Wednesday, December 07, 2005

06: “Stopping the Gravy Train!”


Good friend Tim Potts over at Democracy Rising joins Common Cause of Pennsylvania and The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania today in calling for passage of a lobbying law in Pennsylvania. The legislature of this great Commonwealth, which has become a national laughingstock and poster boy for greed and corruption, is the ONLY STATE IN THE NATION WITHOUT A LOBBYIST DISCLOSURE LAW! Even the federal government has one!

Tim has very kindly shared his comments with us, and they are posted below. Tim also shares this bit of background: “The Senate passed a proposal, Senate Bill 1, on April 20. In the House, it was amended and improved in the State Government Committee. On June 22 it passed the committee and has been available for a vote by the full House ever since. You may find additional information at
Common Cause of Pennsylvania and The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania.

Speaking only for myself, I believe the proposal needs additional work. It does not give Pennsylvania the toughest and best lobbyist control law in America, and I can think of no reason why we deserve less than the best. For a comparison of state laws and what might constitute the best law in the nation, visit
http://www.publicintegrity.org/hiredguns/, the web site of the Center for Public Integrity in Washington, DC.”

Here is the text of Tim Potts’ statement:

Democracy Rising PA
P.O. Box 618, Carlisle, PA
17013, 717-243-8570
http://www.democracyrisingpa.com/, tim@democracyrisingpa.com
Statement by Timothy Potts, Co-Founder
on the Issue of Lobbyist Control Legislation
December 7, 2005

It should be clear from the historic defeat of Justice Russell Nigro that a sea change is occurring in Pennsylvania politics. Because 806,000 voters refused to settle for a judiciary that condones unconstitutional conduct by the governor and legislature, millions of Pennsylvania citizens now know they have the power to produce principled change.

There is no reason that Pennsylvania should not have the highest standards of public integrity in America. All that stands between 12 million Pennsylvanians and that goal are 129 people – a majority in the House, a majority in the Senate, and the governor. We have them vastly outnumbered if we make integrity in government – enforceable, reliable integrity – a requirement for holding public office in the 2006 elections and beyond.

The issue of controlling the conduct of lobbyists is a great place to start. For Pennsylvania not to have such a law is even more scandalous and corrupt than the pay raise. It shames representative democracy, and it mocks us as citizens in a democracy.

Pennsylvanians deserve the best law America has to offer. “Good enough” is not good enough.

That means prohibiting lobbyists from giving anything of value to public officials. 66 percent of us want a law that meets that standard.*

It means requiring lobbyists to disclose all expenditures. 87 percent of us want a law that meets that standard.*

It means having a law with aggressive, adequately funded enforcement powers against those who would compromise our representative democracy for their personal gain.

Pennsylvania does not have to be the “better-than-nothing-state.”

Pennsylvania can be the “better-than-everyone-state.”

After years of corruption and ineptitude, after years when the real problems of Pennsylvania never get solved, Senators and Representatives need to redeem themselves in the eyes of voters. Giving Pennsylvania the toughest and best lobbyist control law in America is the first test of their commitment to a government that works for its citizens.

It’s time for Pennsylvania to go from worst to first, and if the governor and lawmakers who currently serve are not up to the task, the voters have the power and the will to choose someone else who is.

*2005 IssuesPA poll. For complete results, visit http://www.issuespa.net/.

Tim Potts, Co-Founder
Democracy Rising PA
www.democracyrisingpa.com
P.O. Box 618,
Carlisle, PA 17013
717-243-8570

Well said, Tim, well said. Pennsylvania’s elected officials are in sore need of serious ethics limitations, and one main area is lobbying. Fixing state government starts somewhere and cutting off the gravy train is a great place to start. [Blogger’s Note: the term gravy train first appeared in print in Pennsylvania, in a Connellsville Courier story of a break-in, way back in 1895.]

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is fortunate, in one sense, that so many citizens’ groups are taking an active interest in trying to fix a problem that is so very wrong, and obvious to everyone except our elected officials and judges.

Bravo to those groups of concerned citizens who are taking action to help fix our government.


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

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