Politics & Government
Gehret Says Sen. Leach Should "Apologize" for Voter ID Judge Comments
Says calling judge a 'partisan hack' was over the line.
Wednesday's Pennsylvania Voter ID decision gave the candidates for senator of the commonwealth's 17th district a chance to share their opinions with the public.
After incumbent Daylin Leach harshly criticized Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson on his decision to uphold the Voter ID law, Gehret then issued a release calling Leach's comments "beyond the pale."
In a video posted to his website earlier Wednesday, Sen. Leach called the decision a disappointment and took issue with Judge Simpson's opinion.
"This decision is a profound disappoint not to me… but to the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians that will be disenfranchised by this law if it continues to be upheld through the appeals process," Leach said.
Sen. Leach said he disagreed with a number of points of Judge Simpson's opinion, including his determination that the law was equally applicable to all individuals, and therefore constitutional.
"That's like saying the rich and the poor have an equal right to [not] sleep under a bridge," Leach said. "The judge completely ignored who this decision is going to effect."
However, editor Sam Strike, Sen. Leach took a slightly harsher line while on speakerphone at a Radnor Democratic Party meeting Wednesday night, calling the decision a "partisan hack opinion."
"This is about stopping Democrats from voting… this is about making Mitt Romney win [Pennsylvania]," Leach continued.
That prompted 17th district Republican nominee Charles Gehret to issue a press release today calling for an apology from the senator.
"When Sen. Leach called Judge Simpson a 'partisan hack' I had to look twice to assure myself this wasn't a self descriptive comment," Gehret said. "Judge Simpson is above reproach and he is uniformly regarded as an even-handed jurist who looks only at the law and the facts. Sen. Leach's comments are clearly beyond the pale… [he] needs to take a step back from the kooky-left Kool-Aid stand and apologize to Judge Simpson."
What is your opinion on the Voter ID law and the candidates' comments? Tell us below.
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