In Pennsylvania today, we face an budget crisis of huge proportions. In the face of drastically reduced revenues due to the recession, the state faces a enormous deficit. And there are only two ways to deal with it. The Republicans in the State Senate have proposed massive reductions in state spending that would had devastating effects on education and health care, particularly for children. The Democrats, lead by Governor Rendell, have proposed temporarily raising the state income tax, which is one of the lowest in the country.
The state budget crisis is all about the Republicans in Pennsylvania being captured by the extreme anti-tax, anti-government ideology that has dominated the Republican party in the South and West for years but is relatively new here.
These ain’t your grandfather’s Republicans.
And, frankly, when Republicans control the Senate by ten seats, I’m not sure there is all that much we can do about it in the short term.
But I do know this: if there is any hope in the short or long term, it runs through Southeast Pennsylvania.
We must take back or at the very least diminish Republican control of the State Senate. And five Republicans State Senators in our region—Erickson, Tomlinson, Greenleaf, Rafferty, and McIlhenny—are up for reelection in 2010. In addition, Senator Wonderling is about to leave his seat to become ED of the Chamber of Commerce. A special election will be held this year.
If I am not mistaken, President Obama won the majority of the vote in every one of those Senate Districts which are in Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties. Governor Rendell won these districts when he ran for governor. These counties are, for Democrats, roughly where the South was in 1990 for Republicans. They reliably vote Democratic in statewide elections although in state legislative and local elections old party habits, and the power of entrenched party machines keep Republicans in control.
That will change with time. But we need it to change much sooner, like in 2010.
It is tough to beat fairly popular State Senate incumbents especially when they try to let it be known that they don’t always agree with the Republican state leadership as the Republican Gang of Six did on the health care issue. But it is not impossible. And the way to do it is to (1) recruit good candidates; (2) raise early money; and (3) beat them on ideological and partisan grounds not as individuals.
In other words, we need to run against them not as individuals but as a group, holding them responsible for the worst excesses of the Republican leadership of the Senate.
To do that, we need some key issues on which that Republican leadership is acting contrary to the views of the vast majority of people in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
And that is exactly what they are doing right now, by calling for massive reductions in the state budget and programs, especially in education, health and transportation, that are critical to SEPA.
So if we want to move the State Senate, this year and in the future, there is no point focusing on Senate President Joe Scarnatti. We need to get to work here in our region. We need to hold the Republican Gang of Six responsible for blocking a decent, responsible state budget. Local Party officials, local Democratic State Representatives and Senators, and local Democratic officials need to get busy and start making this case now. We need to start a PAC to raise money for a party oriented campaign against the Republican Gang of Six, one that ought to start radio and cable advertising now.
In the short term, that’s the only chance we have to force the Gang of Six to demand that the Republican leadership back away from disastrous budget policies. And, in the long term, it is the only way to remove the Republican stranglehold on progressive politics in Pennsylvania.