How Progressives End Up Funding Attacks on Reproductive Rights And More
A number of anti-abortion bills are moving through the PA state legislature, and while the Republicans leading the effort are regularly called out by progressives, too many are silent — even complicit — on the Democrats in their own party working against reproductive rights and more.
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Late last night, the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 to essentially let Roe v Wade expire in Texas, effectively banning abortion for most women. But Texas isn’t the only place facing such laws against abortion; recently, a number of bills working to restrict access to reproductive health services are being passed in the Pennsylvania state legislature. Planned Parenthood has a more detailed description of these bills and why they are unacceptable, but to quote a short summary: “The obvious aim of these bills is to further stigmatize and criminalize people seeking abortions as well as their healthcare providers. Undoubtedly, each of these harmful bills will create more punitive barriers to care, especially for people of color, LGBTQ folks, young people, and people with low incomes…” Some bills even go beyond those seeking abortion information and services, and would potential shame and hurt even women that experienced a miscarriage.
Unfortunately, the voting record for the bills that have advanced so far shows that it was not only Republicans; several Democrats also voted for HB 118, HB 1500, and HB 1095. The Democrats voting for one or more of these bills include:
- Ryan Bizzarro (Erie) (1095)
- Frank Burns (Cambria) (all three)
- Anthony M. DeLuca (Allegheny) (118, 1500)
- Michael Driscoll (Philadelphia) (1500, 1095)
- John T. Galloway (Bucks) (1500, 1095)
- Anita Kulik (Allegheny) (all three)
- Mark Longietti (Mercer) (all three)
- Brandon J. Markosek (Allegheny) (1500)
- Robert F. Matzie (Allegheny/Beaver) (1500, 1095)
- Gerald Mullery (Luzerne) (1095)
- Chris Sainato (Lawrence) (all three)
- Pam Snyder (Greene/Fayette/Washington) (all three)
While many Democratic Party officials are out speaking against the Republican Party (and rightfully so), especially in light of the recent decision in Texas to severely restrict abortion, it is difficult to take such criticism seriously when they cannot even confront the anti-abortion attitudes within their own party. This is especially true for officials in Allegheny County (the Pittsburgh metro area, roughly), where the most Democrat elected officials crossed over and voted for one or more of these bills than any other county.
Democratic officials that truly wish to fight for reproductive rights and people’s control of their own bodies should be sure to call out their own party members first. Have party members talked to these representatives and attempted to educate them on the issues? If so, and the representatives will not budge, then the party needs to work to “primary them” and replace them, instead of pointing fingers at the Republicans while allowing the same dangerous attitudes to exist in their own party. Instead, the party seems to largely insulate and protect these incumbents by supporting their re-election campaigns by deflecting pressure toward Republicans.
A Closer Look At Anita Kulik
I especially want to turn my attention to Rep. Anita Kulik from this list, for a few reasons: out of the list of all Democrats voting for this anti-reproductive-rights legislation, Kulik stands out for being one of two Democratic women voting for these bills that would shame and harm women, and also one of the five members that voted in favor of all three bills. Kulik also happens to be the state representative of the district I live in, who I attempted to run against in 2020 (but did not make it on the ballot in part due to COVID-19 restrictions and partisan court rulings that failed to give Green Party candidates any legal relief during a pandemic).
Kulik regularly describes herself as “pro-life” and has in past years supported anti-abortion efforts, including the big push in 2017 for SB 3, an anti-abortion bill that was pushed nationwide in many states; Kulik voted Yes with Republicans (and even with most of the same names in the list above), but the bill was vetoed by Governor Tom Wolf. When I reached out to her office at the time to ask her to oppose such attempts, she reiterated that she was “pro-life”” and would not change her mind on it. Therefore, the votes this year sadly sudden surprising votes, but rather votes clearly inline with her views she’s made public for years.
