Local paper slams 'hyperpartisan' GOP congressman in deep-red district

In a humiliating blow to Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), the editorial board at Penn Live shredded him for being a “loyal conservative foot soldier of the hyperpartisan Freedom Caucus” and endorsed his Democratic challenger, George Scott.

“After three terms in Congress, Perry has emerged as a sharp-elbowed partisan,” the board writes, lamenting his nonstop efforts to bring about “a permanent state of legislative paralysis on Capitol Hill.”

Perry is locked in a tight re-election battle in Pennsylvania’s new 10th Congressional District with Scott, a veteran and Lutheran pastor. Perry previously represented an illegally gerrymandered district that supported Trump by 21 points. The new district still favors Republicans, but is a much more moderate district, which could be trouble for an out-of-touch Perry.

The editorial board had a litany of reasons for rejecting Perry. Among them:

• Perry voted to make it “harder and much more expensive for people with pre-existing conditions to obtain insurance coverage.”
• Perry told a constituent “that he didn’t want to pay for maternity care for other women because ‘I have two children, and we’re not having any more.'”
• Perry, “made the bizarre assertion, without providing any evidence, that ISIS was behind the mass shooting in Las Vegas that wounded hundreds and resulted in the death of 59 people.”

The last unfounded assertion about ISIS dovetails with Perry’s radical views about immigrants in general. Perry defended Trump’s decision to rip immigrant families apart through a policy that received global condemnation.

Perry went so far as to lament that young children can only be caged for 20 days.

In his defense of the policy, Perry spread misinformation about human trafficking, distorting the facts to defend an indefensible policy.

Penn Live, which has previously endorsed far-right Republicans like Sen. Pat Toomey, wholeheartedly backs Scott.

The Democratic challenger “impressed the board with his views on healthcare, women’s reproductive rights and his commitment to increasing the minimum wage and expanding Medicaid coverage, among other issues.”

And as opposed to the hyperpartisan nature of Perry, Scott “aspires to be a ‘servant-leader,'” and wants to lead the effort for “bipartisanship in an institution where that tradition is a dying art.”

The editorial ends by reminding voters that they, ultimately, hold the power of who represents them in Congress.

“The Nov. 6 midterm offers central Pennsylvania voters a chance to forge a new direction, in a new district, with someone who truly represents their values,” the board says.

“George Scott is that candidate.”