Shameless Scumbags Soak State

Pennsylvania state lawmakers skirted the law and voted themselves a large pay raise:

Public outrage over a hefty pay raise Pennsylvania lawmakers voted themselves a month ago -- in the dead of night -- has nagged them throughout their summer vacation and shows no signs of going away.

Not only did legislators increase their salaries 16 percent to 34 percent to at least $81,050 -- more than any state except California -- they crafted the package in secret without debate or public scrutiny, then left town.

Even more galling to Pennsylvanians, lawmakers found a way around a constitutional provision barring them from collecting any salary increase during the term in which it is approved. The pay raise bill -- based on the authority of a court ruling nearly two decades old -- lets lawmakers start collecting the raises 16 months early.

The public is rightfully pissed and one voter in particular sent an e-mail explaining his views. The replies were not what he expected:

Bill McIntyre did not expect many replies when he e-mailed a tongue-in-cheek greeting to members of the state General Assembly on the one-month anniversary of the vote to give themselves a raise.

"I thought they would just ignore it," McIntyre said.
About a half-dozen replied.

One suggested he walk a mile in their shoes and run for office. Another asked if McIntyre had ever supported a legislative pay raise. Still another sent a two-page letter explaining why he voted for the raise.

Then there was the reply from Democratic Senate leader Robert J. Mellow, D-Lackawanna: "Why don't you get a life? Please do not mail my office another e-mail."

The Patriot-News examined the e-mails on McIntyre's computer. While there was no way to verify the author of the messages, the "from" line in the messages read "Senator Robert Mellow" and carried his e-mail address.

Nice reply Senator. What a dirt bag.