Sadly, Kulik has largely gone unopposed, since she first took the seat from retiring state representative Nick Kotik. Kotik had run unopposed nearly every election for a good 20 years, so it wasn’t surprising that when Kulik first ran in 2016, she was also unopposed. She was unopposed in 2018 too, then finally had general election challengers in 2020 — myself, as the Green Party candidate, and a sudden Republican challenger who clearly only jumped in hoping that a three-way election would break in his favor. In all these cases, Kulik never faced a primary challenger.
Did you think your donations to progressive Democrats actually go to incumbents like Kulik? Well, that’s what happens.
Part of the reason for this could be how much Kulik has benefited from Democratic Party aid as an incumbent. Potential progressive challengers could easily be “scared off” from running when assessing Kulik’s financial and social support, for example. It is especially egregious to learn that many of the “progressive” members of the party have supported Kulik at least indirectly.
Pennsylvania requires campaigns file regular finance reports that are public record. Looking at Kulik’s filings since 2019, we see a large number of clearly Democratic organizations — for example, one of the top donors, contributing over $3,000 to her campaign in 2020, is the Allegheny County Democratic Delegation, which presumably represents all currently-elected state legislators in Allegheny County. It’s unclear to me how that works exactly, but I have to conclude if state representatives are not speaking out against this donation made in their name — and possibly from their own money — then they must be complicit. Additionally, the PA Federation of Democratic Women, as well as more local organizations like the Kennedy Township Democratic Committee and the Stowe Township Democratic Club, have all donated to Kulik’s campaign.
In addition to clubs and committees, many elected Democratic officials and candidates directly donated to Kulik either personally or through their campaign finance accounts. Pittsburgh Mayor’s Bill Peduto’s PAC Friends of Peduto for example gave $250 to Kulik. State Representative Harry Readshaw (Readshaw for Legislator), Democratic candidate for Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin M. Kraus, ex Allegheny County State Representative Adam Ravenstahl (Friends of Adam Ravenstahl), Philadelphia State Representative Jordan Harris (Citizens for Jordan Harris), Allegheny County Treasurer John K. Weinstein (Friends of John K. Weinstein), Philadelphia State Representative Ed Neilson (Neilson for the Northeast), Scranton-area State Representative Frank Dermody (Friends of Frank Dermody), Allegheny County State Representative Bill Kortz (Elect Bill Kortz), Coraopolis Borough Mayor Shawn Reed, Coraopolis Borough Manager Ray McCutcheon, Allegheny County State Senator Wayne Fontana (Committee to Elect Wayne Fontana), Allegheny County State Representative Nick Piscittano (Friends of Nick Piscittano), Allegheny County State Senator Jay Costa, US Representative Conor Lamb, Allegheny County Sheriff Bill Mullen (Committee to Elect Bill Mullen), Magisterial Judge Michelle Santicola (Friends of Michelle Santicola), Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mary McGinley (McGinley for Judge Committee), and Montgomery County State Representative Matt Bradford (Friends of Matt Bradford) have all donated some amount of money, typically in the range of $250–$1000, to Kulik’s campaign during 2019 and/or 2020. I may have even missed a few officials if I didn’t immediately recognize their names or PAC names.
Did you think that by donating to, say, Bill Peduto’s campaign that some of your money would actually be going to support an anti-abortion Democrat in another district outside of Pittsburgh? Well, that’s exactly what’s happening. This is also looking only at one person from the list; it’s extremely likely that all of the other representatives in the list above also get similar support from their local Democratic establishment.
Interestingly none of the state representatives in this list voted for the anti-reproductive-rights bills, so I have to wonder why they’re giving money to an anti-abortion Democrat. And there’s still the question of who exactly gives the “county delegation” donation — if it comes from all the elected Democrats in the county, then they are all at least indirectly funding anti-abortion votes.
While these Democrats directly donated to her, Kulik has also received a large amount of indirect social support in the form of endorsements or reminders. Kulik lists a large number of local elected Democrats as her “Honorary” campaign committee and local chairs. This includes people like County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, County Controller Chelsa Wagner, and US Representative Mike Doyle.
