Friday, October 31, 2025
Guest column: Vote No on Donohue, Dougherty and Wecht
In a recent news story, the deputy director of the Judiciary Program at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice explained that donations to state Supreme Court justices typically come from “in-state business interests and trial lawyers — groups who look at the court as being important to their economic bottom lines.”
The director got part of it right.
The reality is that in 2015, trial lawyers and union special interests — not business interests — were the deep-pocketed spenders in Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court elections, doling out millions of dollars to elect state Supreme Court Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht to the bench. These special interests gave big because they expected these justices to help their economic bottom lines.
That’s exactly what’s happened.
Take government unions, for example. In 2018, Justices Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht ruled that former Gov. Tom Wolf could forcibly unionize 20,000 home care workers, which could lead to millions of additional dollars per year flowing into union coffers.
Think about it for a minute. Oftentimes, home care workers are family members caring for ailing loved ones. But SEIU and AFSCME — two major government unions with huge lobbying and political pocketbooks — saw a chance to forcibly expand their base of union members, not to mention their bank accounts of union dues.
Wolf, a top recipient of union donations, was all too eager to oblige and issued an executive order forcing unionization on these home care workers.
The Commonwealth Court invalidated Wolf’s order, but Supreme Court Justices Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht—each of whom received campaign contributions from both SEIU and AFSCME during the 2015 election season, per campaign finance reports—came to the unions’ rescue.
They ruled in favor of the unions at the expense of thousands of Pennsylvania home care workers, overturning the lower Commonwealth Court.
As the non-profit public interest law firm that argued against Wolf’s order explained, the court’s ruling “unionizes parents against their disabled children, sons and daughters against their elderly parents, and … friends against friends.”
The only winners in this case were the unions that fought to increase their bottom lines by electing Justices Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht.
Unions aren’t the only special interest that contributed big in anticipation of big returns. Trial lawyers also gave millions of dollars to these three justices in 2015.
And in 2022, the Supreme Court handed trial lawyers a huge gift.
That year, the court said that trial lawyers could file cases in plaintiff-friendly Philadelphia, even if the alleged offense happened elsewhere. This so-called “venue shopping” delivered a financial windfall for trial lawyers even as it hurt healthcare access for everyday Pennsylvanians.
We’ve all seen news of hospitals in Pennsylvania closing their doors. We also all know that health care access remains not simply a priority but, in some areas, a crisis. Amid all this, the court’s allowance of venue shopping has made Pennsylvania one of the hardest states in which to run a hospital.
These rulings don’t even begin to touch on these justices’ terrible rulings on mail-in ballots that ignored the law at Democrats’ request or the justices’ 2018 court-imposed gerrymandering of congressional districts.
Those arguing Justices Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht should be retained for another 10 years on the court pretend to be impartial actors who care only about fairness and independence. Their record of pushing justices to ignore or rewrite the law proves they are anything but.
Our justices should do one thing: Interpret the law as written. Not rewrite it to achieve a particular outcome.
That’s why on November 4, I urge Pennsylvanians to vote no on retaining Justice Christine Donohue, no on retaining Justice Kevin Dougherty, and no on retaining Justice David Wecht.
It’s time to term-limit these justices and give voters the chance to elect new, impartial justices to our state Supreme Court.
Matthew J. Brouillette is president and CEO of Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs, an independent, nonpartisan 501(c)(6) membership organization dedicated to improving the economic environment and educational opportunities in Pennsylvania.
Democrats are letting their crazies off-leash because they're afraid of them
Democrats are letting their crazies off-leash because they're afraid of them: AOC and Mamdani the Commie are ascendant in the leftist cold civil war because the sane have been silenced by fear.
Today's Democrats are as dangerous as 1861's Copperhead Democrats
Today's Democrats are as dangerous as 1861's Copperhead Democrats: Truth is the biggest threat to the Democrat party.
And that makes the Democrat party the biggest threat to the United States today.
Show of strength: Trump concludes Asia trip
Show of strength: Trump concludes Asia trip: The U.S. emerges as the clear winner in this round of global power play, with the domestic economy benefiting from substantial capital inflows.
