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These are our leaders?

I could not believe some of the items in the news this week.

First there was former state Senator Vince Fumo’s embarrassingly shameful attempt to delay his impending prison term by claiming that he is addicted to drugs and alcohol (because, of course, we have no inmate addicts in our prison systems). And while this ridiculous—and convenient—personal epiphany on Fumo’s part is not going to free him of the obligation to begin serving his time in less than a week, it could land him in a substance-abuse treatment program that would cut what some view as an already lenient sentence by a full year.

Then there is the story of state Representative Eddie Day Pashinski, who stood up at a budget impasse protest rally last week and suggested that legislative leaders should be sequestered until a budget compromise is reached. Now, while Mr. Pashinski could be excused for being just as frustrated—if not more so—with the whole budget process as the rest of us, this kind of rhetoric might be just a tad inappropriate for a public event.

But the piece that takes the cake is the one detailing the literal name-calling, and what some might consider tantrum-throwing, between members of Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s administration and a couple of state legislators stemming from the potential state takeover of the city’s distressed pension fund. This is absolutely pathetic. While this kind of childish behavior isn’t surprising coming from either source, it is still inexcusable.

We have elected these people to look out for our interests and those of the Commonwealth, and they seem to lack the maturity to be able to put aside their own self-interest, lick their wounds on their own time, and sit down and speak civilly to each other in an effort to deal with the challenges we face.

These are our leaders?

You’re kidding me, right?

August 26, 2009 at 9:33 am

--Tammy Alonso

Tags: Eddie Day Pashinski, Luke Ravenstahl, Vincent Fumo

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