philly

Good god do I hate the fucking legislators in Harrisburg. They seem to be more bass ackwards than any other set of legislators in these united states. Cattabiani's latest digs into an issue I didn't know was an issue. Harrisburg politicians have been using tax dollars for their personal political polls.

In a practice believed to be unique to Pennsylvania's Capitol, legislative leaders have paid out-of-state companies $466,000 this year to conduct focus groups and public-opinion surveys, with the results anything but public.

Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate have defended the practice as an effective way of shaping their priorities, although until late last week all had refused to release results.

Here's how House Majority Leader (and total douchebag) Bill DeWeese defends the spending of tax dollars (instead of their own campaign funds, which is what is normally used for straight-up political purpose polls):

DeWeese said House Democrats had used such polls effectively in the past. Last year, for example, polls indicated that the stance by Senate Republicans against an increase in the state's minimum wage was unpopular. It gave Democrats the confidence to wage an "Alamo-like" push to raise the wage, he said.

DeWeese, who is under mounting pressure to resign over a highly public legislative bonus scandal, fell short of declaring an end to all taxpayer-funded polling by House Democrats, but he came close.

These fuckers needed a fucking poll to tell them that, oh shit, maybe people want higher fucking raises like we want to vote ourselves?!?! I have some poll results for them to ponder, they're attached to the knuckles of my right hand and I can stamp it to their foreheads upon request.

DeWeese was one legislator who escaped ousting after the whole pay raise fiasco of 2005. To rewind, that was back in 2006 when our "leaders" wanted to give themselves fat raises (yes, they had the power to just vote themselves a raise, and gave themselves between a 16% – 34% raise) over fighting for a higher minimum wage. DeWeese was for the pay raise. He was so adamantly pro pay raise, he wanted to strip committee assignments of Democrats who were against the pay raise.

This guy is a Class A, No Talent Ass Clown in the league of Michael Bolton. Somebody please get this guy out of office.

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