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.
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