-by Alexandra Hunt
candidate for Congress, PA-03
The story of this Fall was that of right-wing Democrats, Senators Manchin (D-WV) and Sinema (D-AZ), flexing their muscles and holding up the entirety of the Democrats' 2020 agenda. Yet, while America’s attention was fixated on the Senate, similar dynamics have been playing out in the House with right-wing Dems wielding more power than ever before.
Despite representing America’s bluest and most progressive Congressional seat (PA-03 is a D+41 district), Congressman Dwight Evans (D-PA), our opponent, is among the most right-wing members of the Democratic majority in Congress. Who is Evans and how did he stray so far from the intentions of his constituents?
Back in 1998, the Philadelphia school district, the NAACP, and countless other coalitions of Philadelphians sued then Republican Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Ridge.
They found the state’s funding model to be racially discriminatory, calculating that the poorest school districts received significantly less than wealthier and whiter school districts. So what did Evans, the chair of the PA House Appropriations Committee at the time, do when he heard about this civil rights lawsuit?
Evans turned his back on PA families and sided with the Republican governor laying the foundation for Philadelphia’s charter school system, the brainchild of arch-conservatives obsessed with defunding public education, which to this day continues to drain much needed resources from Philly’s struggling public schools.
Fast forward 20 years and Dwight Evans has:
Voted to deregulate banks by weakening the Dodd-Frank Act
Expanded surveillance of civilians under Trump, and reauthorized ICE.
Has taken money from corporate interests, including war-profiteers Raytheon, General Dynamics, and Lockheed Martin, the anti-labor Amazon, the Trump-supporting Home Depot, and virtually all giant health insurance and pharmaceutical companies.
Introduced tough on crime legislation to provide more than 1 billion in funding to police across the nation despite his district having one of America’s most racist police departments in the nation.
Is opposed to Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, while representing a D+41 district where he faces no threat of conservative pushback, and is notoriously absent in the district and avoids communication with voters.
Republicans in sheep's clothing like Evans must go. They’re a proven hindrance to passing legislation that prioritizes everyday people. You won’t be able to find them in the district talking with their everyday constituents if it doesn’t serve the purpose of lining their own pockets. This style of politics is old-school and it’s breaking apart our ability to see a sustainable, bright future. If one follows the money far enough, every single vote of these right-wing Democrats can be explained by corporate money. This directly conflicts with the values our government likes to tout-- justice, freedom, and equality. We are past the breaking point of shifting them left. Now it’s time to move them out-- for the betterment and future of our country.
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