Rendell The Clown

Terrific editorial in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about the growing erratic behavior of Gov. Ed Rendell:

Rendell's 'humor': Homicidal jocularity

We are tempted to say that Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell should keep his day job after delivering a shocking "joke" that has sparked widespread bipartisan outrage. But then we quickly came to our senses. After all, his day job is governor and his performance has been thoroughly lousy.

In a lame attempt at we're not sure what, Mr. Rendell pondered whether legislators engaged in conference committee negotiations to resolve the Keystone State's budget impasse should be put to death with poison gas, a la the James Bond film "Goldfinger." The line was delivered in the children's section of a Harrisburg library, no less.

So, in the spirit of the governor's homicidal jocularity, we have a few guffaws of our own:

• Perhaps Fast Eddie should have a finger chopped off for every stupid thing he says. Perhaps he'll bleed to death. Hey, there's a real knee-slapper.

• Given that four fingers and two thumbs wouldn't cover Rendell's bill of stupid particulars, throw in his toes; he'll die faster. Ha, we kill ourselves!

• The governor should be dragged from his office and taken to the banks of the Susquehanna River. There, his head should be held underwater one minute for each and every percent of the 16 percent increase he proposes in the personal income tax. Just drop him in after he passes out at the 5 percent mark. Funn-eee stuff, eh?

If Ed Rendell doesn't like the sausage-making -- for which his warped policies created the need -- he should get out of the factory. But he shouldn't count on finding post-gubernatorial employment on the stand-up comedy circuit.