County Council Member At-Large Bethany Hallam for example posted her support and effective endorsement of Kulik at a 2020 re-election campaign event.
Kulik’s Corporate Connections to Fossil Fuels, For-Profit Health
Kulik also has a large number of corporate PACs supporting her campaign. Many of them are from oil and gas companies (such as NISource, parent company of Columbia Gas) or construction unions related to the oil and gas industry, which perhaps makes it clear why she has refused to speak out against fracking or petrochemicals and instead has hailed the industry several times and called for more oil and gas jobs. Kulik voted for several different bills such as HB 1100 that shovel billions of dollars in subsidies toward the proposed petrochemical hub buildout in southwest PA that will create a new “cancer alley” (as it is known around a similar petrochemical hub in Louisiana).
Kulik also receives funding from several healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and insurance related PACs (such as Bayer) which might also explain why she does not support a single payer healthcare system or any sort of major healthcare reform. I have repeatedly asked about a single payer healthcare system (see one example in the next screenshot, below) but have never received an answer; she has never co-sponsored the single payer bill at the state-level, and has not to my knowledge ever spoken in favor of the federal bill.
Kulik’s connections to police and the courts
Donations from judges and sheriffs also help explain why Kulik seems to go out of her way to praise the police, refuses to support serious reform of criminal law (in fact, one of the bills she is most proud of is Alina’s Law which would further erode constitutional rights by empowering police and judges to place folks under house arrest without any due process; the PA ACLU among others has spoken out about the dangerous problems with this law should it be passed as-is), and has even expressed her opposition to decriminalizing & legalizing cannabis.
Despite trying to frame herself as a champion for women facing abuse, Kulik has been silent about women facing police abuse in her own communities.
In fact, right in the middle of the Black Lives Matter protests that rocked the country since last summer, Kulik avoided speaking about police brutality issues raised by BLM, but did take the time to post blue line flags in support of police and meet with Republicans and police chiefs about “issues faced by our police forces.” I am unaware of her making any similar meeting with BLM activists or police reform advocates on how to get more accountability and end police brutality.
Meanwhile, my spouse and I have been in a legal dispute with the police of Coraopolis (in Kulik’s district) and Moon Township for more than 3 years now, in which my spouse was arrested for free speech in public trying to educate the public about Chevron’s environmental damage and its “donations” to the township, followed shortly after by another arrest during a mental health crisis in which she was booked with criminal charges rather than taken to a hospital as the borough’s own rules required and the family demanded — during that arrest, officers screamed at her, insulted her, handcuffed her to a wall, and left her unattended for hours where she urinated on the floor without bathroom access, then threw a urine-soaked towel after cleaning it up into her face while mocking her — and amazingly the police charged her with “vandalizing” the building by urinating while handcuffed! (Disturbingly, one of the officers there that night was also currently at the time facing civil lawsuit for sexual assault but was defended by the department and borough who claimed the officer had “qualified immunity”; the PA Superior Court later ruled against the borough and the officer, saying immunity didn’t apply because the officer’s actions were “shocks the conscience,” making me wonder why they allowed an officer facing serious allegations anywhere near my spouse during a mental health crisis, and what other complaints might exist against borough officers.)
After reporting this clear police misconduct to local officials including our borough mayor Shawn Reed (who is also a Democrat) and seeing no action (in fact, the borough sent us a letter saying they refuse to speak to us any more outside of court), these issues were reported to Kulik numerous times by myself and my spouse’s family, including her father who personally met with Kulik in her office to tell the story details and ask her for action. Yet, Kulik has not only remained silent on these events — never offering us advice, referrals to places we could get help, or even a promise to investigate with local officials and get back to us — but Kulik has since then continued to post on social media positive messages about the local police departments and members we have reported for misbehavior, almost as if she doesn’t care about our complaints and is looking to provide cover for the police instead.
