Friday, March 24, 2006

42: “The Further Decline of Steve Maitland”


As if it weren’t bad enough that Maitland refuses to return the ill-gotten money he took in the form of an “unvouchered expense” last summer, now he stoops to new lows with his bogus Public Service Announcements (PSAs).

Oh, he is not the only one.

Members of the General Assembly have funding available to them to promulgate information by way of PSAs. Any legislator can send out info, or make a TV commercial like PSA, and pay for it with tax payer money.

The problem arises with the approach to elections and the increased occurrence of such PSAs. An ad for Senior Citizens, the latest a guide for services available for senior citizens in Pennsylvania, prominently featuring Maitland on one side – very prominently - arrived in the mail today, just a few short weeks before a primary election that has Maitland facing a serious primary challenger for the first time in Dan Moul, and in trouble as an incumbent thanks to his record with the notorious pay raise last summer.

Maitland has worked very hard to overcome the negatives of his behavior over keeping the money, in particular the lame excuse of using it to pay for law school so he can be a better legislator! Hello?!?! You will never be a better legislator if your ethics and moral rectitude are in question because you don’t know right from wrong! But hard work alone does nothing to atone for the wrongs committed by Maitland, and the wrong he continues to commit and to attempt to justify. He is to be congratulated on his attempt to forestall a casino in Adams County, but it is an effort that would have been better suited to 2004 when the state’s gambling bill was passed (in the same, sneaky, nefarious way that last year’s pay raise was passed!). But he had just been elected then, and now it is before the election. In light of his actions over the pay raise money, and now sneaking the campaign ads out as PSAs, one is correct in questioning his motives. Some people will do anything to stay in office.

Not only is he keeping money that belongs rightly to the tax-payers of Pennsylvania, he is also attempting to maximize his positive exposure with these PSAs touting great programs for seniors, none of which he had a whole lot to do with, and that he is putting before you using money from your pocket!

Do not be fooled by the PSAs shown on your local TV stations, and on cable channels in the Adams County area (Adelphia), or by the ones that come in your mail. These are nothing more than slick, subtle campaign ads designed to make your representative or senator look good, and socially responsible.

Frankly, it is long past time for the concept of career politicians to come to an end. Time for term limits, and Maitland has already gone way past his promised 12 years and out. He is running for years fifteen and sixteen now.

Its time to send a message to Maitland and the General Assembly, that misconduct, bad ethics, and bad moral choices will not be tolerated. Pay for law school on your own hook! Get a real job and not one that amounts to political welfare.

Things in Pennsylvania politics are about to change drastically. Operation Clean Sweep and other grassroots organizations are in full swing backing slates of candidates facing incumbents in the primary election. Many members of the legislature, seeing what was coming, already decided not to run, and did so in record numbers. That’s fine, as it means fewer incumbents to defeat.

It is a great pity that someone would wreck his entire legislative record over a series of stupidly greedy, selfish decisions involving a few thousand dollars. But apparently that is the value of integrity in Harrisburg these days.

The behavior of the General Assembly over the past two years is nothing short of contemptible.

Do something about it. Spread the word. Kick them all out of office and let God sort them out!

THE CENTRIST

“Kick the hubris out of Harrisburg!” -- THE CENTRIST

"It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs." -- Albert Einstein

Copyright © 2006:THE CENTRIST”. All Rights Reserved.

No comments: