Specifically, the Jefferson County Republican lawmaker took issue with the Wolf administration’s controversial coronavirus waiver process for businesses.
During a Pennsylvania House state government committee meeting this week, state Rep. Cris Dush offered what many found to be offensive criticism about the transparency of Gov. Tom Wolf’s response to COVID-19. Not only did he say the response took a page out of a “socialist playbook,” Dush also compared the Wolf administration to governments of Nazi Germany and the former U.S.S.R.
Specifically, the Jefferson County Republican congressman took issue with the Wolf administration’s controversial coronavirus waiver process for businesses. These waivers allowed select businesses to reopen despite a statewide shutdown, which has caused Republicans to accuse the governor of a lack of transparency about how and why the waivers were issued.
Two Republican senators, Mike Regan of Cumberland/York counties and Tom Killion of Delaware County, have subpoenaed Gov. Wolf and Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Davin to produce documents detailing the business waiver program by May 8.
“This allowed the public perception to conclude that decisions made as part of the waiver review process were inconsistent, with competing businesses receiving differing waiver decisions, creating inequities within a single industry,” Regan said during a hearing last week.
The Wolf administration has said it will release information on the process, though the timeline is still unclear.
Dush echoed his fellow Republicans’ demands for transparency regarding the waiver application process, as well as any information surrounding the number of Pennsylvania COVID-19 patients who have recovered.
“More and more I go back to the German Democratic Nationalist Socialist Party, the Nazi party. I go to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the USSR,” Dush said during Monday’s meeting. “This is a socialist playbook.”
RELATED: This GOP Lawmaker Wants the Feds to Investigate Gov. Wolf
Dush, who represents Jefferson County and parts of Indiana County within House District 66, was met with immediate rebuttal from Democrats on the committee. Rep. Kevin Boyle (D-Philadelphia), the ranking Democrat on the committee, countered Dush’s remarks.
“Chairman, this is outrageous,” Boyle said. “Stop it with these Nazi references. It’s offensive and wrong. Stop it.”
Dush doubled down on his comparison, citing “history” and the governor’s responsibility to share requested information with the public and press, according to the Pittsburgh City Paper. “It’s a statement of history,” Dush said. “It’s history. It’s history. This is a socialist playbook and I have to say that it’s important for the people of this state to start having access to information rather than having it blown off to the side and hidden for an agenda.”
PennLive reports that the governor has refuted claims that his administration is withholding information, though several government departments are closed and not processing requests filed under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know law. Regarding the number of recovered COVID-19 patients in the state, Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine has stated that hospitals do not report information to the state when COVID patients are discharged.
Dush eventually apologized for his comments, but Wolf spokeswoman Lindsay Kensinger responded to the comments by highlighting a need for more cooperation from lawmakers across the aisle during the pandemic.
“In the last few days, House Republicans have shared fake reopening plans online and a rank and file member has compared the Administration to Nazis while Republican members have spent time moving legislation to reopen zoos during a global pandemic and rallied with activists who have made threats against the governor,” Kensinger said. “We badly need partners in the Legislature who will take the challenge before them seriously instead of using it to divide the commonwealth.”
A group of Jewish-affiliated organizations also condemned Dush’s comments, saying in a joint statement: “Such rhetoric diminishes the horrific atrocities committed by the Nazis and is offensive and wrong.
“While we appreciate that Rep. Dush did issue an apology on the House floor several hours later, we are deeply disappointed that he did not immediately retract his comments when the vice-chair of the Committee requested that he do so, and that in his Floor remarks he did not directly acknowledge what he had said and why it was wrong.”
They added: “We fervently hope we will never hear such thoughtless language used by a Pennsylvania leader again.”
Politics
Pennsylvania redesigned its mail-in ballot envelopes amid litigation. Some voters still tripped up
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A form Pennsylvania voters must complete on the outside of mail-in ballot return envelopes has been redesigned, but that did...
Biden makes 4 million more workers eligible for overtime pay
The Biden administration announced a new rule Tuesday to expand overtime pay for around 4 million lower-paid salaried employees nationwide. The...
Malcolm Kenyatta makes history after winning primary for Pa. Auditor General
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who was first elected to the state House in 2018, won the Democratic nomination for Pa. Auditor General and will...
Local News
What do you know about Wawa? 7 fun facts about Pennsylvania’s beloved convenience store
Wawa has 60 years of Pennsylvania roots, and today the commonwealth’s largest private company has more than 1,000 locations along the east coast....
Conjoined twins from Berks County die at age 62
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations,...