Will Bri-Fi Withstand a "Blue Wave" in '26?

With the fall mid-term elections coming up, it’s time once more to engage in my bi-yearly ritual of taking a look at the voting record of our PA-01 U.S. House Rep Brian Fitzpatrick. So, without further ado, I give you the following:

Here, Fitzpatrick voted for a bill to let Generalissimo Trump arbitarrily decide whether or not nonprofit groups would lose their tax-exempt status, giving them 90 days to fight this (which means the affected groups would likely lose since they would have to expend massive amounts of dough for a court fight they’d probably lose...think Planned Parenthood probably, under the guise of fighting “terrorism” of course). This also includes any group supporting DEI or the BDS movement against Israel as well as supporting Palestine (and yes, I know 52 alleged “Democrats” voted for this mess also). I believe this needed unanimous consent the first time it was introduced, which is why it failed (here), though it was reintroduced and Bri-Fi voted Yes again (more here, here and here).

Also, Fitzpatrick supported the Social Security Fairness Act to repeal the so-called Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) Provision, which, according to Bri-Fi, “unfairly reduced (Social Security) benefits for our retired firefighters, police officers, teachers, and other public servants” (vote is here).

Hmmm, public servants...you mean, like Bri-Fi himself? And yes, this is particularly ridiculous when you find out how Bri-Fi puffs himself up by saying “Oh, I voted against pay raises.” What the hell do you call this, then?

And I’ll admit that you have to be a real Grinch, you might say, to criticize this (supported in overwhelming bipartisan numbers in the House...71 Repugs opposed it). But here’s the thing...this is expected to cost about $196 billion, and there’s no “pay-for” provision to this. And this affects a relatively small number of Social Security recipients.

Also, there were 4 Dems who opposed it, including John Larson of Connecticut (here), who said...

"While I am glad to see the House take up the issue of Social Security, we need to take comprehensive action to enhance benefits and extend the program's solvency, something the United States Congress has not done in more than 50 years," Larson said in a statement.

So you know what, Bri-Fi? Get back to me when you and your pals come up with legislation to FULLY FUND SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE (preferably removing the cap on earning subject to S.S. withholding, which is about $176K) and which also prohibits privatizing it, or making it “discretionary spending,” or turning it into some kind of a ”block grant” program or some such nonsense, OK?

Also, do you remember that infamous showdown between Don The Con and Couch Boy on one side, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine over funding that nation’s brave battle against Vlad The Butcher (where our “accordion hands” *preznit kept telling Zelenskyy “you haven’t got the cards” among other insults)?

Here is the obsequious, cowardly response from our PA-01 rep:

"It was heartbreaking to witness the turn of events that transpired in today's meeting regarding Ukraine's future. It is time to put understandable emotions aside and come back to the negotiation table."

If you want any further proof that Bri-Fi does the bidding of the leader of his party at all costs, there you have it.

Bri-Fi also voted for that garbage Republican budget to extend tax cuts at the expense of cutting Medicare/Medicaid 217-215 (here)...all Repugs voted Yes (except Thomas Massie of KY...Massie would end up paying for courageous votes like this, as well as keeping up the drumbeat on the Trumpstein files)...and just for good measure, Fitzpatrick voted for it again here.

Here, Bri-Fi voted for cuts to Medicaid and school lunches, a move which will undoubtedly hurt kids and cost lives and will likely lead to the closure of community hospitals and facilities for elder care (more here and here).

And just for good measure, Bri-Fi was NOT one of the 12 U.S. House reps who opposed Medicaid cuts in a letter to MAGA Mike Johnson here.

Bri-Fi also voted for the utterly wretched SAVE Act here (along with four alleged “Democrats”), which is a “solution” in search of an actual problem – as I and MANY others have pointed out, actual voter fraud takes place on a truly microscopic level (and often committed by Republicans), and when it DOES occur, it’s caught by election officials. The purpose of the SAVE Act is to disenfranchise individuals (including out-of-state students, married women, and anyone without a valid passport, which covers about 146 million people as noted here) who often vote for Democrats.

