Posted: Monday, 15 December 2008 11:26AM
The Upper Crust Gets Stale
Steve Corbett Reporting
Monday, December 15, 2008
This weekend’s Pennsylvania Society parties and gala formal dinner in New York City ended with no public reports of fist fights, divorce filings or indictments - at least not yet.
But, despite the glad-handing and laughter at the altar of Commonwealth political power, the cut-throats who attended are now better prepared to do more serious damage to the people they supposedly serve.
I don’t know if U.S. Sen. Bob Casey showed up or, if he did, how many parties the big Democrat attended.
Democrat Gov. Ed Rendell was there. So was Republican state Attorney General Tom Corbett, who, thankfully, is no relation to me.
Both Rendell and Corbett have continuing high-level political aspirations.
There’s no telling what Rendell has in mind, but Corbett has been playing coy and cute about wanting to be governor. I have no doubt that Corbett wants to be governor. But getting elected is easier said than done, especially when Corbett has all the personality of an aging bounty hunter.
My state Sen. Bob Mellow also wants to be governor. And that’s a problem.
Compared to Democrat Mellow, Corbett is Mr. Bubbles.
Mellow has become so sour and defensive that he refuses to return phone calls. Charlie Tocci, Mellow’s press spokesman, even refuses to return phone calls. But Corbett’s press flack, Kevin Harley, also refuses to respond to my questions and requests for public information.
These PR hacks have been on the public payroll for so long that they forget whom they work for. Of course, they work for us. So do Casey, Mellow, Corbett, Rendell and the rest.
Our job is to remind them that we matter more than New York and the political connections they make on their big night on the town in their ill-fitting tuxedos.
I also don’t know if Mellow attended Saturday’s swanky event at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan.
So I’ll do my best today to get the Northeastern Pennsylvania guest list.
You need to know who attended and what went on.
And I need to know if taxpayers paid for the slimmest piece of the action – which, of course, we should not have done.
Even gas money should be taboo for Rendell and the rest who traveled from Pennsylvania to attend the swell event. But I imagine that Rendell considers the event to be an official function, a place where he can network on our behalf.
I’m tired of these elected and appointed public mugs living the high life at our expense.
The good news is that Wilkes-Barre native and Harrisburg activist Gene Stilp was scheduled to throw a real people’s society potluck dinner in the Capitol Rotunda Saturday night.
I’ll call the people’s pal today and try to get him on the air this afternoon.
Lobbyists, lawyers, corporate hustlers and others who want the people’s business for themselves flocked to the pompous affair in New York which actually started Friday night and ended Sunday.
I wonder who else attended from Scranton.
Did Wilkes-Barre send a representative? Probably not. Democrat Mayor Tom Leighton is even out of his element in Hanover Township.
And, after losing a close one in the November election, former congressional candidate and Hazleton Republican Mayor Lou Barletta probably took a well-deserved break.
But don’t count him out.
There’s always next year.
But how about Nanticoke’s favorite Democrat, the man who beat Barletta? Did 11th Congressional District Rep. Paul Kanjorski hit the Big Apple? Did 10th Congressional District Rep. Chris Carney show up to be a loyal Democrat although he plays both sides of the partisan political game?
I know I wasn’t there. Maybe one day I’ll go. But maybe I should first try to get a seat at the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick dinner.
Unlike the Paddy’s Day bash, at least organizers allowed women to attend the Pennsylvania Society bash. Equality prevailed, as it should. The women were as bad as the men.
In America, everybody deserves the same chance to be pompous.
On Saturday, a snooty night was had by all.
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Corbett
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