Robert Smith: Pa.’s 'Republican’t' problem

Pennsylvania Republicans have a representation problem, as evidenced by two recent events.

In the recent campaign for governor, won by Democrat Josh Shapiro, certain “Republicans” publicly endorsed the Democrat for governor. Let us consider a few examples from Shapiro’s own webpage to see if we can identify the allure to the Republicans’ attraction.

As a current events consideration and a threshold concept is human life.

Josh will defend access to reproductive health care — continue to defend a woman’s right to choose in Pennsylvania.

As an apparent oversight by these Republicans, their own party platform on abortion in general recognizes the Constitution’s guarantee that no one can be deprived of life and deliberately reflects that the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that “all” are “endowed by their Creator” with the inalienable right to life. The Republican party platform asserts that there is a moral obligation to assist, rather than penalize, women who face an unplanned pregnancy by encouraging them to choose life, and that there is a financial responsibility for the child that is to be equally borne by both the mother and father upon conception until the child reaches adulthood.

Shapiro’s webpage also has thoughts about jobs.

Josh has a plan to create thousands of good paying, union jobs. Pennsylvania workers are the backbone of our economy, and they deserve him to stand up for them and not only protect their right to organize, but expand it, so that every worker has the opportunity to join a union.

As an apparent oversight by these Republicans, their own party platform generally seeks to strengthen the free market and actively works to ensure right-to-work laws. Job creators are free to hire the services of the best qualified at a market-based cost.

Again from Shapiro’s website we learn that he believes:

Pennsylvania is one of the most important energy-producing states in the entire country. The second largest natural gas producing state in the nation and the largest electricity exporter in the entire country that drives our incredibly diverse and robust economic conditions. Interestingly, however, Mr. Shapiro intends that we chart a path to a low carbon future and away from the important carbon-based attributes of our state.

It is fact that water vapor accounts for over 95% of the greenhouse effect, and that the man-made CO2 contribution to the earth’s total CO2 emissions is approximately only about 4% of the 0.04% of CO2 that is present in our atmosphere. The ultimate prize for the Democrat Shapiro is the control of carbon, which would touch every aspect of our daily lives. In the process of Shapiro charting a path to a low carbon future, Pennsylvania’s natural gas bonanza for employment and economic vitality will be squashed unnecessarily.

The basic principles expounded by Shapiro on his own webpage seem strangely out of sync with the Republican Party of the listed Republican endorsers of the Democrat. Arguably, Democrat Shapiro picked up alleged but not proven Republicans’ endorsement in the race for governor.

More recently is the example of Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Jim Gregory. As an act of moral turpitude, staggering naiveté or some form of twisted logic, Gregory nominated and supported Democrat Mark Rozzi to be speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. This apparently occurred based on Gregory having received something akin to Rozzi’s pinky promise to change his party affiliation to independent and not organize with either party.

In what was a surprise to only Gregory, apparently had his fingers crossed on his other hand to negate the official, formal pinky promise. In some manifestation of his deficient thought process, Gregory appears to have believed Rozzi was a man of his word and honor, aka his pinky promise was his word. Just about the time you think you have seen it all, there he is, aggressively representing the thoughts and beliefs of his Republican constituency (not), Jim Gregory.

With these as the examples, Pennsylvania Republicans have a lack representation problem, arguably of their own making.

Robert Smith is an environmental scientist and co-owner of a Pittsburgh-area environmental consulting company.