Ed Rendell (California, Republic, Penn: mortgage, houses, salaries)

[raubre]

Not sure if I can post this in the Pgh section, so I'll try. I hope Ed Rendell is enjoying his time in the governor's mansion. It won't last. I'm a Democrat and ashamed by his behavior with the budget.

Solve it quick buddy!

[jmantra]

I have been personally affected by this budget BS, alot of my bills are late thank you very much. I think it's really disgusting that the governor and the legislators still get their full salaries meanwhile the people that do actual work aren't getting paid! Now thankfully I am a single guy with no kids (atleast none that I know of, lol) however I feel really bad for people who have families to support. Rent/Mortgage and hungry mouths can't wait to for politicians to their heads out of their asses. I can't til next November so we can 'fire' them all

[greg42]

Rendell is term-limited; new governor is assured in 2010 election. Plenty of blame to go around for everyone, both governor and both houses of the legislature. The real key is to vote out the idiots in the legislature, but that almost never actually happens. (Got a few out last time but not nearly enough.) We have the largest and by far the most expensive full-time legislature in the country, and this is what we get for it.

[Hopes]

I think govenors throughout the country are doing this on purpose for stimulus money.

They can't convince the federal government to hand over funds if they're managing just fine.

It's no conincidence that this is happening in states across the nation!

They probably fear California would get all the money!

[BrianTH]

The need to make tough and inevitably unpopular choices in a hurry is enough to paralyze many state governments.

[highway29south]

At lot of the problem here is that people vote Democrat and don't think through the options and who they are putting into these offices. It's like they are on automatic. We have a democrat governer, democrat Mayor, PA always votes democrat for President, just democrat everything. I'm not saying that we should just vote Republican, but there should be more thought put into what these candidates stand for, rather than an automatic push on the democrat lever at elections. I always say that they could put a dog on the ballot, if he is a democrat, they will elect him.

We need to think these things through and demand better for PA.

[Hopes]

Strangely, Pennsylvania doesn't often vote democrat for the senate. Ever notice that?

[hempfield mania]

The turncoat has been defacto dem for at least a decade now and Casey, last time I checked, is a dem. This goes beyond dem. and repub. though.

I lay the blame squarely on that douchebag rendell. He could have line item approved many of the items now causing much pain to many people in PA in the original "bare bones" budget but he chose to veto them to hold leverage in the budget negotiations; ie, the child care supplements, etc.

3 of the 4 caucases in the legislature have presented bi-partisan budgets that hold the line on taxes but airbag rendell threatens veto on each one of them. I hope he chokes on a cheessteak...or an artery bursts and yeah, that is how I truly feel about him.

[Copanut]

But ya gotta admit, Fast Eddie is a REAL politician. What a crook!

[likepgh]

The budget deadlock has gone on long enough and the latest veto threat is going too far given that it seemed like the impasse was broken, but a more generous view would be that Rendell is fighting to save things that he believes in. Given that he is term-limited, he can afford to do that.

And PA doesn't always vote Democratic. In fact, I think I read once that since the early twentieth century the two parties have traded the governor's office every eight years like clockwork. The state has been trending more Democratic in the last few state-wide elections (Senate, President) so possibly the cycle will be broken.

I'm not very high on Rendell right now because I don't think he understands the importance of public investment in higher education--which is shocking in a state with an economy built significantly on "eds and meds." But could we lay off the nasty language and the ad hominem attacks?