Things to ponder, Oct. 14
From the windmill of my mind … You gotta’ love state House candidate William Earnesty’s idea for enacting future pay raises for state legislators. The 52nd District Republican, who’s seeking to replace retiring Democrat James Shaner, thinks the matter should be put to the voters of each individual district. Earnesty’s taking representative government to a whole new level, and some will question the feasibility or fairness of what he’s saying. But aren’t many of the legislators he’s talking about the same ones who thought it fine and dandy for taxpayers in each individual school district to vote on raising property taxes above the yearly inflation rate? What’s good for the goose should be good for the gander, right?
Speaking of state House races, GOP candidate Greg Hopkins had what I thought was the best line of Monday night’s debate with incumbent Bill DeWeese in Waynesburg. In his closing statement, Hopkins said that important words like honesty, integrity, trust and hope have been forgotten on the road to Harrisburg. (I wonder if anyone’s found and turned them in to the state police?) A close second was when Hopkins told the audience they’d just heard the “same old political diarrhea that we’ve been hearing for years and years.”
Speaking of the aforementioned event, DeWeese was quick to put out a press release proclaiming, “DeWeese wins 50th District candidate’s forum.” In it, the incumbent mentioned his efforts to cut property taxes, increase the minimum wage, defend the Second Amendment and cut business taxes by $2 billion. What he didn’t mention were his comments on term limits – “The ballot is the term limit” – and his pawning off of responsibility on other issues (including reforms such as open records) by noting that Republicans have controlled the House for 12 years and the Senate for 30. Either you have some clout as minority leader or you don’t, right? In my view, if you’re that legislatively impotent as a member of the minority party, you shouldn’t even bother showing up.
Beth-Center teachers have hit the picket line, which is their right as a unionized work force. But when’s the last time any school board in the area played management hard ball by hiring replacement workers? That’s always a risk you run by going on strike in the private sector.
How are Fayette County Republicans going to explain why GOP Commissioner Joe Hardy is joining with the city of Uniontown and Commercial Center Associates (Hardy’s development firm) to invite select individuals to attend “a press conference and rally to support the works of Gov. Ed Rendell” on Monday at 1 p.m.? After all, Rendell is a Democrat. A Republican who I know jokingly commented on the invitation, “Did this say Gov. Rendell or (Republican challenger) Lynn Swann?”