(StraightShooterNews.com) – Joe Biden’s hometown of Scranton is turning its back on him as officials push to remove his name from the “President Biden Expressway.”
The bombshell move follows Biden’s controversial pardon of former Judge Michael Conahan.
The judge was involved in the stunning “cash-for-kids” scandal, which saw minors unjustly sentenced to for-profit detention centers.
Renaming Spruce Street to Biden Street in 2021 was meant to honor Biden’s ties to Scranton.
However, the recent pardon given to Conahan dramatically shifted public sentiment.
Lackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak leads the charge to reverse the street renaming, describing Biden as “one of the worst presidents we’ve ever had.”
The “Kids for Cash” scandal, which saw Judge Conahan receiving payments for sending juveniles to for-profit detention centers, has left deep scars in the community.
This corrupt scheme forced the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to overturn 4,000 juvenile convictions.
State Rep-elect Brenda Pugh pulled no punches when addressing Biden’s decision, saying, “His clemency places complicity and a stamp of approval on his behavior.”
“Children are among the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians. This decision is nothing short of a travesty, and his clemency is a miscarriage of justice,” she added.
“Conahan’s conduct is forever a blight on Pennsylvania and is a slap in the face to the victims and their families who deserve justice to be served for his atrocious crimes,” Pugh wrote.
The backlash is not limited to local officials. An online petition to revert the street names has gathered over 20,000 signatures, showing widespread disapproval of Biden’s decision.
Even Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, typically a Biden ally, expressed her disappointment by calling the pardon a “grave error.”
Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro criticized Biden’s decision: “President Biden got it absolutely wrong and created a lot of pain here in northeastern Pennsylvania.”
While the authority to change street names lies with the city, not county commissioners or state legislators, the growing pressure may force Scranton officials to act.
Removing Biden’s name from the expressway would be a powerful statement, rejecting the Demorcrat’s disregard for the pain caused by judicial corruption to scandal’s victims.
Copyright 2024, StraightShooterNews.com
