Media
Best and Worst Bonusgate Quotes
Following the indictment of 10 State House Republicans (a current lawmaker and a former lawmaker and 8 staff), the Pennsylvania Capitol has been abuzz (click here for a statement from the Commonwealth Foundation).
My favorite quote comes from Philadelphia Daily News columnist John Baer comparing the new charges against those previously brought against House Democrats: “Republicans have technology instead of sex. They’re more boring.”
The dumbest quote of the day goes to Chuck Ardo, now spokesman from the the House Democrat Campaign Committee, who told Capitolwire (subscription) that what Republicans did was bad “given their stance on fiscal responsibility and government intrusion into peoples lives, their actions most certainly meet the definition of hypocrisy.”
Does Ardo mean to imply that, otherwise, the alleged actions of Perzel and others to use taxpayer funds for campaigning would be perfectly ethical? Or that the prior indictment of House Democrats (which he glosses over) were permissible, because they don’t believe in fiscal responsibility or oppose government intrusion into people’s lives?
I would add that Ardo must know that John Perzel seems to have pretty much the same stance on fiscal responsibility as his old boss, Gov. Rendell – given they were allies in getting big-spending budgets, the gambling law, and the pay raise passed.
UPDATE: Making a late rally for the worst quote(s) of the day was this from House Republican leader Sam Smith:
House Republicans, as a caucus, have long understood there is a difference between legislative work and campaign work. … Members of the Republican Caucus have understood there is a line between legislative work and campaign work.
I must have read a different set of indictments.