We underestimate Mamdani and the 'eat-the-rich' movement at our peril.
We underestimate Mamdani and the 'eat-the-rich' movement at our peril.: Once communism kicks in, there's no way out.
Puerto Rico: The Myth Of A Statehood Mandate
Puerto Rico: The Myth Of A Statehood Mandate: The New Progressive Party wants statehood to maintain patronage power using American taxpayer money, but Puerto Ricans are finally seeing through this.
The Rise and Fall of Wikipedia
The Rise and Fall of Wikipedia As politics became ever more contentious, Wikipedia in general went the way of mainstream media with a consistently mainline center-left bias on any topic that impacted on political outlook. After Trump won in 2016, the entire platform was swept up in the hate that followed. Editors made lists of credible and not credible sources, thus banning any right-of-center media from being cited in the interest of balance. Indeed, balance disappeared entirely.
Thursday, October 30, 2025
Parsing the Appeal of Socialism to Today's Young People
Parsing the Appeal of Socialism to Today's Young People: Why do so many young people find socialism attractive, given its record of ruin?
The Perverse Incentives in the US Healthcare System
The Perverse Incentives in the US Healthcare System Ultimately, we need to reform the stranglehold that the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) and its Application Service (AMCAS) have on medical education. This whole process is worthy of study by the NIH.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Connecting the Dots between the WHO and UN Security Council Reform
Connecting the Dots between the WHO and UN Security Council Reform Consistent with the belief that every crisis is also an opportunity, the current global flux created by the crisis of multilateralism provides an exceptionally favourable confluence of circumstances for a transformative redesign of the architecture of international health governance.
Democrats Must Be Punished for Their Lawfare
Democrats Must Be Punished for Their Lawfare: Because no one has been punished, Democrats continue to threaten conservatives.
Trump Hatred Explained
Trump Hatred Explained: The reason they despise Trump is simple -- they cannot control him.
Illegals vs. the Deserving American Poor
Illegals vs. the Deserving American Poor: Opportunity costs are a reality that might be willfully ignored, but that doesn’t make them any less real.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Liberalism’s bad manners in pursuit of power
Liberalism’s bad manners in pursuit of power: Civility retreats when it meets Democrats’ ambitions.
Can Donald Trump Restore American Citizenship?
Can Donald Trump Restore American Citizenship?: Once, being an American citizen meant something. The Democrats destroyed that, but Trump (with your help) is working hard to re-ravel this great unraveling.
Monday, October 27, 2025
Even the WaPo concedes that Trump’s ballroom is a good idea
Even the WaPo concedes that Trump’s ballroom is a good idea: It turns out that lots of presidents have altered the White House to keep up with the times, and that the complaints are coming from the same people who feverishly attacked the White House and other American monuments in 2020. The narrative took an even bigger hit when it turned out that half of corporate America (including many left-leaning companies) is funding the renovation. No taxpayer money is required.
Remember those good old days before ObamaCare?
Reliable catastrophic health care plans: Remember when a lot of people, yours truly included, bought plans to protect us from major expenses, not routine trips to the doctor?
The birthplace of America flies the flag of authoritarianism
The birthplace of America flies the flag of authoritarianism: Last week, the City of Brotherly Love expressed its brotherly love for communism when the flag of the People’s Republic of China was flown over City Hall.
Did Zohran Mamdani lie about his aunt being a post-9/11 Islamophobia victim?
Did Zohran Mamdani lie about his aunt being a post-9/11 Islamophobia victim?: The facts seem to tell a very different story, putting in question his veracity as he tries to cast New York City as a haven of hate-filled Islamophobes
Democrat Party Lies Protect Modern Slavery
Democrat Party Lies Protect Modern Slavery: Americans are so tired of being called “racists.” This has been the Democrat party’s go-to rhetorical weapon for half a century. Democrats see racism everywhere except where it actually exists.
Sunday, October 26, 2025
A Hidden Tax: What Americans Are Really Paying for Illegal Immigration
A Hidden Tax: What Americans Are Really Paying for Illegal Immigration: In a time when families are tightening budgets and questioning every dollar spent, one cost remains largely invisible, yet it drains billions from our economy and erodes the moral foundation of our republic. That cost is illegal immigration. Not the emotional narrative, not the political theater, but the real, measurable, taxpayer-funded burden that most Americans haven’t been told they’re carrying.
