Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Metcalfe says 'lazy' people don't deserve to vote

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe is nothing if not blunt. The Butler County lawmaker lands at the center of almost every controversial issue in the Capitol be it immigration, gun control or voter ID. Now he has inserted himself into the middle of the "47 percent" debate by suggesting, on a Pittsburgh radio broadcast, that Pennsylvania's new voter ID law, which is still being fought over in the courts, will only disenfranchise the "lazy."

92 comments

Metcalfe says 'lazy' people don't deserve to vote

POSTED: Thursday, September 20, 2012, 1:33 AM
State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe is nothing if not blunt. The Butler County Republican positions himself at the center of almost every controversial issue in the Capitol, be it immigration, gun control or voter ID.

Now he's dived into the middle of the hot "47 percent" debate by suggesting, on a Pittsburgh radio broadcast, that Pennsylvania's new voter ID law, will only disenfranchise the "lazy."

Metcalfe on Wednesday told KDKA Radio that the law, which is still being fought in the courts, may exclude those on the "public dole," like the people GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney referred to in the leaked video taken at a private fundraising event - who are too lazy to go get a proper ID.

Metcalfe, the lead sponsor of the voter ID legislation signed by Gov. Corbett in March, said the burden is on the citizenry to get the documents needed to vote.

When asked about the tens of thousands, if not more Pennsylvanians who may not be able to vote on Nov. 6, Metcalfe cited Romney’s mention of the 47% of the country who will never “take personal responsibility and care for their lives” as evidence that some citizens do not deserve to vote.

HOST: Are you absolutely convinced…that the methods to implement this law are effective and will in fact make sure no legitimate voter will be disenfranchised?

METCALFE: I don’t believe any legitimate voter that actually wants to exercise that right and takes on the according responsiblity that goes with that right to secure their photo ID will be disenfranchised. As Mitt Romney said, 47% of the people that are living off the public dole, living off their neighbors’ hard work, and we have a lot of people out there that are too lazy to get up and get out there and get the ID they need. If individuals are too lazy, the state can’t fix that.

(Audio/ Think Progress)

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Amy Worden @ 1:33 AM  Permalink | 92 comments
92 comments
Comments  (94)
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:58 AM, 09/20/2012
    An ID was necessary to get into the concert on the parkway Labor Day weekend. Is anyone protesting or seeking litigation regarding that requirement. How about the ID requirement to board a commercial airplane. Anyone disenfranchised there?
    anti-tax
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:14 PM, 09/20/2012
    Did you really just compare attending a Jay Z concert to voting in the presidential election?
    observer01
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:58 AM, 09/20/2012
    Amen Metcalfe...100% right.
    mayfair_
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:58 AM, 09/20/2012
    It is beyond my comprehension how people get so worked up about some of their fellow citizens stealing some of the goodwill that we as citizens want to provide those in need but don't think twice about voting for a candidate that steals millions from them annually by not paying his fair share in taxes. It is just baffling.
    ephraim
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:07 PM, 09/20/2012
    Following the laws as written is not paying your fair share? who do yo know that pays more than they have to. Who do you know that pays anything? If you can find someone, ask them if they paid more than they had to.
    tr88
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:11 PM, 09/20/2012
    @ephraim: What an outright lie!!! Romney has already submited his 2010 taxes, and the info. on his estimates for 2011. Romney is NOT REQUIRED to submit anything. That doesn't mean he is hiding something. Do you think if he was cheating, the IRS would have just stood by, and let him cheat for the last 30 years? High income people's tax returns are scrutinized. Romney's returns are probably a few hundred pages each year. His 13% is lower than most, because the bulk of his income is from investments, which are taxed at a lower rate. Romeny turns his info over to tax lawyers that use every LEGAL and PERMITTED possible deduction.AND.... I'm far more concerned about what plans Obama has with confiscating and squandering MY MONEY, than what Romney does with his own money. This nonsense about Romney's tax returns is a load of horse**** to divert the public's attention away from the financial disaster and quagmire that Obama has led this nation into....and the cliff that we will all fall off of before the end of the decade.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:06 PM, 09/20/2012
    Stop watching 106 and Park, go outside, get your ID's
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:07 PM, 09/20/2012
    4% of our population is on welfare. So his 47% lazy people include people on medicare and social security, and veterans.
    ej610
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:11 PM, 09/20/2012
    Driving is a PRIVILEGE not a right.
    Voting is a RIGHT.
    OurCity2000
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:16 PM, 09/20/2012
    It is not a RIGHT for people to vote multiple times, as occurs (which the Dems deny). A woman in Miss. the other day was sentenced for voting four times in a recent election. Voting ONE time per election is a RIGHT...and to insure the integrity of the voting process, if voter ID is required ( as ID is required for a host of welfare benefits, which doesn't seem to be a problem)...then so be it.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:34 PM, 09/20/2012
    Eh Bocephus, We're in Pennsylvania, not Mississippi. Using an example of voter fraud in Mississippi does not support your argument for the existence of voter fraud in PA. Please provide specific examples of voter fraud in PA, and not examples you just make up in your head.
    CommonSense in Philly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:17 PM, 09/20/2012
    It's a right provided you meet the requirements.
    tr88
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:11 PM, 09/20/2012
    The ID measure is NO different than the "tests" required of blacks shortly after they were given the right to vote. It is meant to create a hardship and act as a deterant to those who would vote against those enacting such measures. Did a GOPer recently get caught saying something along the lines of "Voter ID in PA, Check...Getting Romney elected in PA, Check!" Their motives are clear.
    msmame
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:15 PM, 09/20/2012
    he is COMPLETELY correct. if you can't be bothered to get a free voter photo ID, then you are a FIRST RATE LAZY MORON.

    liberals are insane. photo id is required RIGHT NOW BY LAW to REGISTER to vote!!! has been FOR YEARS! its not a left / right issue, its common sense!

    liberals don't care about the integrity of the process, only the outcome. cheating is ok if it helps them win.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:26 PM, 09/20/2012
    Im not so sure its an issue about being lazy. Thinking its more about having an excuse to fight against more structure and accountability. Ask yourself honestly, Is it that hard to get proper identification? You want to fly you need id. you get pulled over for traffic violation you need id. you want to request offiacl forms, ie birth certificate, marriage license etc, you need id. Get off your excuse laiden asses and get the proper requirements to vote! If you put an ounce of energy towards this requirement as you did in crying the blues you would have gotten 10 ids. Oh and make sure you thank a veteran for allowing us the opportunity to vote! and yes i am republican but voted for obama last election. however things do need CHANGE! how many blind democrats can say they crossed party lines. good luck
    mgondek652


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Commonwealth Confidential gives you regularly updated coverage of the state legislature, the governor and the workings of the state bureaucracy. It is written by Angela Couloumbis and Amy Worden in the Inquirer's Harrisburg bureau, based right in the statehouse, and by the newspaper's far-flung campaign reporters.

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