the MAGA base above our Commonwealth.
In case you missed it, check out some of the coverage of Democrats’ efforts to hold Republicans accountable for being beholden to election conspiracies and unpopular agendas ahead of the first GOP debate yesterday in Carlisle.
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01/06/22
PennLive: How do you separate 13 GOP candidates for Pa. governor? You begin with a debate
By Jan Murphy, 01/05/22
Earlier Wednesday, a group of prominent Cumberland County Democrats gathered in a Carlisle park to remind voters that they will have another choice for governor in the fall – presumptive Democratic nominee and sitting Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
They also condemned the Republican gubernatorial field, thus far, as a collection of people who are competing to see who can do the most to promote former President Donald J. Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 election was rigged and to politicize the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We cannot reward those who pander for votes and double down on Trump’s big lie to undermine the election system itself,” said Carlisle Mayor Sean Shultz, a one-time registered Republican voter. “The slate of Republican candidates and their far-right positions and wild conspiracy theories are out of touch with the needs of hard-working Pennsylvanians.”
ABC27: 13 Pa. GOP gubernatorial candidates set for first debate on crowded stage
By Dennis Owens, 01/05/22
“We’ll see more of these extreme and out-of-touch agendas on display,” Pa. Democratic Party Spokesperson, Marisa Nahem said. Democrats don’t need a primary debate because there’s just one candidate, Attorney General Josh Shapiro. Dems insist the size of the field doesn’t matter. The message does. “Many far-right candidates are just competing with each other to embrace far-right litmus tests to earn Trump support of the far-right.”
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