This won’t mean anything to you, unless you live in my neighborhood and are in the 182nd Pennsylvania House district and are represented by Brian Sims, the Progressive Prince Valiant with a couple of flags on his file.
First elected in 2012, Sims is a lawyer who became the first openly gay member of the legislature. Good — and that seemed somewhat important as he represents what’s called the Gayborhood.
I supported him because he ran against uber liberal incumbent Babette Josephs, who was one of the Harrisburglars who voted themselves a pay raise in the dead of the night about a decade ago. She was, as my grandmother would say, a goniff.
Sims was an alternative to the thief. Then he got to feeling entitled.
Which is worse — personal misconduct, or professional?
Let’s start with personal.
Sims is pro abortion. That is his right.
There are people who oppose abortion. That is their right.
An older woman was quietly and peacefully picketing a local Planned Parenthood office. That was her right.
Not according to self-appointed Social Justice Warrior Sims, who started screaming at “an old, white woman,” as he called her, which is ageist and sort of racist. “Shame on you,” he shouted at her, repeatedly
With a total lack of self-awareness, he accuses her of “shaming” people coming to Planned Parenthood, as he shames her.
Not content with gender and age bullying, Sims then plays the guilt card.
“If you’re a white person like I am,” he said, “we have a lot of catching up to do. We have a lot to apologize for. We can start by apologizing for this woman.”
What she is doing is “disgusting” and “racist” (of course), he said, while he then belittled her “Christian faith.”
This is not a parody. These are the words of an actual elected representative in a harangue that went on for more than eight minutes.
There was a second video, which was even worse. The Honorable Mr. Sims harangued a mother and two teenage girls, who were protesting abortion.
Looking into the camera, Sims asked anyone viewing the video to identify the woman and to provide him with her address.
Her address? Why would he need that?
That’s an implicit threat.
In a supreme act of virtue signaling, the preening putz posted the video he shot himself, oblivious to the horrible impact it would have on people who were not in his closed circle of zealots.
Am I too harsh? I think not, because after a (too long) period of time, Sims apologized for his infantile behavior.
The professional issue was ethics charges leveled against Sims, a public servant, for trying to hijack fees from groups who wanted him as a speaker.
Sims’ salary is $86,610, plus a $177 per diem expense account, but it wasn’t enough for the goniff.
As the Billy Penn website reported, after a three-year ethics probe into Sims’ travel fees and speaking gigs, the verdict was “three technical violations of the Pennsylvania Ethics Act.”
He was fined a paltry $750.
Technical shmechnical.
When Sims ran against incumbent Josephs, she was not guilty of even a “technical” violation, but he was on her for her conduct, which was not as bad as his later conduct would be.
On June 2, voters in the 182nd have a choice.
If you live there, or know anyone who lives there, urge them to dump the egomaniacal Sims.
Vote for Democrat Marisa Shaaban. I already have.
HAPPY FRIDAY !!!
Brian Sims: The man has done a few good things in his elected position, but sorry to say, it doesn’t look like he was under any tutelage. Meaning, in the old days, the freshman/woman would be indoctrinated, educated and weened on the politics of Harrisburg.
But as you point out, Stu, he has to go. you can’t get on a white stallion and lead a crusade when you are not noble, and Mr. Sims is far from noble.
His name has been mentioned by my associates in the 182nd, and not in a favorable light.
stay well, yellow is just around the corner,
Tony
Sims is an ayhole just as Babette is (I knew her personally years ago…your assessment of her is an understatement. )
As for Sims saying white people have a lot of catching up to do, maybe he does but I don’t. As a Jew what my people have had to endure for 3500 years makes what blacks went through look merciful.
Sadly, he has carried his activist roots into polite society. His profanity soaked rants do not speak to people who could vote for him.
It is great to have an LGBTQ representative, but he doesn’t represent the LGBTQ community. His latest partisan rant was clearly staged, where was his rant when Dr. Rachel Levine was being attacked for being Trans? It wouldn’t have given him the press that attacking Republicans with false assumptions did. And then he can apologize, but his words will not disappear.
…and I thought my rep, Marjorie Margolies Mezvinsky, was a putz! Sims’s actions make MMM look like an intellectual titan. Let us see what power the vote carries to rid the legislature of such a drear.
I liked Marjorie. I was her “date” to the Clinton inaugural party. A story for another day.
What I disliked about her was her flat-out lying to her constituents. Our district had not sent a Democrat to office in 60 years or so. When she ran for the seat, she promised us she would not vote for tax increases. Yet it was she who cast the deciding vote giving Bill Clinton his huge tax increase. She was kicked out of office at the next election. I probably wrote to her ever couple of weeks for the entire time she was in office (I have copies of many), telling her she was toast (long before the election that removed her), and she should pack her bags and beat the rush. I know I got under her skin (good!) because one of her last acts as a congressperson was to send me a handwritten letter on her official letterhead that says simply, “Vince, get a life.”
Yes, I recall her making that choice and paying for it. She would not lose election in that district today, I would bet.
You have that right. The Dems have taken over the district. The GOP took the district for granted for too long.
I would like to go one on one with this idiot.Why does everyone think if you do not agree with abortion(except for health or criminal reasons) you are a right wing Christian?Guess what I am an atheist.yet I still think it is wrong.What would he say to that?
I don’t know what he would say. He has a habit of ducking the press when he steps in doo-doo.
Time for someone who practices what he preaches…freedom of speech like a civilized person.
Amen. Remember when elected officials were supposed to be examples of good behavior?
Protest movements are being muzzled and increasingly restricted by legislation, which is another topic you can tackle, Stu. Presently this lady was exercising her right in a peaceful manner. Shame on HIM for using his position to bully her. That’s right. He BULLIED her. If he were an unknown Joe Schmo, his rant against her would mean nothing except for the mean spirited aggression it is. He was staging it all for his own glory. It should backfire on him. We’re not stupid.
I have a history of supporting peaceful protests, even ones I disagree with. I supported Occupy Philadelphia until it turned violent.
I agree with you on almost nothing (I only read this because a friend sent it to me) but you are absolutely right about this. What he did at Planned Parenthood did nothing but harm the pro-choice movement. He’s a liberal Trump with the pettiness and tantrums. He does nothing substantial for his constituents, it’s all grandstanding.
Danger! You agree once, it could happen again! 😉
Sims has accomplished nothing in 8 years, except elevate his own “brand” on a national level. It’s outrageous he’s still in office, and I really hope he loses his primary. While I would say that incumbents should stay in office during this time of uncertainty, we wouldn’t be losing much except his dramatic rage clips when he’s feeling like he needs some attention. Good riddance.
Regardless of his past indiscretions and whether he’s a bad guy or not. Did the GOP House leadership commit misconduct in not disclosing members who had tested positive for Covid-19? I’m not saying one way or the other but that was what he’s bitching about in that YouTube clip. Just because he’s a goniff and doesn’t know how to act. I don’t like the guy but that doesn’t make him wrong. I don’t know. Is he right about this?
Not germane. I have no problem with Sims screaming into a camera about his colleagues. My column addressed his bullying a woman. Clear?
My question is this: where has Sims been for the past two months when actual frontline workers (doctors, nurses, grocery store workers) in his district faced similar situations without the luxury of proper PPE or the option to work from home? Where was his outrage then?!? He was cooking snails, wrestling dogs and day drinking. This is about him and his last ditch effort to get publicity before the primary. Period.