Letter to the editor: GOP's assault on our democracy

The Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers are gradually evolving into an anti-democratic party. None of our Republican U.S. congressmen voted for the update of the Electoral Count Act, which would defend our voting rights and prevent a future Jan. 6-style assault on our democracy. They are embracing President Trump’s Big Lie, passing laws to suppress the vote and supporting takeovers of the machinery of elections.

Eight out of nine Pennsylvania Republicans in the U.S. House opposed the certification of the 2020 election. They voted to nullify our votes, knowing there was no proof of fraud. But they just couldn’t accept the will of the American people. A total of 147 Republican representatives voted to throw out our votes. This is not how a functioning representative democracy works.

The Republicans ignored democratic norms to pack the Supreme Court with justices who are willing to ignore the people and make rulings that further erode voting rights. They manufacture phony culture war issues like critical race theory and the trans panic to distract and divide. They must hold on to power with trickery and force. They will lie, cheat and steal to win at all costs. What the voters want is inconsequential.

We must stand up to this assault on our democracy. Do not take our freedoms and liberty for granted.

Joanne Garing

North Huntingdon