Walking the walk
Critics complain that politicians have a bad habit of talking the talk but not walking the walk.
This is certainly true of the budget impasse, which has turned into a battle of wills and a hardening of hearts between Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and the Republican-controlled General Assembly.I thought it would be interesting to look back at what Wolf and legislative leaders said earlier this year when they were being sworn in. As I suspected, in Wolf's inaugural address on Jan. 20 and in Rep. Mike Turzai's swearing-in as House speaker on Jan. 6, both talked about the need for cooperation between the two sides, and both expressed a strong willingness to do so.Well, here we are nine months later, and our key leaders, whose Job No. 1 is to pass an on-time budget before the June 30 deadline, are still worlds apart on an agreement, and there is longer talk about cooperation but much finger-pointing.Not only that, we are going through ridiculous, time-wasting gamesmanship that both sides know will not get them closer to an agreement, and most likely will prove to be more fractious.Despite the threat of a gubernatorial veto, both houses of the General Assembly took a week of precious time to pass a stopgap spending spill, which Wolf, as promised, vetoed.Now, the Republican leadership says it will put up Wolf's original budget in the coming weeks, the one he proposed in March, which was dead on arrival when it reached the Legislature. If you remember, the Republican-controlled Legislature passed a budget which eliminated most of the tax measures Wolf proposed. Wolf vetoed that budget in its entirety, and there were not enough votes to override the veto.In his swearing-in comments, Turzai said, "We cannot take lightly the great history of democracy of which we are a part, and we are encouraging all members of the Legislature to meet with people across the aisle."He vowed to consider the viewpoint of the Democratic minority on partisan issues, while acknowledging he has not always done that in the past.That's important, Wolf agreed. "This age and time demands nothing less. Too often when we look to our leaders for answers, we've been disappointed and frustrated to the point where we feel very cynical about our government," Wolf said. "We need to work together. We have to respect each other's ideas. We have to respect each other's values. We have to believe that none of us alone have all the answers, but, together, we can find an approach that works."Then, two months later in his budget address, Wolf sounded a similar theme. "One of the old problems we need to put to rest is the idea that Democrats and Republicans cannot work together to solve Pennsylvania's problems," Wolf said. "You can disagree without being disagreeable. On every issue, if you are willing to talk, there's a better chance that you can find truths that both sides can share," Wolf added.Repeating a campaign theme that he will be a "different kind of governor," Wolf said he will keep that promise. "What we need today are leaders who are willing to listen to each other and learn from each other and work together to give all Pennsylvanians a shot at a great life," Wolf said.Talk is cheap, Gov. Wolf and ladies and gentlemen of the General Assembly. Now, we want to see some action to back up the rhetoric and those grand promises.BRUCE FRASSINELLI |