How the Erie Canal Shaped America
How the Erie Canal Shaped America: This year, the Erie Canal turns 200 years old. It is a symbol of American ingenuity and fortitude. In the early 19th century, the United States suffered from an almost nonexistent transportation infrastructure. The roads that did exist became impassable whenever it rained, with carriage wheels buried axle deep. When the roads dried, they were deeply rutted and uneven. Moving goods by wagon was very expensive because the amount that could be carried was limited.
It’s a failed ideology, but devout leftists still believe in it
It’s a failed ideology, but devout leftists still believe in it: You’d think it wouldn’t take so long for the left to see how useless communism is.
Defund Mamdani
Defund Mamdani: If Mamdani wins, New York City will go from a beleaguered police force to a nonexistent one.
Democrats are frantically doubling down on all the wrong things
Democrats are frantically doubling down on all the wrong things: Even as their political ascendency declines, Democrats relentlessly pull further to the left.
Saturday, October 25, 2025
MSNBC Guest Claims Trump Plans To Use Military To Kill Any Person He Wants
MSNBC Guest Claims Trump Plans To Use Military To Kill Any Person He Wants: A recent guest who appeared on an MSNBC program claimed that President Trump plans to kill any person he wants with the military.
Friday, October 24, 2025
The ‘climate change’ agenda has faltered, and the WSJ mourns pending defeat
The ‘climate change’ agenda has faltered, and the WSJ mourns pending defeat: When I saw this headline in the opinion pages of the WSJ, I had high hopes that some scientist pointed out that politicians and bureaucrats can’t control the climate:
We Can’t Stop Climate Change, So We Need to Prepare for It
Sa...
Trump breaks Big Pharma’s price wall
Trump breaks Big Pharma’s price wall: The president strikes a blow against saddling Americans with the cost of the rest of the world’s health care.
The Left is destroying the rule of law
The Left is destroying the rule of law: From an activist judiciary to attacks on ICE agents, the Democrats are completely out of control.
Thursday, October 23, 2025
Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania urges NO vote on Pennsylvania judge retention
The Nov. 4 Retention Election in Pennsylvania is not a partisan issue. The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania is urging voters to vote ❌NO to retention for Justices Wecht, Donohue, and Dougherty. The three left-leaning justices ignored the state Constitution and supported Gov. Tom Wolf's harsh COVID-19 restrictions.
Video: Leftist lunacy I saw at a Saturday No Kings protest
Video: Leftist lunacy I saw at a Saturday No Kings protest: So what’s it like wading into a “No Kings” protest? I can tell you because this is precisely what I did this past Saturday.
The scene was Larchmont, a tony suburb of New York City, in Westchester County. And as reporters at other...
The Green Mirage: The Hidden Costs Behind the Electric Car Hype
The Green Mirage: The Hidden Costs Behind the Electric Car Hype: Electric cars are not liberation — they are compliance devices.
A Hidden Tax: What Americans Are Really Paying for Illegal Immigration
A Hidden Tax: What Americans Are Really Paying for Illegal Immigration: This entire exercise is a thought experiment, an attempt to look at illegal immigration through the lens of simplicity. Regardless of whether the numbers are distorted, underinflated, or politically manipulated, the point remains: the cost to the U.S. taxpayer is enormous. It takes away from their children’s future, their retirement security, and their ability to pay monthly bills. This is not a partisan rant, it’s a segmented breakdown of a quiet crisis.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Jen Psaki Called Out for 'Disturbing' Comment About JD Vance and His Wife
Jen Psaki Called Out for 'Disturbing' Comment About JD Vance and His Wife: Psaki undoubtedly spoke for miserable liberal women everywhere when she made a presumptuous and hideous comment about Usha Vance.
Thomas Lifson: Why Vance is hated by the left
Thomas Lifson: Why Vance is hated by the left: The left's hatred for President Trump is implacable, intense, unreasoned. But so is its hatred for Trump's vice president, J.D. Vance, who draws the same kind of intense opprobrium, loathed almost as intensely as President Trump.
