Two Dem Governors In Battleground States Just Had A Really Bad Day…We The People Are Fighting Back
To kick things off Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf just saw his pandemic restrictions go up in smoke. The Governor’s restrictions limiting the size of gatherings and business closures was declared unconstitutional in federal court.
US District Judge William Stickman IV, a Trump appointee, sided with hair salon owners, drive-in movie theaters, horse trainers, a farmer’s market vendor, and several Republican legislators.
“The Constitution cannot accept the concept of a ‘new normal’ where the basic liberties of the people can be subordinated to open-ended emergency mitigation measures,” wrote Stickman.
What really seemed to do Governor Wolf in was that he placed the state in “green phase,” which still had strong restrictions. During questioning Sam Robinson, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor admitted that there was no way under the current system to move from green to no restrictions. Robinson said that they had begun to lessen restrictions but there was no “framework” saying they were creating a “new normal.”
When asked “what is the new normal?” Robinson said, “it’s evolving.”
Stickman wrote that Wolf’s restrictions were “undertaken with the good intention of addressing a public health emergency. But even in an emergency, the authority of government is not unfettered.”
Simply, you can’t permanently restrict people without a plan to give people their constitutional rights back.
Governor Whitmer of Michigan also had a really bad day.
A movement to take away the emergency powers delegated to the Michigan governor announced they have successfully gotten the number of signatures needed to remove the statute.
Petitioners raised almost a million dollars and collected 80% of the required 500,000 signatures within 45 days.
Whitmer has begged voters not to sign the petition declaring she is entitled to the powers held by previous governors since 1945 when the statute became law.
“Each governor since 1945 has had these same powers, and I’m going to fight to make sure that every governor after me has these powers if, God forbid, they find themselves in a situation where they have to be used,” Whitmer said.
If the petition makes it to the ballot and the statute is overturned Republicans have promised to remove the restrictions imposed by Governor Whitmer.
Not a good day for Democrats in battleground land.