Bad idea
It was good to hear recently that a truce of sorts had been called in a battle between Gov. Tom Wolf and 11 Democratic lawmakers, including state Reps. Tim Mahoney, D-South Union Township; Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson; and Pete Daley, D-California.
While it’s good to see that the battle has ended, it’s a fight that never should have been started in the first place. The lawmakers claimed that Wolf was retaliating against them for supporting the Republican budget last month. They said that calls on the behalf of constituents weren’t being handled through normal legislative liaisons with various state agencies. Instead, they maintained that such calls were being rerouted through the governor’s office, resulting in lengthy delays.
The governor’s office denied there had been any changes in the handling of such calls, but state Rep. Rob Mattie, D-Ambridge, Beaver County, chairman of the southwest Pennsylvania Democratic delegation, said he was convinced that the lawmakers were being targeted for retaliation.
The legislation liaison services were apparently restored this week even though officials for Wolf refused to admit that the services had been cut.
The issue speaks volumes about Wolf and his inability to get things done in Harrisburg. First and foremost, Wolf and his staffers should have realized that the only people hurt by such actions were the constituents who are paying for the services of everyone employed by the commonwealth. The lawmakers weren’t in need of help themselves. It was the constituents who were hurting. Why any state official would do anything to cause further pain or suffering for anyone is beyond us. But that’s what happened. And we’re not talking about someone in Philadelphia. We’re talking about people here in Fayette, Greene and Washington counties.
Second of all if you have to wonder if Wolf realizes how badly the Democrats are outnumbered in Harrisburg. The GOP controls the state Senate 31-19 and the state House of Representatives 119-84. Thus, Wolf has to realize that he needs help from at least some Republicans for his bills to become law. But more importantly he needs the backing of every Democratic lawmaker in Harrisburg. So, why he would pick a fight with any of the Democrats in Harrisburg is a mystery. Instead of fighting, he should have been meeting with and trying to resolve their differences.
Without a doubt, Wolf shot himself in the foot over this retaliation issue and there might be reason to think the wounds might linger for awhile. As Daley noted, “I think that this opened up a wound that may not heal as quickly as everyone wants it to. Most of the people that were punished are the type to say, ‘Well, bring it on.'”
We’ve criticized Wolf in the past for his lack of political savvy. He’s seemed unwilling or unable to negotiate and compromise with Republican lawmakers, but now it turns out that Wolf can’t even get along with his fellow Democrats in Harrisburg.
With all these problems, it makes you wonder how he’s going to govern for the next three years. If he can’t get the support necessary to pass a budget or get anything else of substance done, he might well rue the day he tried to retaliate against these 11 Democratic lawmakers. Most importantly, though, he’ll have no one to blame but himself.
(This was written by the editorial staff of the 蘑菇视频, the Greene County Messenger’s sister newspaper.)