PA House Republicans Rip Gov. Wolf: ‘The Voices of Pennsylvanians Are Not Cowardly’

Pennsylvania House Republicans on Monday ripped Gov. Tom Wolf (D) after he accused Pennsylvanians moving to reopen outside of his orders of committing a “cowardly act.”

“Name calling is beneath the dignity of the office of the governor,” House Republican leaders said in a release titled, “The Voices of Pennsylvanians are Not Cowardly” following Wolf’s press conference.

They continued:

Millions of Pennsylvanians are unemployed, millions more have children who are not being adequately educated, and many others are watching their livelihoods fall apart while they have waited weeks for a failed unemployment compensation system to help. Our residents have been trying desperately to get the governor’s attention; however, he has not been listening.

“It is never wrong to lift the voices of concerned constituents,” they continued. “In fact, it is the duty of every elected official to do so. That is not cowardice; it is patriotism.”

“The governor often touts jobs that pay, schools that teach, and government that works. Well today, Pennsylvanians are hurting, and the governor is not delivering on any of those promises,” they added:

The statement follows Wolf’s Monday presser, in which he accused local leaders who are reopening their counties early of engaging in a “cowardly act.”

“To those politicians who decide to cave in to this coronavirus, they need to understand the consequences of their cowardly act,” Wolf said while lecturing business owners who are moving to reopen in defiance of his order, accusing them of doing something “morally wrong” and engaging in “really bad business.”

Wolf has since issued a series of threats to counties and businesses who fail to comply with his orders, threatening to withhold federal stimulus discretionary funds from disobedient counties and warning businesses that they “potentially jeopardize their business liability insurance or the protections it provides.”

“Dine-in restaurants that open in counties that have not been authorized to reopen will risk receiving a citation,” he continued, adding that the citation “can ultimately lead to the loss of a restaurant’s liquor license.”