A blemish on the Commonwealth.
NOTE: I wrote this in January, 2021: as far as I know, the GOP is still gerrymandering the districts in PA while the Dems have yet to put forward a candidate to face — and beat — this huge zit on the ass of democracy.
Today in the mail, I received one of those taxpayer-paid flyers from the office of Congressman John Joyce, representing the 13th Congressional District, covering part of southwestern PA. Joyce represents the district where I live, but he is not my Congressman.
Dr. Joyce’s mailer reminds us that he is a medical doctor — a dermatologist by trade — then proceeds to thank the health care heroes in our great land (of which I’m sure Joyce includes himself).
But John Joyce is a joke as a representative to the people of this community: he is nothing more than a shadow of Donald Trump, punching the Trump vote almost every time in Congress, with one glaring recent exception. Last week, Donald Trump demanded the amount of COVID relief struggling Americans get be increased from $600 to $2,000, but for some odd reason, John Joyce broke with Trump and voted against the increase, sticking instead with the $600 for his folks back home.
While Joyce actually cares little for the people here, he has bent over backwards to try to provide more PPP loan money to corporate America; I guess they need it more than those behind on their rent, those facing hunger, or those who have lost their job here in the 13th district.
In Joyce’s mailer, he expresses his thanks to Donald Trump for providing leadership during the coronavirus crisis: 350,000 dead Americans, 125,000 in the hospital, over 20 million cases to date — climbing by more than one million per week — all because half the population still doesn’t believe COVID19 is real. Trump’s action during this crisis has divided the nation, from his calling the coronavirus “the new democratic hoax” to refusing to wear a mask, hosting multiple mask-free parties at both the White House and Mar-a-lago, calling our leading scientist an “idiot”, and still refusing to wear a mask months after he reported getting COVID himself. Doctor, doctor…you call THAT leadership?
Joyce also mentions Operation Warp Speed in his mailer. He says that it is helping to vaccinate Americans “in record time.” Here are the facts: Operation Warp Speed promised to have 20 million Americans vaccinated by the end of December, 2020. To date, over 14 million doses have been delivered, but less than 3 million Americans have actually been vaccinated. (Part of this delay is caused by states having no money — thank the Republicans for that — and no plan as to how to administer a vaccine (thank the Trump administration).
Meanwhile, December saw over 77,000 American deaths from the “hoax” virus, more than those who died in October and November combined. Operation Warp Speed is moving at Impulse Power.
“Damn it Jim, I’m a Doctor, not a Congressman.”
John Joyce may — MAY — have been a good dermatologist, but his medical training can’t “make-up” the difference for his lack of good, common sense in Congress. If John Joyce truly wants to help the people of his district, he could write out the best prescription available: the resignation of John Joyce as Congressional representative of the 13th District.
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©Timothy J. Sabo