He also voted for the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” because of course (here)...among the MANY cruelties in this bill, it guts Medicaid and takes billions from Medicare also and hammers SNAP benefits, though it DOES include a tax break for...wait for it!...gun silencers, and in the process of rewarding the “pay no price, bear no burden” bunch once more, it blows up the debt by at least $3.8 trillion...to be fair, Bri-Fi, along with Thomas Massie, voted No on the final version of the BBB on 7/3/25, but as far as I’m concerned, the damage was already done since he voted Yes for EVERY PROCEDURAL VOTE leading up to that (and Bri-Fi says the House version never would have cut Medicaid – uh, no).

Bri-Fi also voted for the so-called GENIUS Act here, which legalized a lot of the crypto nonsense that, among other things, helped enrich #47 by putting this damn “stablecoin” token into a black box where it will ultimately go right into Dementia Donnie’s pocket with no oversight (and I know a lot of Dems voted for this mess also, probably because they saw the role the crypto industry played in sinking the re-election campaigns of Sherrod Brown and Jon Tester as noted here).

Along with every other U.S. House Republican, he voted against releasing the Trumpstein files (here).

Fitzpatrick also voted in favor of HR 4371, the so-called Kayla Hamilton Act (here – more from the ACLU is here and here).

From what I read about this, it appears that the Kayla Hamilton Act is a version of the Laken Riley bill, meaning that the R team has chosen to exploit an awful tragedy to pass just-as-awful (and-maybe-worse) legislation that, among other things, subjects immigrant kids to body cavity searches (Stephen Miller will get his jollies over this for sure). It would also subject immigrant children to prolonged detention instead of unification with families in this country while their legal case proceeds (especially if the children pose a “flight risk” or present themselves with “gang tattoos” as determined by our cretinous ruling cabal...and did I fail to mention that we’re talking about children??!!).

Bri-Fi also voted to fund the government for fiscal year ending 9/26 (here), which sounds benign except for the fact that that includes still more funding for the ICE Gestapo. Let’s not forget, though, that Fitzpatrick said that ICE agents should be unmasked (here)...instead, how about DOING AWAY WITH ICE ENTIRELY SINCE THEY’RE A ROGUE AGENCY AND PUNISHING EVERYONE IN THAT BUNCH GUILTY OF A CRIME???!!!

He also voted in favor of a bill that would have blocked legislation challenging those beyond ridiculous Trump tariffs (here)...fortunately, the bill failed because every Dem voted against it along with 3 Repugs; Thomas Massie, Kevn Kiley and Don Bacon (but not Bri-Fi...I would ask that you keep this in mind the next time you hear Bri-Fi trying to sell himself as a moderate problem solver, or some such nonsense...our wet noodle PA-01 rep was willing to cede tariff power, which rightfully belongs to Congress, to our ruling criminal cabal).

However, to be fair, “Both Sides Brian” also voted for a bill to “disapprove” of #47’s tariffs with Canada here (I guess, since the head of the “R” party is in the White House, a “disapprove” resolution is the best we can get from MAGA Mike Johnson and his minions).

Maybe the worst of Bri Fi’s nonsense is his being utterly mute during the worst excesses of the Trump regime, including the destruction of US AID, DOGE and Project 2025 in general wrecking our government, along with the previously mentioned ICE horror show, in particular the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, to say nothing of all of the kids captured and held by ICE, some of whom have died, that stinking ballroom and the “Arch De Trump” on the way to Arlington, Our Ochre Abomination playing games with disaster aid to blue states, those horrible tariffs (and I know Fitzpatrick opposed Canada’s as noted, but I mean the others too), turning our backs on Ukraine, blowing up the South American fishing boats, unilaterally declaring war on Iran and Venezuela, antagonizing our trade partners including Canada and Denmark/Greenland, etc. (here and here)

Also, I couldn’t find any response from Fitzpatrick concerning the “VIP snorkeling” event around the U.S.S. Arizona that FBI head Kash Patel participated in (here). I mean, Bri-Fi was once an FBI agent – you would THINK he’d have something to say about that.