And sadly it’s not only Kulik — we’ve reached out to other county and state officials, including County Council Member & Council President Pat Catena, and nearby state representatives Sara Innamorato, Summer Lee, Emily Kincaid, asking for any sort of help, assistance, advice, referrals, investigations — anything! Could they help us by calling Kulik and local officials to put pressure on them to drop charges against my spouse and instead take action against police misconduct? Even just an update on legislation that they might be fighting for that addresses our experiences, since we better understand the problems in today’s court system having gone through it ourselves, and how we can help promote it would have been nice. But instead we’re always met with “what-am-i-supposed-to-do” shrugs, if not outright silence. Maybe something is going on behind-the-scenes, but they haven’t told us if so, and I haven’t seen any public statements with regards to Kulik or other conservative Democrats. Again, all of these people are Democrats who normally love to talk about these topics when it’s happening from Republicans, but stay silent about other Democrats.
When the local government fights you in court, and county and state officials remain silent, what are you supposed to do to get accountability?
Can You Even Be A Progressive If You’re Still A Democrat?
I am a Green Party member and I often hear some variant of the question “Why aren’t you just a Democrat?”. There’s many reasons, but one easy answer is that I cannot in good conscience join a party that supports anti-abortion candidates like Kulik (in addition to her lack of and/or terrible stances on other issues like climate, healthcare, and policing, as discussed above). It’s one thing to say that the party can’t legally stop her from running but that they’re going to oppose her politics; it’s another thing entirely for so many party officials to not only remain silent about Kulik’s actions and votes, but to even support her re-election with funding and/or endorsements. Democrats are clearly not serious about defending reproductive rights, just like they’re not serious about climate change as they voted by an overwhelming bipartisan majority for legislation like HB1100 to shovel more money into the oil and gas industry and especially petrochemicals which will destroy the health of this region and accelerate climate emergency. Just like local, state, and federal Democrats continue to increase policing budgets through the roof yet do little to nothing about police brutality and legal hurdles to accountability like qualified immunity.
While I’ve dug into Kulik’s finances and connections, I would not be surprised to find similar connections with the other conservative Democrats listed at the beginning of the post. I encourage everyone to do a deep dive like this on your own state representative and post it publicly so we all may be better informed what elected officials and their parties have actually been up to despite whatever words they use in their speeches.
In short, the Democratic Party does NOT represent my values or political vision. The Green Party does, and the Green Party is speaking out against these attacks on reproductive rights from members of both parties. The Green Party is of course also the birth place of the original Green New Deal, significantly more comprehensive and serious than any proposed by Democrats, and the Green Party supports many other policies in line with my values.
Progressives that feel the Democratic Party is their home need to take action. Speak out against Democrats like Kulik. Immediately speak out against the party funding Kulik’s re-election campaigns, and even speak out against other party members that are funding her. Don’t just accept her as an inevitable incumbent; find someone to primary her NOW. If progressive Democrats cannot find a challenger by the 2022 primary, then I better see you supporting the Green Party candidate against Kulik next time, instead of complaining and throwing your hands up and shrugging and saying you can’t support Greens because reasons. At least Greens are trying to fight for reproductive rights, struggling in solidarity, unlike Democrats who support anti-women legislation and candidates while publicly claiming the opposite. That’s called a lie, Democrats. Either that or you are extremely out of touch with what the party is doing in your name, in which case you need to seriously rethink your efforts and affiliations if this is all new to you.
Voters, reach out to ALL of the officials above and tell them you don’t want Democrats supporting anti-abortion candidates, ever, even if they have a (D) after their name. Stop donating to Democrat candidates, stop voting for them, even consider leaving the party entirely, if they cannot get their act together. Pointing fingers at Republicans is unacceptable when they won’t do anything about people within their own party. If they want to earn our trust and support, they gotta walk the walk.
If Democrats cannot even speak out against members of their own party, it’s clear they’ll never bring the system change necessary to defend human rights and address climate change before it is too late. The Green Party welcomes progressives to their real home, in that case; let’s build an alternative to the Republicans AND Democrats in Allegheny County.
