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Veterans, which of these did you fight for?

4 min read

Area career politicians, especially those in the state legislature, like to consistently court two key constituencies: senior citizens and veterans. Many times they are, conveniently, one in the same. And those folks tend to vote, so politicians naturally target them with all sorts of promises and patriotic appeals. Among those politicians, no one tries to appeal to veterans more than state Rep. H. William DeWeese, who deftly uses his status as a former U.S. Marine to foster a “he’s one of us” bond. (Never mind that DeWeese, that great Marine fighting machine, opted to attend college for four years after his 1968 high school graduation instead of heading to Vietnam, meaning he never served in the signature military conflict of his generation.)

In this year’s primary election, one of the splashy brochures DeWeese mailed to voters in the 50th District was entitled “Bill DeWeese: A record of service.” It included two photographs of DeWeese in Marine Corps attire, along with World War II photographs of his parents, WWII veterans of the U.S. Army and its Women’s Army Corps.

And at the recent 4th of July parade in Merrittstown, DeWeese showed up wearing a ball cap emblazoned with the word “Marine.” Or maybe it was “Marines.” In either case, to the trained eye it was no secret that he was overtly trying to reinforce the aforementioned connection to veterans: “He’s one of us.”

But before any of you veterans go voting for DeWeese just because he’s also worn the uniform, you should ask yourself a very important question. Does the 30-year incumbent legislator really represent what you were fighting for?

If you or your buddies hit the beaches of Normandy or Okinawa in World War II, or fought at Heartbreak Ridge in the Korean War, or sloshed through the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, was it so DeWeese could control a $13-million-a-year leadership account that’s exempt from the Pennsylvania Open Records Law (as is the entire state legislature)?

If you’re a veteran, did you fight tyranny, ruthless dictatorship or communist aggression so that you could be told to make an appointment with the clerk and drive to Harrisburg to see what public records the state House feels like showing you? Or, did you serve your country so that once you arrived in Harrisburg, you could be told by the clerk whose salary you pay, “Sorry, but you can’t have photocopies of any of this”?

As you parachuted out of your airplane, or drew a bead on an enemy sniper, or walked across a mine field, or dodged a Panzer tank, did you do so thinking it was because some day, a guy like DeWeese could engineer a big pay raise for himself in the middle of the night, without letting you know anything about the details? Is that the “American way” you were fighting for?

When you took that bullet or piece of shrapnel on behalf of your country, or watched a fellow serviceman perish on the battlefield, were you thinking it was worth it because, someday, in the better world you were fighting for, an elected representative like DeWeese could dine and drink with lobbyists trying to influence state government, and accept favors and gifts from them, without you knowing the details because Pennsylvania has no lobbyist disclosure law?

DeWeese currently serves as House minority leader, which makes him the top-ranking Democrat in that chamber. He’s in the minority now, but he once was the top dog in the House, occupying the position of Speaker. In neither capacity has he been a champion of reforming the way the House does business on things that really matter, in terms of being accountable to the public it serves.

He could, or course, change that legacy at any moment. He could introduce legislation to make the Open Records Law binding on the legislature, or to mandate that it report every last penny spent by lobbyists hell-bent on influencing him and others in government.

But he won’t. So I respectfully ask you veterans: Did you fight for or against what DeWeese really represents?

Paul Sunyak is editorial page editor of the Herald-Standard. He can be reached at 724-439-7577 or psunyak@heraldstandard.com

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