Columnist: Surge in PA corruption hasn't yet reached critical mass

Brad Bumsted, who covers state government for The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, wonders how much more evidence of Harrisburg corruption the voters of Pennsylvania are willing to tolerate.

Almost 30 Legislative leaders and staffers are behind bars or facing trial in the Bonusgate corruption scandal and new charges are being filed.

From Bumsted's column:

For years, the practice in Harrisburg on both sides of the aisle has been to use the ever-expanding legislative staff to raise money, knock on doors, stuff envelopes and do "opposition research" (read: dig up dirt) on lawmakers' opponents.

The lines were blurred to such an extent that witness after witness in other cases -- against former House Speaker John Perzel, R-Philadelphia, and former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon, a Beaver Falls Democrat -- alleged that they spent portions of their daytime hours doing campaign work for their bosses.

Veon now is a resident of Laurel Highlands State Correctional Institution, where he'll spend at least six years. Perzel and nine other Republicans face trial, which is expected to begin in February 2011 in Dauphin County Court.

The surge in corruption cases, at least in the public's mind, hasn't yet reached critical mass. It will unfortunately take more charges before the public demands a complete and thorough overhaul of the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

Legislators have used state tax money as their own, creating an Incumbency Protection Program that has perverted representative government and robbed Pennsylvanians of fair elections.

Read the full column, "When will enough be enough?" here.