PSoTD

A lobbying job seems to be the goal of a high percentage of Congress, too. I have not done the actual count, but I would be surprised if there were not more former members of both houses of Congress employed as lobbyists than there are current members of Congress. The salaries are incredible: Jim Greenwood of the Biotechnology Industry Organization makes $650,000 a year salary, and salaries and income in the range of $300,000 to $500,000 are increasingly common. When serving in Congress is increasingly seen as an important credential on a resume rather than as an opportunity to serve the public, our country is deep trouble.

From Pennsylvania State House Rep. Mark B. Cohen.

I wonder why Russ Diamond thinks he should spam me about his running for Governor. I'm sure I didn't sign up for any spam. For somebody who's so concerned about the personal property of Dan and Joan, he doesn't seem to care much about my personal property - my computer - and my preference to not have it clogged up with dunderhead political campaign marketing.

Local Pennsylvania newspapers can be so cold in their election coverage. From the Beaver County Times:

What they found: Weapons of Mass Deterioration

U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn Hills, might have - if you can believe it - jumped the gun Wednesday when he and another Republican lawmaker began trumpeting a declassified report that said weapons of mass destruction had been discovered in Iraq.

"We now have found stockpiles," Santorum said, according to The Associated Press.

The AP said Santorum - who trails in most polls to Democratic challenger Bob Casey Jr. - and U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., hounded ... uh ... urged National Intelligence Director John Negroponte to release the report so that they could counter Democratic charges that Iraq did not have WMDs.

Unfortunately, the man who led the hunt for WMDs in Iraq wasn't clued in on the revelation's importance to Santorum's re-election bid.

David Kay said weapons experts agree that the mustard and sarin agents found wouldn't be lethal. He said they were probably made for use during Iraq's eight-year war with Iran in the 1980s.

Looks like lobbyists are going to be on the Pennsylvania fairways a lot this summer... From PAFundraisers:

14-Jul-06 Friends of Dave Reed PO Box 1440, Indiana, PA 15701 250 - Golf Tom's Run Golf Course, Blairsville 8:30AM

24-Jul-06 The Thomas Petrone Comm. PO Box 8541, Pitts, PA 15220 250 - Golf Highland Country Club, Pittsburgh 10AM

24-Jul-06 Friends of Vince Biancucci 226 Pleasant Dr., Aliquippa, PA 15001 250 - Golf Beaver Lakes Country Club, Aliquippa 11AM

28-Jul-06 Friends of Todd Eachus PO Box 2174 Hazleton, PA 18201 85 - Golf Sugarloaf Golf Course, Sugarloaf, PA NOON

28-Jul-06 Friends of Jim Rhoades Comm. PO Box 35, Mahanoy City, PA 17948 100 - Golf Mountain Valley Golf Course, Barnesville 1PM

25-Aug-06 Comm. To ReElect Bev Mackereth 307 Forge Court, Spring Grove, PA 17362 65 - Golf Briarwood Golf Course, NOON

06-Sep-06 Friends of Bob Mellow PO Box B, Peckville, PA 18452 - Golf Elmhurst Country Club, Moscow Noon

11-Sep-06 Friends of Senator Robert Jubelirer PO Box 2051, Altoona, PA 16603 - Golf Scotch Valley Country Club, Hollidaysburg TBA

20-Sep-06 Friends of Bob Mellow PO Box B, Peckville, PA 18452 - Golf Glen Oak Country Club, Clarks Summit Noon

Jubelirer? Didn't he lose his primary?

Sell a Super Bowl Ring.

Diana Irey, who is running against John Murtha in Pennsylvania for Congress, says on her website:

Thirty two years is a long time to spend in Washington. For decades, western Pennsylvania looked to John Murtha to stand up for our values. But as the years have drifted by, John Murtha has drifted further and further from the ideals that made this country great. He has become part of the problem in Washington.

Sounds like Irey believes all the old guard should be retired. Shouldn't some enterprising Pennsylvania journalist be asking Irey if her statement means she believes the following Republicans, with similar amount of time in Washington, ought to go as well?

Ted Stevens?
Don Young?
Pete V. Domenici?
Bill Young?
James Leach?

Just want to see where she really stands on this philosophical point?

The AFL-CIO's blog had this tidbit yesterday:

The Pennsylvania state Senate is stonewalling a bill to raise the state’s minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.15 an hour, wage hike backers say. Today, if senators open and read their mail, they’ll find out how wrong they are.

Members of Working America, the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate, delivered more than 1,000 hand-written letters to nine state senators at the state capitol in Harrisburg demanding that the Senate vote on the legislation. The Pennsylvania House passed a minimum wage increase by nearly a three-to-one margin in April.

I just don't think the Republicans in the Senate have the stomach to do anything that might alienate any more of their base after the last election.

From PCNBlog:

Once the General Assembly goes home for the summer (supposedly by the end of the month pending passage of a budget, but remains to be seen) the government of Pennsylvania tends to go into a greater state of lethargy, which is common for most states. I would suspect that PCN will find their new content options over the summer pretty limited as far as government is concerned.

I do have an idea. You know what I would find very interesting? Actual coverage of some political fundraisers at the Pennsylvania state political level. PCN ought to attend some of these specific candidate events and show the public what happens there. Fundraisers occur at Scotts and the Hilton and Haydn's on Pine in Harrisburg and there are all these golf fundraisers - why not let Pennsylvanians see how that works?

I know why there will be resistance, but still, Pennsylvania Cable Network ought to give it a try.