The opinions in this op/ed are mine alone, and have nothing to do with my official capacity as a member of Luzerne County Council or any other body with which I am associated.
Some so-called Republican Party leaders think the people of Luzerne County are gullible enough to believe whatever nonsense they put in front of us.
Recently, opponents of a county non-discrimination ordinance have resorted to the oldest trick in politics: if you can’t beat the facts, make things up. They’ve claimed the ordinance somehow protects illegal aliens. It doesn’t. They’ve claimed it creates dangerous loopholes. It doesn’t. They’ve wrapped themselves in fear and outrage because they don’t have a legitimate argument to make. They should just say they want to repeal the ordinance, because they don’t like it, but I suppose they’d have to figure out a reason why they don’t like it and they haven’t been able to articulate a reason without lying to all of us.
I’ll address the latest lie that the ordinance “protects illegal aliens.” Here is what the non-discrimination ordinance actually says.
Citizenship status is specially defined in the definitions section of the ordinance. On the second nd page of the ordinance, it explicitly defines the class:
“201.6 National origin or citizenship status- Individuals protected by Section 1324b of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §1324b.”
1324b includes:
U.S. citizens who are legal to work
Lawful Permanent Residents (green card holders) (subject to certain conditions) who are legal to work
Refugees who are legal to work
Asylees who are legal to work
Some other individuals who are legally authorized to work in the United States
1342b was designed to balance two goals:
Prevent employers from hiring unauthorized workers.
Prevent employers from refusing to hire people who are legally authorized to work simply because they are immigrants or because of their national origin.
The Republicans that are playing this game with you think you’ll take them at their word, so they lie to you and gamble that you won’t look up the facts. They weren’t betting on me showing up to look the facts up for you. Now you know about their lies.
Here’s the truth. Some Republicans have become weak and desperate for a political victory, and they’ve abandoned leadership altogether. They’ve substituted facts with fiction, arguments with accusations, and leadership with lying.
What should offend every resident of this county is the assumption behind the lies — they think that we’re stupid.
The people of Luzerne County are not fools. We’re tough. We’re practical. We work hard. We know how to separate reality from political theater. And voters have been noticing. There is a reason Republicans keep coming up short in countywide elections. Instead of reflecting on why they aren’t connecting with voters, they’ve been doubling down on their idiotic distraction agenda.
Luzerne County deserves better than scare tactics and manufactured outrage. We deserve leaders willing to tell the truth even when it’s inconvenient. We deserve elected officials who respect voters enough to make honest arguments instead of relying on lies. Most importantly, we deserve leaders who understand that the people of this county are capable of thinking for themselves. The Republican Party of Luzerne County isn’t sending its best people to lead, and now we have to listen to its idiot mouthpieces attempt to indoctrinate us with their lies.
The next time someone tries to frighten you with claims that don’t survive even the most basic common sense, remember what they’re really saying. They’re saying they don’t think you know any better.
I do.
And I think most people in Luzerne County do, too.
Chris Belles is a member of the Luzerne County Council.