Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Chester County GOP boss: Laws must be respected
After reading Kurt Jaworski’s commentary on my op-ed of June 9, (Chester County boss engaging in voter suppression) I realize I owe him and the residents of Chester County an apology. What was I thinking to suggest that our elected officials obey the law? What an archaic idea! Why should a law ever get in the way of an agenda? Laws are nothing more than obstacles to get around, not restrictions to observe.
And I certainly can’t claim ignorance of this principle. There is ample precedent. In 2019, the Pennsylvania legislature, which is responsible for writing laws, passed Act 77, expanding voting rights for all Pennsylvanians. Democrat governor Tom Wolf signed the bill into law. Then he decided he didn’t like the law as written.
Our Constitution requires the legislature to make changes to any law, even if those changes are wellfounded. But follow the Constitution? Who has time for that? So the governor ignored the Constitution and went straight to the Democrat controlled Pa. Supreme Court.
However, that pesky Constitution does not allow the Supreme Court to change the law either, and yet they did.
You want drop boxes and the law doesn’t allow for them? No problem. Now you have drop boxes.
You want to extend the date mail-in-ballots may be accepted and the law doesn’t allow for it? No reason for concern. Here’s three more days. Don’t want matching signatures that the law requires? Don’t worry about it. They’re gone!
Clearly from these examples I should have known that following the law is, as Mr. Jaworski describes it, “a low level concern.” Why should our Chester County Commissioners have to adhere to a law passed by a bipartisan vote in the legislature, signed by a Democratic governor, and upheld by a Democrat controlled Supreme Court and Democrat Department of State?
Only in the world of progressivism does such a distorted and dangerous view of governance exist. Mr. Jaworski should have led his piece with his own provocative title, “If you don’t like the law, ignore it!” That is not what the residents of Chester County are looking for in their elected officials. Thank you for making my case.