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Downsizing the legislature can’t be a bad idea. Imagine the thousands of taxpayer dollars saved from fewer bonuses for political campaign work paid to state legislative staffers alone.  Shrinkage in the state legislative chamber – it would be like a frightened turtle – and in this case a good thing.   From the Morning Call:

In January 2007, the Capitol was in the grip of reform fever following a pay raise debacle. The House and Senate were racing to rehab their images and make themselves more accountable to the public.

For Rep. Mark Mustio, R-Allegheny, it seemed like a perfect time to introduce a bill shrinking the House from 203 to 161 members, and the Senate from 50 to 40 members.

The proposal went exactly nowhere — just as similar attempts at legislative culling have for years.

But on Aug. 19, with the Capitol once again focused on reform, Mustio’s proposal is getting its first-ever public hearing before the House State Government Committee.
Only nine days remain on the legislative calendar. But lawmakers are squeezed between state Attorney General Tom Corbett’s arrests in the Bonusgate scandal and November’s re-election lineup.

As a result, the suburban Pittsburgh lawmaker says he’s hoping for a slightly better outcome this time.

”The private sector has to do more with less,” said Mustio, who sponsored a similar [and failed] bill in the 2006-07 session. ”And there’s no reason why we shouldn’t do the same.”

Mustio’s proposal is a constitutional amendment, which means it has to be approved in consecutive legislative sessions and then by voters via a referendum. A similar plan is pending in the state Senate.

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This whole using taxpayer funds to pay for campaign activity is in itself a fabulous story – lots of meat and fun angle.  But when you add Ralph Nader to it, you can view this whole mess from a totally different angle.  It becomes even more interesting to watch, and it generates a different headline, for another impression, and a fresh take away for voters to increase their level of disgust.  Ain’t it cool? From the Central Penn Business Journal:

Ralph Nader stopped by the state Capitol this afternoon to announce he will ask the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reopen its 2006 decision against him.

Nader today filed a lengthy complaint with the Federal Election Commission and plans to file another with the U.S. Department of Justice, he said.

The decision forces Nader to pay litigation fees amassed in a challenge to keep him off the presidential ballot in the commonwealth in 2004. Nader and Peter Miguel Camejo submitted nomination papers as independent candidates for president and vice president, respectively,in 2004.

The Supreme Court upheld a 2005 decision by Commonwealth Court James Gardner Colins. Colins ruled Nader had to pay $81,102 in attorney fees tallied in a challenge to his inclusion on the ballot. Attorneys purportedly filed the challenge on behalf of eight Pennsylvania voters, Nader said.

State Attorney General Tom Corbett’s recent indictment of 12 state Democrats in the so-called “Bonusgate” scandal — and a grand jury’s presentation that accompanied Corbett’s charges — show that 50 or more state employees helped put together the 2004 challenge, Nader said.

There is no precedent in any case in U.S. history that should force a candidate to pay the litigation fees of ballot challengers, said Oliver Hall, Nader’s attorney.

“This is an enlightened month in Pennsylvania,” Nader said of the recent indictment. “It shocks the conscious.”

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Ah yes, looks like PA Democrats are well on their way to not changing one thing in wake of the Bonusgate scandal.  They want their handpicked candidates to run for office – not some outsider who hasn’t worked the status quo.  Republicans can’t help but smile when Democrats do things like this.  Keep it up boys.  From Ellwood City Ledger:

Jason Petrella, the long-shot Democratic state Senate candidate who surprised many people with his primary showing against now-indicted state Rep. Sean Ramaley, said Friday that he wants the party’s nomination if Ramaley decides to quit the race.

“The argument I make is simple. Look at my numbers,” said Petrella, a 32-year-old Monaca resident. “Look at how I fared with four people assisting me and a very modest budget.”

Across the 47th Senatorial District, Petrella, a political newcomer who was virtually unknown in Democratic circles, received about 22,000 votes while Ramaley, D-16, Economy, received about 25,300 votes. The district includes most of Beaver County, half of Lawrence County and Crescent Township in Allegheny County.

According to campaign finance reports, Ramaley, 33, spent about $108,000 to win the Democratic primary while Petrella and his committee spent $8,000 combined.

Of the 22,000 district residents who voted for him, Petrella said, “That is the people. That is the Democratic Party speaking.”

As for speculation that Beaver County Commissioner Joe Spanik, who dropped out of the primary in February, would be the likely replacement for Ramaley, Petrella argued that he remained in the race and came close to beating the better-funded and established Ramaley.

“Where were the other horses?” Petrella asked. “They didn’t even run the race.”

Ramaley has until Aug. 11 to withdraw from the race so that his name would not appear on the ballot. On Thursday, Big Beaver resident Jay Paisley announced that he would begin circulating a petition to enter the state Senate race as an independent.

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From Pennsyltucky Blog:

The bonus scandal stole millions from the public, but it could end up saving third-party presidential candidate Ralph Nader $81,000 in legal fees he was ordered to pay after being tossed from the Pennsylvania ballot in 2004.

“It looks like the judgment was the result of a criminal conspiracy,” said Nader’s attorney, Oliver Hall tells the Philadelphia Inquirer. “We will investigate our options to vacate the judgment.”

Efforts by state House Democrats to toss Nader from the 2004 ballot and 2006 Green Party Senate candidate Carl Romanelli were some of the less salacious details in the indictments of 12 people last week in the state Bonusgate scandal.

Perennial gadfly and Harrisburg activist Gene Stilp of pink pig protest fame has asked U.S. Attorney Martin Carlson to investigate whether state House Democats’ efforts played a role in unfairly booting the candidates from the ballot.

“This is absolutely hideous,” Romanell tells the Inky’s Amy Worden “I knew I was a victim of conspiracy on behalf of the Democratic Party.”

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According to Attorney General Tom Corbett, this story ain’t over.

From KDKA:

Former Democratic Whip Mike Veon is expected to turn himself in to police today to face a number of charges in connection with a grand jury’s so-called “Bonus Gate” investigation.

State Attorney General Tom Corbett announced charges against the former state representative and eleven other people during a news conference yesterday afternoon in Harrisburg.

The grand jury determined that public funds were used to dole out hefty taxpayer-financed bonuses for staff members’ campaign work.

Beaver County State Representative Sean Ramaley, who is running for a seat in the state Senate, is also facing charges as part of the probe.

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