Although plenty has been said about incumbent Governor Tom Corbett’s low approval rating, recent poll numbers suggest that Pennsylvania voters are also losing faith in the entire state legislature.
On Friday of last week, Gallup released its recent findings that found only 46% of Pennsylvanians have a “great deal/fair amount of trust” in their state government. That ranks fourth lowest out of all states in the country, with only Maine, Rhode Island and Illinois ranking higher.
The poll was conducted from June to December of 2013; nearly 600 Pa. residents were interviewed by Gallup. And the results fall in line with Gallup’s overall thesis, namely that the states with the least amount state government support are highly populous and either Democratic or competitive.
But it is not just Gallup who has picked up on the disillusionment of Pennsylvania voters in regards to state governance. The Pennsylvania Leadership Conference that was held this past Saturday completed a straw poll that had 64% of attendees disapproving of the job performance of the state legislature.
Perhaps even more alarming, Franklin and Marshall’s most recent poll results show that only a mere 22% believe that the Commonwealth is headed in the right direction, and 66% believe it is heading the wrong direction.
These polls all point to a general dissatisfaction with state politicians, and these results come as plenty of scandals have plagued those in Harrisburg.
Four State Reps. were reportedly implicated for accepting bribes according to the halted sting operation that just recently became public, and State Rep. J. P. Miranda (D-Philadelphia) and State Sen. Leanna Washington are both facing criminal charges for their actions while in office.
The only saving grace is that at least Pennsylvania isn’t Illinois, who sports a 28% approval rating according to Gallup.
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2 Responses
Trust? Lolol – hat’s a joke right? After they threw thousands of Medicaid, refused Billions in free federal Medicaid money, slammed the curtains on the voting booths with their Phony Voter ID laws, threw tens of tousands off the unemployment compensation lines during the Great recession, slashed State support of public school districts, and gave away BILLIONS in our natural resources to the Frackers, for no severance tax whatsoever – WHO in the world is going to trust these Thieves??? ALEC and the Koch Brothers trust them, and that is all. They should all be facing Indictments, for selling their offices to the One Percenters.
Trust the great truth-telling sage of PA, Signor Ferrari of Casablancapa.com: “A WEALTH OF INFORMATION”
When Mike Manzo, former Chief of Staff to the House Democratic Leader, was sentenced to prison in 2012, prosecutor Frank Fina said Manzo had provided “a wealth of information” on other cases.
“In his own statement to the judge, Fina said Manzo had helped with a ‘large number of investigations that have yet to be revealed… entirely separate from what the court has seen.'”
According to the Patriot-News, “The sentencing of Manzo, one-time chief of staff to former House Minority Leader Bill DeWeese, was delayed because he continued to be a key prosecution witness used by the state attorney general’s office.
Manzo was “definitely at the tip of the spear in terms of cooperation,” Fina said.
Fina would not elaborate. As the years went by and no new cases were brought against House Democrats, we often wondered just what the heck Fina meant.
Then we learned about Fina’s botched sting operation targeting African-American members of the House. And then we learned that shortly after Manzo’s sentencing, Fina urged then-Attorney General Linda Kelly to “expand the inquiry,” in an effort to snare even more legislators.
Were these the investigations for which Manzo had provided “a wealth of information?” Did Manzo spend months telling prosecutors about the proclivities and foibles of House Democratic members in an effort to have them arrested, only to emerge from prison and secure employment lobbying those very members?