Speaker Smith's Misguided Legislature Consolidation Plan In Pennsylvania

Misguided. Stupid. Dumb. Yeah:

HARRISBURG -- The speaker of the House is introducing legislation to reduce the size of the chamber from 203 to 153 members.

Rep. Sam Smith, R-Punxsutawney, sent a memo to colleagues last week asking them to co-sponsor a constitutional amendment to reduce the size of the House. His legislation does not apply to the 50-member Senate.

Smith made his position known about cutting the size of the House shortly after the November election, when Republicans took back control of the chamber. His co-sponsorship memo was made public Tuesday.

Now, before you get too confused, here's why he wants to do this:

In the letter, Smith said the debate has focused on whether reducing the size of the House would save or increase the cost to taxpayers. He took no position on the debate.

"So why am I introducing this legislation? Because very simply, I believe a smaller House of Representatives is a more effective body. And I think effectiveness is most desirable to the people of this Commonwealth," Smith wrote.

Ok, where to begin on this. The attack on the legislature has always been, "it's too bloated." What's the one thing you didn't hear in here? How much would be saved. Why? Because it's simply a few million in savings, against a $5 BILLION budget gap for next year, and years to come. This does little or nothing.

It also doesn't do what the Speaker says, which is make the legislature run better. Just how does a House office run better for it's constituents when the size of the district goes up by 25%? That's 25% more in case work, 25% more in people to do town halls for, 25% more in grants to deliver. Putting more people in less districts not only makes constituent service harder, it waters-down the voice of each person. If you're one of 30-45,000 voters now in a district, under his proposal you'll be one of 50,000 at best. That should help you be heard, shouldn't it? Ha.

This proposal is pointless, and I predict it fails. It saves little, hurts constituent services, and makes everyone's voices less heard. I doubt legislators will vote to eliminate some of their own jobs, but if they do, can they please start by putting me in a new House district, I want some decent representation again?

The GOP's Health Care Mishaps

It's not a matter of opinion. Republicans won big, in the Congress and the State Houses in 2010, because people were unhappy with the economy. Eric Cantor is now the Majority Leader of the House because people wanted to see JOBS.

He didn't get the memo. Leader Cantor is now saying the GOP will "forbid funding" for "ObamaCare" out of the House. This is just full of stupidity in the whole comment. First off, he made sure to say they would forbid funding in the House bill. In other words, he knows the Senate is going to pass a bill that funds the bill, one way or the other. We all know that the President won't sign a bill that de-funds his main initiative. So, not only is Cantor ignoring the most important issue facing the people that elected him MAJORITY Leader, he's ignoring it to "chase windmills" on a fool's errand that will not be successful.

He's not alone though. In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the State House of Representatives went Republican after four years of Democratic control. The State House Health Committee, chaired by Rep. Matthew Baker (R-Tioga) isn't just defunding it. He is asserting "states rights" to nullify federal laws.

The state House Health Committee passed a bill Monday to remove Pennsylvania from the individual mandate portion of the nation health care reform law with a party-line vote.

The bill, H.B. 42, would prohibit the government from enacting or adopting any law to penalize any individual, employer or health care provider for participating in a health care system of their choosing. Health Committee Chair Matthew Baker (R-Tioga), the bill's sponsor, said it protects Pennsylvania citizens from potential federal penalties if they choose to ignore the individual mandate in the federal health care law passed last year.

"It protects a person's right to participate, or not, in any health care system," said Mr. Baker. "It provides a state-level defense against the federal government's excessive power."

Right. It's also not legal. States cannot undo federal laws. This assertion of "states' rights" might be popular with the base, but we've fought WARS over it. Your side lost. This isn't something we need to re-hash.

Now, the bottom line is this: The GOP won, both nationally and in Pennsylvania in 2010 because people wanted JOBS. They can put the word "job-killing" in anything they want, the fact is that continuing to fight health care reform will not create the jobs they promised. They can fight this fight if they'd like, and Democrats like myself prefer that they do. Eric Cantor can be sent back to the minority if he'd like, and Governor Corbett can be replaced with Joe Sestak, Rob McCord, or anyone else the Democrats would like. Frankly, I'd rather they succeed in creating jobs, but if not, I'll take the future electoral wins for my party.

For Sale For The Price Of Barbecue and Super Bowl Tickets, The Pennsylvania Legislature

Disgusting.

According to a blog post from Capitol Ideas, a lobbying firm will throw a Steelers-themed party on behalf of natural gas drillers the day before the big game.

Can't afford a plane ticket? Not an influential state official? That's too bad. Because this party is going to be totally awesome.

For those lucky enough to attend, you'll be among "Steelers fans, friends of Range Resources and even some Super Steeler greats," where you'll enjoy "a classic Texas BBQ, music and entertainment as we cheer on the Steelers to another Super Bowl championship," the invitation reads.

Sounds fun. Of course, you'll remember that the drillers have major issues pending before state government. In addition to a possible tax on drilling, there are also a host of regulatory issues. It's impossible not to see a lavish Super Bowl party as part of an effort to influence the outcome of the debate.

That's troubling, because the rest of us can't afford to hire lobbyists on our behalf. Every person in Pennsylvania will feel the impact of natural gas drilling, not just a few industry insiders. We have no problem with drillers making their case to lawmakers, but the public should have the same kind of access.

We're supposed to have entered a new age of reform in Harrisburg, but don't expect a lot of changes to how lobbyists are allowed to operate. Gov. Tom Corbett, who made his bones as a corruption-busting prosecutor, failed to propose any new rules for lobbyists when he announced his reform plan last month.

I thought the new Governor and Legislature were going to usher in a new era of good government? Not a chance in hell, I guess. The Big Natural Gas companies get access for food and football, the people get nothing.

PA House Republicans Attempt To Deny Minority Rights