Oct 25, 2005 By Guest Commentary 4 min read

By Robert Bugalla “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed … it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it and to institute new Government.” Thomas Jefferson wrote these words, for the Declaration of Independence, while in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

What would Jefferson and the rest of the founding fathers think of the state of our current legislature? One that seems incapable of performing any act more challenging than to name January as state farm show month, unless it is voting themselves an obscenely large pay raise and co-conspiring with the state judicial system and the governor to obtain that raise illegally early.

Now is the time for we, the people, to start using the rights that were guaranteed by the 56 men who unanimously signed this revolutionary document, and in the process risked their lives as traitors.

Today we need not put our lives in jeopardy. All we have to do is cast a ballot on Election Day. Nov. 8 is the first change we have of sending a message for all to see as a clear sign that we, the people not only are mad, but also mean business. Two State Supreme Court Justices, Sandra Shultz Newman and Russell Nigro, are up for re-election to the court. Because the State Supreme Court has allowed the legislature to steal our money, we must not allow these two justices to return to the court. But this is only a start; we must not forget this issue between now and next year. Register to vote, and then go to the polls both in the primaries and the general election next November.

All 203 state representatives and half of the 50 state senators as well as the governor, who signed the bill, are up for re-election in 2006.

Now some of the legislators are giving back the illegally gotten funds. As of last count 25 of the 158 who have accepted the unvouchered expenses have changed their minds. Add to this the two bills from Will Gabig (R-Carlisle), who wants to repeal the unvouchered expenses, and Thomas Corrigan (R-Bristol), who wants to repeal the entire raise.

Some are touting these two as well as the 20 or so cosponsors of each bill as heroes. Before anyone should mistake these actions as heroic let us remember that neither bill has much change of reaching the floor of either chamber, much less being brought to a vote or passing if a vote were held.

So what we have is two meaningless bills that are being presented only for show. If all these legislators are truly concerned, why did not one come forward July 7 and speak against this travesty?

Is this why we pay them so much money, to buckle under when leadership threatens them with some loss of committee chairmanship? What about standing up for what is right before being caught with your hand in the cookie jar?

The only good to come from this entire disgrace is that we all learned that the Republicans and Democrats can actually work together and accomplish something when they really want to.

Too bad the only ones to benefit from this newfound sprit of cooperation are the governor and some staff, judges, and the legislators who conspired together to reward themselves for all the hard work they do.

Remember that if we vote “no” this election on Sandra Shultz Newman and Russell Nigro and then next year vote all of the legislators and governor out, maybe in the words spoken by Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg we will be able to achieve “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

Robert Bugalla resides in Dover, Pa.