Mastriano Governs a Different Commonwealth
It was certainly predictable. Pennsylvania’s Republican establishment, so leery of Doug Mastriano and his radical Christian Nationalist agenda, nevertheless unites around him now that he’s the nominee. This should frighten everyone.
Ever since the 2010 mass takeover of state legislatures, Republican-dominated states like Texas and Florida have been engaged in a sort of “Can you top this?” contest for crazy legislation. Each year, they introduce new legislation to make last year’s bad legislation even worse. With a democratic governor, Pennsylvania has largely been immune from the GOP “race to the bottom.” But no more if Mastriano is elected. He’s the man who can out-Abbott the Texas governor and out-DeSantis the Florida governor.
So what are the results if Mastriano is elected? Two with long-lasting consequences are that we’ve instantly created a leading candidate for the 2024 nomination and we’ve all cast our last meaningful vote in any statewide or federal election. Mastriano, who did more than anyone with the possible exception of Rudy Giuliani to create the “stop the steal” movement, makes no secret of his intention to govern a state where the votes only count if they elect a Republican. Restrictions on registration; ending absentee voting by mail; harassing voters in urban precincts; and manipulating the vote count are all possibilities.
Like all hard-right GOP governors, Mastriano’s program will have two additional elements: the Christian right culture wars agenda against schools, gays, and liberals and the pro-business agenda of tax and regulation cuts, a massive return to fossil fuels, and attacks on worker benefits.
In the area of “Culture wars,” we can count on legislation to create an outright ban on abortion, perhaps even to criminalize it; adoption of an “Abbott” agenda for guns and school safety; “Confederate monuments” legislation; more restrictions on what schools can teach and a “rat-out your neighbor” mechanism to make sure no teacher ever again teaches genuine US history; and vouchers for Christian academies and virtual schools. And like Mississippi moved out to develop the law the Supreme Court will use to toss Roe v Wade, who would be surprised if Christian Nationalist Mastriano pushed through a law over-turning the ban on public prayer in schools?
The pro-business agenda would include tax cuts; legislation to restrict the right to sue, give corporations immunity, and set limits on damage awards; legislation to “unleash” fossil fuels (including coal and fracking): tax and regulatory cuts as well as reduction of incentives for wind, solar, and other technologies of the future.
But why stop with Obama’s legacy, when there’s the Great Society, the New Deal, and the Progressive era? So, Pennsylvania under Mastriano becomes a right to work state. Does anyone think child labor laws and meat safety laws are safe? Or that he would tell the fracking and lumber companies to stay out of our state parks?
We know what kind of governor Mastriano would be. It is vital that we oppose this candidate.