211 PA lawmakers fail to support reform

Excellent letter from Bill McIntyre of Camp Hill asking why 211 incumbent state lawmakers are not supporting a move to hold a special session of the Legislature to reform Pennsylvania government. The letter was originally published in The Mercury.

Where was the Legislature's support?

Dear Senators & Representatives:

There were 211 of you absent this past Tuesday at the luncheon meeting hosted by the Commonwealth Foundation in Harrisburg where Sen. Jeff Piccola and Rep. Rosemarie Swanger spoke many words of wisdom and just plain common sense.

Our government is broken and only you can repair it; 26 senators and 102 representatives.

According to Sen. Piccola, he had 11 senators' and 31 representatives' signatures on his petition to call a special session of the Legislature that would focus on ethics and reform; two subjects that give some of you the cold chills.

211 are missing!

You can't all be out of the country vacationing.

I know there were at least a dozen of you in the Capitol attending the Pa. House State Government Committee Hearing's "Dog & Pony Show" Tuesday. The majority of you haven't signed the petition.

Why not?

We didn't expect anything would get done to improve our government at this hearing. Chairperson Rep. Babette Josephs and the majority of the speakers lived up to our expectations. What a waste of time and the taxpayers' money.

I admire Rep. Mark Musto (R-Allegheny 44) for his presentation of HB55 and his passion for positive change in the way business is conducted under the leaking dome.

Congratulations, Rep. Musto! Many of us feel your pain! Keep up your Herculean effort! David really did slay Goliath! Next time bring your slingshot.

Are we to believe that only 42 honorable members (as of last Monday night) of our General Assembly feel a need to reform "business as usual" in Harrisburg? If so, we have a much larger problem than first believed.

Where are all the freshmen reformers and converted reformers who ran on the reform platform when they were elected and re-elected in 2006? Have you gotten spoiled by the perks of the office? Have you forgotten why the voters put you in power? If you think that we, the voters forgot, you're mistaken. Remember the pay grab?

A former head football coach at the University of Notre Dame, Lou Holtz once said, "Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated." Get motivated! Sign the petition! Repair what's broken!

Thank You!

A motivated,
Bill McIntyre
Have pen to sign anything, anywhere, anytime for true reform