Nicholas O’Rourke, Organizing Director of the Pennsylvania Working Families Party, speaking at the You Can’t Impeach Us rally outside Penn State’s satellite campus in the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
Philadelphia residents rallied in support of District Attorney Larry Krasner last week and brought the “Disenfranchisement Circus” – an actual circus – with them to the Navy Yard to deride the the Pennsylvania legislature’s political efforts to censure Krasner, a duly elected official of Philadelphia. Activists held signs that read “You Can’t Impeach Us” outside the pair of closed door hearings House Republicans and a handful of Democrats held in a remote section of Philadelphia.
Representatives Amen Brown and Danillo Burgos, who both are members of the committee seeking to impeach Krasner, were the focus of much criticism for participating in the GOP’s stunt. In addition, reporting from the Intercept confirmed that Democratic Minority Whip Jordan Harris also encouraged Democratic members of his caucus to vote with the Republicans in their attempt.
Brown and Burgos drew criticism because both live in districts where 79 percent and 65 percent of the voters supported Krasner. Their siding with Republicans to hold Krasner in contempt is at odds with how their own constituents voted. Brown, Burgos, and Harris are also the top recipients of campaign cash from Republican megadonor Jeffrey Yass.
Brown received over $77,000 from Yass associated PACs this election cycle including a $40,000 contribution from a PAC funded by the billionaire in August. This makes him the second most well funded Democrat from PACs funded by the right-wing billionaire. Harris it the largest recipient having received close to $1 million from PACs bankrolled by Yass during his tenure. Burgos also received $5,000 from a Yass associated PAC earlier this year.
The rallies supporting Krasner against the unfounded impeachment attempt were organized by the Pennsylvania Working Families Party, Reclaim Philadelphia, Amistad Law Project and other local grassroots organizations. The circus included makeshift animals, performers walking on stilts, doing acrobatics and juggling bowling pins.
Those speaking in support of Krasner included Senator Nikil Saval, Representatives Chris Rabb and Rick Krajewski and City Councilmember Kendra Brooks. Senator Saval described the GOP’s latest power grab as a “five alarm fire” and compared the impeachment process to the GOP’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. It is notable that Yass also played a prominent funding in organizational efforts to question the legitimacy of the 2020 elections.