LTE Roundup: Pennsylvanians Are Calling Out Doug Mastriano’s Extremism
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 17, 2022
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SPA Press, Press@joshshapiro.org
LTE Roundup: Pennsylvanians Are Calling Out Doug Mastriano’s Extremism
PENNSYLVANIA – With only three weeks to go until Election Day, Doug Mastriano continues to prove he is far too dangerous for Pennsylvania. As Mastriano continues to focus on his extreme and dangerous agenda instead of the issues impacting Pennsylvania families, Pennsylvanians are taking notice and publicly denouncing him in newspapers across the Commonwealth.
As one voter wrote in The Reading Eagle, “State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate for governor, is a right-wing extremist and conspiracy theorist.”
Mastriano continues to double down on his extreme stance and agenda – he’s never moderated throughout his entire campaign. From holding rallies with far-right extremists, to paying thousands of dollars to the white supremacist website Gab to recruit extremists into his campaign, to calling for women who have abortions to be charged with murder, Doug Mastriano has spent his entire campaign alienating people and running on a dangerous and extreme agenda.
Read more directly from Pennsylvanians about how dangerous Doug Mastriano is and how devastating his extreme and out-of-touch agenda would be for our Commonwealth:
Reading Eagle [LTE]: Mastriano is not fit to serve as governor
By Richard A. Weiherer, 10/14/22
State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate for governor, is a right-wing extremist and conspiracy theorist. He is against all abortions, with no exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother. He is also against a ban on assault weapons, and he wants to slash funding for public school districts.
Mastriano embraced Donald Trump’s lie of a stolen 2020 election. He attended the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, 2021, and has continued to accuse Democrats of fraud. Looking to 2024, he says he supports the view that state legislatures can assign electoral votes against the will of the voting public. […]
When Mastriano engaged in the insurrection that threatened our democracy and put countless lives at risk, he violated the oath that he made to defend and protect the Constitution. The 14th Amendment states that this disqualifies a person from holding public office.
Mastriano said that as governor he could decertify every voting machine in the state with the stroke of a pen. Democracy will definitely be on the ballot in November.
PennLive [LTE]: Mastriano promises freedom – except for women
By Linda M Westrick, 10/13/22
Doug Mastriano, Republican nominee for governor, promises Pennsylvanians will “walk as free people” and that he will “protect residents from medical tyranny” according to his “First Week as Governor” video on his campaign website.
Mastriano’s “freedom” doesn’t include women seeking reproductive health care (even in cases of rape, incest or to protect the life of the mother). Mastriano doesn’t want government making people’s medical decisions, except when the people are women making excruciating decisions about crisis pregnancies.
Mastriano promises “a government that will not strip away your freedoms, and will allow you to live your life as you see fit, and raise your family as you see fit.” Unless you are pregnant—then he wants government to control your body with his Fetal Heartbeat Bill, which, if elected, he promises to sign in his first week as governor.
Mastriano won’t “have any bureaucrat tell you how to live your life,” except if you are a woman of childbearing age. If you find Mastriano’s promises hypocritical and frightening, please register to vote by Oct. 24, and vote against him on Nov. 8.
Delaware County Daily Times [LTE]: Mastriano a threat to democracy
By Carl Balis, 10/12/22
This November’s election for governor is not about policies.
My absolute condemnation of Doug Mastriano is based on something greater. Rather, he is not an American operating within our country’s democratic traditions, and indeed poses a direct threat to them. […]
Mastriano has a different vision, a vision which is an assault on the American nation and our most sacred principles.
He openly calls for policies which would abolish all elections and set up a dictatorship. He boldly boasts that after an election has been held, he could “de-certify every voting machine in the state with the stroke of a pen.”
He wants a law that gives the state legislature the power to ignore the popular vote and assign Pa.’s electoral votes to the candidate of their choice instead. […]
Mastriano poses a direct threat to American democracy. He says it loudly and clearly. Anyone with ears who cares to listen will hear it.
LNP | Lancaster Online [LTE]: Republican cannot trust Mastriano
By Karl E. Moyer, 10/13/22
As a registered Republican, I am nevertheless concerned that Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano has threatened to decertify voting machines — apparently if the announced result of an election displeases him.
That would utterly rob citizens of our rights in the election and would create a repeat of Mastriano’s false proclamations of the “stolen” 2020 presidential election.
I believe that Mastriano would thus become the greatest threat to American representative democracy that Pennsylvania has seen. We should all vote for someone other than Mastriano. Even conservative columnist George Will has warned us against him.
We cannot trust Mastriano.
Altoona Mirror [OPINION]: Mastriano would run a state dictatorship
By Don Sheridan, 10/11/22
Doug Mastriano and his Republican cohorts wasted $3.4 million of taxpayer dollars trying to invalidate (with no evidence) the ballots of 6.8 million Pennsylvania voters.
They are trying to overthrow our constitution and our government. […]
Like many Pennsylvanians, my vote is sacred to me.
Why would Mastriano think he has the right to invalidate all our votes just because he does not approve of them?
What arrogance to also think he has the right to tell women what to do in their personal lives.
This man would tell us all how to vote, act and think.
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