Category: Politics

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STATEMENT: On the PA Legislative Reapportionment Commission Maps

  By Legislative Districts, Statements

For Immediate Release February 4, 2022 Contact: Kirstin Snow, snow@pennbpc.org Statement of PA Budget and Policy Center on Legislative Reapportionment Commission Maps by Marc Stier Pennsylvanians will be more fairly represented because the Legislative Reapportionment Commission (LRC) took important steps to adopt maps that are fairer than any time in recent memory. These maps look very different from the current ones because they aim to adjust for dramatic population changes over the last ten years and to remedy two decades of extreme gerrymandering. Because they do so, both maps are fairer and more representative of the people of Pennsylvania than the old ones. The people should pick their representatives, not the other way around. As a result, we expect that we will get better policy and elected officials will be more responsive to their constituents than to special interests and extreme partisanship. We appreciate the many citizens who took part… Continue reading

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The Outrageous Decision on Vote by Mail

  By Elections, Elections and Voting, Voting

The party-line Commonwealth Court decision declaring mail-in ballots unconstitutional is immediately outrageous and portends a deepening crisis in our democracy. The PA Supreme Court must—and we believe will—move quickly to overturn it. The decision is outrageous for two reasons. As Judge Wojcik’s dissenting opinion clearly demonstrates, it is based on a one-sided analysis of the Pennsylvania Constitution and case law.  The majority opinion contains a close and highly textured reading of the Constitution and case law that leaves out of consideration a critical amendment to Article VII section 6 of the Constitution. Taking that amendment into account undermines the reasoning of the majority opinion. Second, the majority opinion outrageously disregards the non-severability clause in Act 77 that would require it to declare the entire Act unconstitutional if any part of it is so declared.  Act 77 was a compromise in which Republicans accepted vote by mail in return for Democrats… Continue reading

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Another problem with judicial districts: The threat of judicial extremism

  By Judicial Gerrymandering, PA Budget and Policy Center, Published Op-Eds

Originally published by the PA Capital-Star on January 24, 2021 Those of us who have been fighting the judicial gerrymandering constitutional amendment have been focused less on the highly uncertain partisan implications of the proposal but on its implications for the balance of power among the three branches of government in our state. We are concerned that giving the General Assembly the power to draw judicial districts will enable it to exert undue influence the courts. And that power will be especially noticeable in the transition from our current system to a future one, during which legislators would be able to interfere with the retention elections of our sitting justices and potentially deny one of them the ability to run for reelection. The reason that almost all the states that elect justices of the highest court do so in statewide rather than district elections is to limit the influence of… Continue reading

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The Trump Movement

  By 2016 Presidential race, Fascism, Philosophy, Politics

Many people were shocked as well as disturbed by the 2016 election results. Having written a few chapters of a book that explored the origins of support for far right political movements in the liberal societies I was disturbed, but not shocked. This essay draws on ideas I developed for a book I am completing—Civilization and Its Contents: Reflections on Eros and the Culture War. It seeks to explain not just the 2016 election but why fascism, or neo-fascism, is a permanent temptation in liberal democracies. To read full screen or print click here. Continue reading

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Fair Districts 2; Gerrymandering 0

  By Legislative Districts, PA Budget and Policy Center, Policy briefs

The Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission released new district maps for the Pennsylvania House and Senate today. As we predicted, the maps look very different from the current ones because they aim to adjust for dramatic population changes over the last ten years and to remedy two decades of Republican gerrymandering. Because they do so, both maps are fairer and more representative of the people of Pennsylvania than the old ones. At this moment, we do not have detailed information about the Senate redistricting plan so we cannot comment on it in depth. We do have data on the House redistricting plan, however. The three standard metrics of redistricting we used in our earlier piece show that the plan has a slight Republican tilt compared to the heavy Republican tilt of the maps in 2012 and 2002. Between the current map and the new one, the Republican advantage according to the… Continue reading

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Rep. Grove’s Congressional Maps Are Just More Gerrymandering

  By Congressional redistricting, Legislative Districts, PBPC Blog posts

Statement by Marc Stier on Representative Seth Grove’s proposed congressional district map.  The congressional district map proposed by Representative Seth Grove today is an obvious effort to gerrymander those districts to benefit the Republican Party. The maps would be likely to make it difficult or impossible for Democrats to hold two to four of the seats they occupy today. At a minimum, they would give the Republicans a majority of congressional seats in a state where Democrats are a substantial majority of voters. The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy recently released a policy paper on state legislative districts that calls for fair districts that represent the people of the state. We deserve nothing less in our congressional districts. If the General Assembly passes legislation containing these lines, Governor Wolf must veto it. Continue reading

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The Ten Worst PA Legislative Initiatives of 2021

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, Pennsylvania, Public Policy, Talking points

The year coming to an end will go down as among the worst in the long history of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. At a time when so many Pennsylvanians are struggling to keep body and soul together against the continuing threat of COVID-19 and the economic difficulties created by the pandemic, the Republican-dominated General Assembly has embarrassed itself and our state. It has done nothing to help Pennsylvanians with health and economic problems. It has passed legislation—vetoed by the governor—that would have led to more COVID-19 deaths. And instead of dealing with the real problems of the people of the state, it has spent most of the year advancing constitutional amendments and legislation that would undermine our representative democracy and carrying out unnecessary “investigations” in support of the Big Lie about the 2020 presidential election—the same one that elected every member of the House and half of the Senate. There… Continue reading

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Statement in Response to the Arbery Case Verdicts

  By Criminal Justice, PA Budget and Policy Center, Statements, White Supremacy and Structural Racism

Statement by Marc Stier on behalf of the Keystone Research Center and the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. “The verdicts in the Ahmaud Arbery case show that the criminal justice system in America can respond appropriately to the most extreme examples of racial injustice. Our task as Americans is to ensure that it does so in all cases.” Continue reading

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Classism and Johnny Doc

  By A political memoir, Politicians

Someone asked me privately about my claim that classism has something to do with the attitudes of some people toward John J. Dougherty. “What makes you think that?” she said. Well, a number of years ago ago I got accused by a fairly wealthy person in Northwest Philadelphia of supporting the “corrupt Dougherty-Brady” wing of the Democratic Party because I opposed the neo-liberal darling of the upper middle class in a citywide primary race. This was at a time when Dougherty and Brady were not only factional opponents in the Democratic Party but barely on speaking terms. What would lead someone to talk about the Dougherty-Brady wing of the party, other than ignorance? What did they have in common at the time? You tell me. Continue reading

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The Dougherty-Henon Verdict is a Miscarriage of Justice and Why it Matters

  By Labor, Philadelphia

John Dougherty and Bobby Henon were convicted of bribery and other charges today. Having read the original indictment and followed the trial closely, I continue to think that indictment and trial, as well as the conviction, was a terrible miscarriage of justice. Aside from the last couple of paragraphs, I wrote the following about six week ago before the trial started. I have seen no reason to change my argument or conclusion. …This trial of John Dougherty and Bobby Henon strikes me as an attempt to criminalize everyday politics. Did John Dougherty want Bobby Henon to be on City Council so that he would have a friend who would support Local 98’s causes. Yes. But that’s not illegal. Everyone who supports a candidate or makes a contribution to him or her wants that. Did John Dougherty need to have Bobby Henon on his payroll for Henon to support Local 98’s… Continue reading