PENNSYLVANIA IS APPROACHING THE UNGOVERNABLE II

 I am not proud to be a Pennsylvanian or a registered democrat within its borders.  Our Commonwealth’s institutions are operating in a manner that makes the federal dysfunction appear to be a well oiled machine.  Elected democrats are making matters worse.  Let me count the ways.

                   The promise of a socially enlightened Democratic Governor has degraded into a 5 month and counting budget impasse that is causing irreparable damage to the very individuals who were to receive an increase in badly needed services.  Education was the centerpiece of Governor Wolf’s election campaign.  The inability to reach an agreement now means that poor school districts may be forced to close after the Christmas break and offer no education. 

Governor Wolf also has a worthy agenda to revitalize human services and non profits that help the poor and disabled.  Against this goal, these organizations are now cutting staff and services because of the budget delay. Somehow, making the sick, suffering and most needy in Pennsylvania go through a near death experience before the cavalry arrives does not seem fair or just. 

No solution is in sight as Pennsylvania’s credit rating prepares to plummet and legislators wait for the party across the aisle to blink. The budget is not the place to draw an ideological line in the sand as school districts and  service organizations scramble to save young minds and lives. It is a place for old fashioned horse trading to get schools and services up and running for those who need them.

Our Democratic Attorney General and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court are the laughing stock of the nation.  Kathleen Kane’s legal license has been removed because of pending perjury charges and she is now ineffective as Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor.  The Pennsylvania Senate, that cannot pass a budget, is spending a great deal of resources to figure out how to impeach her. 

The only function in which Ms. Kane can now excel is to draw attention to her hoard of sensitive emails that continue to embarrass a Supreme Court Justice and possibly other members of the “old boys’ network” who she claims are responsible for her difficulties.  While no one can seem to explain how the offending emails and the perjury charges against Kane are related, these two important Commonwealth institutions continue to lose credibility and respect.  Moreover, positive projects like the Attorney General’s recent lawsuit against Chesapeake Energy are undermined by her lack of authority and questionable goals.

The Supreme Court suffered a previous blow when a sitting member, Justice Seamus McCaffery, resigned in October 2014 as a direct result of the email scandal.  Now, a second Justice, J. Michael Eakin will be subject to misconduct charges before a judicial ethics panel for: “sending and receiving emails that a person of reasonable sensitivity would find objectionable.”

 This new scandal is unwinding as the three newly elected democratic “reform” candidates prepare to be seated on the Supreme Court in January.  The campaigns of the three winners were awash in cash from the very individuals who will appear before them as lawyers and litigants.  The attack ads of the winners were beyond the pale and borderline actionable.

With the Governor’s office, legislature, Attorney General and Supreme Court paralyzed by inaction or scandal, what is to be done? One can only hope that the Supreme Court will settle down and make news through its opinions instead of its emails. Further, let us hope the ghosts of former Governors Tom Ridge and Ed Rendell return to the halls of Harrisburg to help guide our misplaced lawmakers to a commonsense solution to the budget debacle.  Lastly there is always the possibility that Attorney General Kane will cop a plea deal and sail off into the sunset to join the disgraced politicos who have preceded her. 

Only then can Pennsylvania return to the ranks of the commonly mediocre rather than the borderline ungovernable.

         

         

AMERICA COULD TURN SHARPLY TO THE RIGHT

There is a cold wind blowing through American Politics.  For democrats to feel smug satisfaction with the apparent disarray in the Republican Party would be a mistake.  Something more sinister than Ronald Reagan or even the war mongering neo cons from the Bush years is in play. If the more moderate wing of the Republican Party loses control of both Congress and the presidential primary, political demagogy may take their place.

There has always been a type of home grown American fascism in our political system.  Certainly not the German or even the Italian variety, but a right wing culture that believes a small group of enlightened leaders, with unwavering ideas, a pure ideology and concrete goals can return America to its version of greatness.  Many of these believers are under the radar billionaires who fund the largest Super PACs for like minded republican candidates.

The exploitation of fear for political ends is the hallmark of fascist gains in power in any democracy.  In this election cycle, the fears of immigration, socialism, terror attacks, economic collapse, lost Christian values, lost gun ownership, and even exotic disease from African countries have driven the conservative republican debate.

In my lifetime, I have never seen these fear issues outweigh the usual calls for hope and positive change.  Add to this fear, an overall disgust with political stagnation among older democrats and independents and the country may be ripe for a sharp, dangerous move toward National Socialism.  The electorate could be ready to give up much of our bogged down messy democracy in return for a strong leader who promises to get things done and provide a safe haven from the bad guys.

How could this happen and why now?  America has always been protected from sharp moves to the left or the right by its sheer size and diversity.  The presidential electoral system is another moderating factor.  But the willingness of far right congressional representatives to not compromise under any circumstances is a strong weapon. if they can continue to threaten governmental paralysis to extract concessions, more liberal dominoes will fall, until a moderate backstop is erected.

In presidential politics three republican candidates with far right or demagogic leanings, Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Ted Cruz are polling a combined 60% of the republican primary electorate.  If one candidate emerges, with the support of the others, a republican nomination for one of these three seems all but assured.  If that candidate were to be elected President and both houses of Congress remained republican, now that would really be something to be frightened about. Excitement over republican infighting and disarray would turn into a democratic nightmare.