Voters are the real deciders - not Bush and not our lawmakers. Last year
I told you about Pennsylvania's legislators who voted themselves hefty pay raises at 2:00 in the morning - without any public discussion or hearings - and then convened for the summer. The citizens were outraged and indignant, and their public outcry led to a repeal of the raises, but the voters didn't stop there. Tuesday they
went to polls and voted a large number of the incumbents out - including the Senate's top two Republicans.
Pennsylvania lawmakers didn't get exactly what they deserved Tuesday -- that would have required too much tar and too many feathers -- but voters did the next best thing. They threw the rascals out, at least most of the ones responsible for last summer's 11 to 54 percent pay raise for themselves, judges and other state officials.
The most prominent heads that rolled in Tuesday's primary election belonged to two of the Senate's top Republican leaders. President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer, of Altoona, and Majority Leader David Brightbill, of Lebanon County, became the first state legislators in 42 years to lose a primary election while holding major leadership positions.
A total of 14 incumbents were defeated and six other races were still too close to call, but the voters let themselves be heard. One
local paper explained the results this way:
They finally fought back against a corrupt system that has long been playing them for fools. They've watched for years as lawmakers lined their pockets and padded their pensions without contributing much to the public good. This year, the electorate finally had enough.
Politicians across the country must be a little nervous today, especially the GOP. Pennsylvania voters could be just the tip of the iceberg come November.
6 comments:
Let's hope so, but I'm afraid Pa. is more the exception than the rule.
The pay raise issue is always a thorny problem for legislatures, but it has a very easy fix — tie lawmakers' salaries to the median income of the state.
It would work on the federal level, too. Congressmen would be paid based on the median income of their state plus the median income in Washington DC, given that they have to maintain two homes.
Might be an incentive to finally raise the minimum wage, eh? ;-)
I don't think this is an anamoly abi. From the WaPo
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 55 percent of those surveyed said they are inclined to look around for someone new rather than support their incumbent members of Congress this fall, the highest level of anti-incumbency since the 1994 midterm elections that dethroned Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Power to the people. I think they're waking up out there in America.
Libby, do you think they're truly upset at their representatives because they object to the pay raises or that the way they went about it had sneaky written all over it and was just asking for a swift boot?
In other words, have PA voters each considered how their representatives are compensated and believe it is more than enough to attract the best candidates?
Did each of them come to that conclusion individually or was it fed them?
I don't know if PA has term limits, but would the annual salary and benefits be enough to compensate someone risking their professional career and run a campaign at great expense?
I sure do hope they are just the beginning of the citizenry rearing its bloodied and battered head!
Bring `em on!
Maybe I've just been around too long, but I don't share the confidence in the American voter. We elected as president someone who clearly had the ego, temperment, and intellectual curiosity of a 12-year-old who was pretending to be a grownup. Twice. 'Nuff said.
Thanks for the WaPo link, Libby. I think the falling polls numbers for Congress and the president are indicative of voter dissatisfaction across the board - Repubs and Dems.
Thomas, Pennsylvania does not have term limits. One of the incumbents voted out was President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer. He had been in office for 32 years, and Majority Leader Brightbill had been a legislator for 24 years.
Abi, your point about electing Bush twice is well taken, but maybe it just takes some people longer than others to finally see the light!
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