The ‘No Kings’ marchers' ignorance and gullibility are appalling
The ‘No Kings’ marchers' ignorance and gullibility are appalling: The people out there with their signs, silly costumes, and overt and covert aggression will buy anything the Democrat party sells them.
Democrats have a cow over Trump's construction of a new White House ballroom
Democrats have a cow over Trump's construction of a new White House ballroom: Their record on aesthetics and historic preservation is not exactly impressive.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
What Is the State and Who Controls It?
What Is the State and Who Controls It? What is the state, from whence does it come, and who controls it? One might suppose these questions have obvious answers. In reality, the answer is elusive, not easily identified even by those who are part of the system.
Hey Hey Ho Ho – The UN has Got to Go!
Hey Hey Ho Ho – The UN has Got to Go!: President Donald Trump’s blunt assessment of the United Nations in his Sept. 23 address wasn’t just another form of political theater. It served as a reality check for an institution that has long sacrificed its purpose and mission for pretenses and spectacle, and Americans, for the most part, have noticed this.
Why it’s so hard for a leftist to change
Why it’s so hard for a leftist to change: The brainwashing runs deep.
The ‘No Kings’ marchers' ignorance and gullibility are appalling
The ‘No Kings’ marchers' ignorance and gullibility are appalling: The people out there with their signs, silly costumes, and overt and covert aggression will buy anything the Democrat Party sells them.
Sunday, October 19, 2025
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Thursday, October 16, 2025
Why aren’t Democrats moderating their positions?
Why aren’t Democrats moderating their positions?: If you’re older than about 30, you remember a time when most Americans had the same understanding of the natural world, somewhat similar values, and a certain level of patriotism—and this is despite the growth of the state over the 20th century.
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
The UN Is About to Institute a De Facto Tax on American Citizens: 'The Ultimate in Taxation Without Representation'
The UN Is About to Institute a De Facto Tax on American Citizens: 'The Ultimate in Taxation Without Representation': The U.N.'s brazen plan to impose a direct carbon tax should awaken centuries-old feelings in the hearts of all patriotic Americans.
Never Again: Exchanging Vicious Terrorists For Innocent Hostages
Never Again: Exchanging Vicious Terrorists For Innocent Hostages: As long as Israel allows its enemies to use hostages as leverage, it will never be able to live in peace.
Charlie Kirk and Socrates
Charlie Kirk and Socrates In short, it appears that, as several commentators have observed – and as we know from history – in death, Charlie Kirk is proving to be much stronger than in life. This has always been the case with martyrs.
How digital IDs erase the American dream
How digital IDs erase the American dream: The stories of tyrannical government intrusions coming out of China and the U.K. should terrify everyone.
Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Without Biden's border surge, there would be no need for mass deportations
Without Biden's border surge, there would be no need for mass deportations: Those violently protesting ICE are angry at all the wrong people.
The climate for ‘climate change’ has changed
The climate for ‘climate change’ has changed: Eco-activists are experiencing hard times.
Trump’s Deal: More Significant Than Any Nobel Prize
Trump’s Deal: More Significant Than Any Nobel Prize: Trump’s achievement should not be elevated by insisting that he is a candidate for the Nobel Prize because that award is less than what he deserves.
Zohran Mamdani’s New York City is Your American Nightmare
Zohran Mamdani’s New York City is Your American Nightmare: Lax immigration policies and foreigners rising rapidly to power explain much of this strange specter over New York.
Monday, October 13, 2025
Where China Still Has a Hold on Us
Where China Still Has a Hold on Us: For many years now, many Americans have been muttering under our breath, “Why do we buy so much from China?” Whether we’re at a clothing store, a computer superstore or a big box discounter, the question is the same as we see that label on the box.
The Citizenry Can No Longer Tolerate America’s Authoritarians
The Citizenry Can No Longer Tolerate America’s Authoritarians: Representative republics are fragile things, for they depend upon a citizenry that votes, is informed about civic and political issues, holds elected officials accountable, and repudiates those who subordinate the well-being of the country to their personal interests and political agendas.
