Josh First's Blog

One good reason to vote for Scott Perry

Scott Perry is the current congressman in Central PA. Has been for something like ten years, maybe twelve…fourteen? As political careers go, Scott is just about to enter the “been around a long time” category, a category I am normally leery of, because long term career politicians always lose touch with their constituents. They become institutions in their own right, and use that institutional hold to self-enrich, while hardly ever doing The People’s business.

Career politicians usually slide into cruise control mode and make pretend about doing something, bloviating, and then go on long vcations.

The fact that Scott has to work hard and campaign hard in a competitive district in order to hold on to his seat is a good thing. It is good for him, because it keeps him honest and responsive, and because it forces him to listen to his constituents. It is good for us, his constituents.

Scott Perry has several different reputations, some I understand and some I just do not understand. Some of these are well-earned, for better and for worse, and some are just bitch-and-moan partisan politics, which I categorially reject. I can say that I have had conversations with Scott where we disagreed, and where we agreed.

One of his good (I think) reputations is as an independent maverick, an independent thinker, his own man, who operates away from political party oversight and control. It is this way of conducting himself that has earned him my vote.

Where each political party has its own constellation of circling sycophantic self-interested parasite groups, say, teacher’s unions for the Democrats and tobacco for Republicans (it is a toss-up which is worse for you, the teacher’s union or constant tobacco use), the unusually rare career political reps like Scott Perry have constructed their own unique support network that is tailored to their own/ his own unique way of advocating and voting.

Over the spring and summer, Congressman Perry did something that few other elected officials in either party did: He opposed Flock Cameras. Wow. This is a brave thing to do, especially in an election year. Takes real conviction and principle for any politician to take a stand against such a political and financial behemoth as Flock Cameras.

Something so powerful, that promises so much (fake) security, what could go wrong, right?

What are Flock Cameras? For those readers living in a cave (welcome to my own cave here, by the way, proud to say it) or in Rio Linda, and who do not know what Flock Cameras are, here is my perception of them:

Flock Cameras are a high technology evil portal to Hell, where, while of and on this earth, they are combining with artificial intelligence (nothing super about that, yet) to quickly bring the end of a free and Constitutional America and usher in the age of robot warfare against humans. 

We have already seen the dystopian futuristic movies and read the books they are based on (1984, THX1138, Terminator, etc), to know what an all-seeing anti-privacy robot eye can do to humanity, to you. Well, Flock Cameras are the watching all-seeing surveillance eye sent by Satan to control us. This is no hyperbole, and it is refreshing to see that American citizens of all mindsets and policy thinking are now coalescing around opposing Flock Cameras.

And while lots and lots of elected officials in America were taking Flock Cameras cash, some above board and some apparently undisclosed, and signing very very illegal Non-Disclosure Agreements with the company so it could set up in thousands of communities around America, Scott Perry was one of the few, one of the early voices among elected officials, to say STOP THIS.

Scott Perry is up for election in a month. Some things he promotes I do not agree with, some things he votes for or submits legislation on I do agree with, such as his official opposition to Flock Cameras. Such a love-hate relationship is healthy with elected officials and constituents alike. But then again, this is the thinking person’s approach to politics and policy. People who are trained seals clapping and barking for their partisan “team” will not understand this kind of critical thinking approach to life.

If you are a central PA voter trying to figure out whether to vote for Scott Perry, I recommend voting Yes. If for no other reason he had the balls and principle to stand apart from the big money pack and stake out policy territory popular with The People, but unpopular with elected officialdom. Scott said No to Flock Cameras, and he has thus earned my Yes vote next month.