Oh, and for the record, Bri-Fi was also mute when Cantaloupe Capone said he didn’t care about people’s finances or his previously noted war of choice against Iran (here).

Also, Bri-Fi has actually tried to legislate about getting PFAS chemicals out of our environment, though the head of his party couldn’t give a fig about the danger from PFAS of course (here). However, to be fair, Fitzpatrick has pushed back on that, somewhat (here – I won’t give Bri-Fi credit for much, but I will for that).

Also, Bri-Fi and Tom Suozzi in the House introduced a bill to keep Bronzer Beelzebub from paying off the 1/6 insurrectionists #47 pardoned from this “anti-weaponization” fund BS (another point in his favor – here).

It should also be noted that Bri-Fi said that a War Powers Resolution over Iran must be brought to Congress if the 60-day limit from the date of declaring hostilities is reached (here)...true, but that’s a pretty milquetoast response as per usual to the insane, delusional demagoguery from The Orange Demon *preznit Who Must Not Be Named (and I’m sure you can imagine what the response was from Cheetoh Hitler to THAT).

By the way, I know Bri-Fi was endorsed by the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the largest PA union representing teachers and support staff (here)...

“We value the relationships you have built with the public school employees throughout the district and your efforts to support policies that strengthen public education and protect the rights of working people,” wrote Aaron F. Chapin, the president of PSEA, which is also the largest labor union in Pennsylvania (in explaining the endorsement).

I wonder if Chapin is aware of the fact that, by voting for the Big Beautiful Clusterf*ck, Bri-Fi helped kick-start what is in essence a national school voucher program, with the impact not scheduled to hit until January ’27 based on this (how con-vee-nient)...

“What is clear, is that in any state that wants to do so, the program can be used to support private school choice, and that's what makes it significant,” (Professor Martin) West says. “It really does have the potential to turbocharge the movement to expand private school choice in the United States, which already had significant momentum at the state level.”

I also would SERIOUSLY like to know what the rank-and-file of Chapin’s union thinks of this endorsement. It’s possible that they may go along with this, but somehow I doubt it.

Also, here is something else from Our Demented Orange Lunatic of a *preznit (this corrupt-as-hell nuclear deal with the Saudis) that Bri-Fi has been absolutely mute about.

Fitzpatrick has also voted against the right to contraception for his PA-01 constituents, along with voting against codifying Roe v. Wade protections, as well as supporting a nationwide abortion ban and so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” which “manipulate women seeking care with unproven and dangerous medical misinformation.” He has also voted against capping the cost of prescription drugs, failing to support extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits, and supported cuts to common-sense energy tax credits (that and MUCH more is here).

With each passing year, it becomes more and more obvious to yours truly that Brian Fitzpatrick, having perfected the art of the meaningless gesture (in terms of improving the quality of life for those he ostensibly represents), will never provide anything more than half-based “solutions” to the important needs that require the skill and commitment of a U.S. House rep committed to his constituents.

So, given all of this, what kind of campaign is Bri-Fi running against his Dem opponent Bob Harvie? Well, given that Fitzpatrick has made the beyond sleazy charge that Harvie is the target of an FBI investigation (which even the Huffington Post says is nonsense here), that should tell you that Fitzpatrick has dragged this campaign directly to the gutter in a truly vile manner (which, again, isn’t surprising given Fitzpatrick’s failure to make substantive accomplishments over the years of his representation in Congress).

Oh, and Bri-Fi has frequently tried to criticize Harvie as a “career politician.” Given that Fitzpatrick has held his seat for 10 YEARS, what the hell does that make him?

To vote for new representation at long last, click here to support Bob Harvie, so Brian Fitzpatrick can continue his servile fealty to Donald Trump and launch mud-slinging attacks at Democrats merely as a private citizen instead of an elected representative to the U.S. Congress.