Friday, October 10, 2025
Obamacare: Steal from the poor, give to the rich
Obamacare: Steal from the poor, give to the rich: A system built on socialism and fraud, the big insurance companies have done very well while the public has been robbed blind.
Lowman Henry: Pa. voters can hold the judiciary accountable
Former Governor Tom Corbett and former U.S. District Court Judge Robert Cindrich recently appeared at a forum where they maintained that criticism of the judiciary, including threats of impeachment, constitutes a “constitutional crisis.”
Unspecified violence against the judiciary was the impetus for their remarks. To be clear, violence is never acceptable. Neither are threats of violence, such as those perpetrated against U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Cavanaugh, acceptable.
Corbett and Cindrich are to be lauded for their stand against violence, but their linkage of violent acts to policy disagreements with court rulings is an effort to perpetuate the aura of superiority with which the judiciary has historically cloaked itself.
Far from being in a constitutional crisis, the American public is finally seeing the judiciary for what it is: as subject to political bias as are the legislative and executive branches of government. As this becomes more readily apparent, judicial apologists are scrambling to protect their image of somehow being above the fray.
We have seen a surge in judicial activism at both the federal and state levels. The number of federal judges injecting themselves into the policy actions of the Trump Administration has spiked far above those which constrained previous administrations.
Those who disagree with the Trump Administration judge shop for a venue that will be sympathetic to their cause. Media reports dutifully detail which president appointed the judge. More often than not, that presages the ruling that will be handed down from the bench.
Gov. Corbett maintains that impeaching judges because politicians disagree with their rulings is wrong. However, federal judges are appointed for life. When they stray into overt judicial activism, we the people have no other recourse.
Here in Pennsylvania, judges and justices serve 10-year terms. In theory, this is intended to enable them to issue rulings based on the Constitution and statutory law. That, however, is not always the case. Judges and justices then benefit from another procedure, which is not accorded to the other two branches of government, by standing for a yes or no retention vote rather than for re-election.
Clearly, our supposedly co-equal branches of government are not co-equal.
If a governor or state legislator takes actions of which the voters disagree, we get the opportunity every two or four years to vote them out of office. Not so when it comes to judges and justices. We often must wait years to express our will at the ballot box — and then face a yes or no retention system that has only ever seen one justice denied a new ten-year term.
Case in point is the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. During the COVID-19 pandemic then then-Gov. Tom Wolf took actions that clearly exceeded his constitutional powers. At every opportunity, the high court ruled in his favor. Their actions were so egregious that voters overwhelmingly approved amendments to the state constitution to ensure our freedoms would not be so violated in the future.
But voters had no immediate recourse against the justices who had infringed upon our rights. Those justices then further trampled the state constitution by stealing from the state legislature the process of drawing congressional district lines, hiring a Left-wing college professor from California to do the job, and then instituting the district lines by judicial fiat.
Again, voters had no immediate recourse.
But next month, three of those justices must stand for retention. The retention elections are getting more attention than usual because of the wayward behavior of the justices. But voters are still not allowed to choose between them and other candidates.
If any of the justices are denied retention, their seats on the court will temporarily be filled by gubernatorial appointment with confirmation by the state Senate. Voters won’t get the opportunity to hear from and vote for candidates until the 2027 elections.
Contrary to the assertions of Corbett and Cindrich, criticism of and debate over the rulings of judges and justices is not only not a problem, it is a long-overdue spotlight being placed on a branch of government that has thus far wielded unchecked autocratic power over us.
And the inability to hold judges and justices accountable is an actual threat to democracy.
Lowman S. Henry is Chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal and American Radio Journal. His e-mail address is lhenry@lincolninstitute.org.
Can Schoolteachers be Trusted?
Can Schoolteachers be Trusted?: Public schools depend on a degree of consensus from parents and taxpayers regarding the basics of what their students are being taught. This trust is especially important in these chaotic times when many parents across the country have discovered tha...
Thursday, October 09, 2025
Time to pull the plug on ObamaCare
Time to pull the plug on ObamaCare: As usual, Democrats want more subsidies to keep a bad plan going.
Bari Weiss and legacy liberalism
Bari Weiss and legacy liberalism: The Left’s power has been increasingly dependent on projection, externalizing their fallacious self-grandeur onto the public.
The Democrats Are Not as They Appear
The Democrats Are Not as They Appear: Democrats are not simply anti-American; they pursue policies and programs that are fundamentally anti-human.
The Looming Energy Crisis in the US
The Looming Energy Crisis in the US: More states are importing electricity from neighboring states instead of building generating capacity in their own. This is a crisis in the making.
Wednesday, October 08, 2025
Illegal aliens: Unsafe at any speed
Illegal aliens: Unsafe at any speed: Every road death they cause is an indictment of the Democrats’ desperate efforts to flood the country with illegal aliens.
Russia Is the New ‘Global Warming’
Russia Is the New ‘Global Warming’: It’s the new go-to for blame when leftist-globalists suffer a failure.
Monday, October 06, 2025
Flip-Flopping Democrats Dancing an Immigration Jig for Political Gain
Flip-Flopping Democrats Dancing an Immigration Jig for Political Gain: Ladies and gentlemen, gather 'round for a tale of political acrobatics worthy of Olympic gymnastics. The Democratic Party, once a stronghold of tough talk on illegal immigration benefits, has pirouetted into a chorus line of hypocrisy.
The Two-Tiered Justice Sham
The Two-Tiered Justice Sham: Lady Justice is wearing a blue blindfold, winking at criminals who align with the radical Left while slamming the gavel down on anyone who dares wave an American flag or enforce the law.
The Party of Hate and Violence
The Party of Hate and Violence: Jay Jones, a Democrat running for the Virginia Attorney General, has been exposed for the radical that he truly is
Friday, October 03, 2025
American Journalism Doesn’t Report Facts; It Drives Preferred Narratives
American Journalism Doesn’t Report Facts; It Drives Preferred Narratives: Nothing makes this clearer than to juxtapose the three primary wars currently taking place: Israel-Gaza, the Kurds’ fight, and the Ukraine War.
Mr. President, Please Make ‘Lightbulbs’ Great Again
Mr. President, Please Make ‘Lightbulbs’ Great Again: Obama and Biden sent jobs and money to China, screwing over the American citizens, and poisoning our energy supply.
Trump breaks the left’s propaganda machine
Trump breaks the left’s propaganda machine: Trump frees Americans from news media mind control, one hilarious meme at a time.
Putting Patients In Charge, Not In Line To Die
Putting Patients In Charge, Not In Line To Die: The problem with Medicaid isn’t a lack of funding; it’s an overwhelming bureaucracy that sucks up all the money before ever getting to patient care.
Thursday, October 02, 2025
January 6 was America’s Reichstag fire
January 6 was America’s Reichstag fire: Without hesitation, the Democrats moved heaven and earth to showcase January 6 as a prime example of right-wing violent extremism. Did that impact Trump’s re-election attempt? Wink, wink.
Illegals are getting more violent than ever against ICE officers carrying out their duties
Illegals are getting more violent than ever against ICE officers carrying out their duties: Trump stands vindicated in stating the enemy is within.
Wednesday, October 01, 2025
Democrats apparently believe constitutional rights protect illegal aliens but not American citizens
Democrats apparently believe constitutional rights protect illegal aliens but not American citizens: Ian Roberts, 54, was recently arrested. Federal officials say the “educator,” who was pulling down a cool $286,000 a year, was living and working in the country illegally, despite holding one of the state’s most prominent and public jobs.
Proof that the Democrats do not care one iota about law-abiding American citizens
Proof that the Democrats do not care one iota about law-abiding American citizens: Democrats sure do revere criminals and illegals.
Remember when, during January’s presidential address to the joint session of Congress, the Democrats refused to stand or applaud for the Laken Riley Act, passed in honor of the young girl...
A Shutdown Could Restore America To True Constitutional Governance
A Shutdown Could Restore America To True Constitutional Governance: The Democrats are trapped by their own past actions and rhetoric, but they’re engineering the destruction of their bureaucratic power in D.C.