Impasse, economy sour Pennsylvania voters

Brad Bumsted

Nov. 3, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- HARRISBURG -- Terry Gabriel, a former steelworker who ran a bar and restaurant until he retired nine years ago, is frustrated because state lawmakers and the governor battled for 101 days before agreeing on a state budget this year.

"There's too much politicking going on," said Gabriel, 71, of Port Allegheny in Potter County. "It's one against the other. So many people suffered."

The politicians in Harrisburg are "looking out for themselves," Gabriel said.

Gabriel is among the 60 percent of voters who told pollsters recently that Pennsylvania is headed in the wrong direction. That is the highest percentage of respondents to answer in that fashion in 14 years, according to poll director G. Terry Madonna, a political science professor at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster.

The poll of 616 Pennsylvanians, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, found only 32 percent believed Pennsylvania is headed in the right direction; 8 percent said they didn't know.

The discontent is driven by the recession and low consumer confidence. The poll found 57 percent of respondents believe the recession will last several years, and only 8 percent said they are better off financially now than last year. Among those polled, 55 percent said their financial condition is "about the same," and 36 percent said they are "worse off" than last year. One percent didn't know.

"Pennsylvanians have a kind of a sour taste in their mouths right now," said Christopher Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown. "There's some darkness in the attitude of Pennsylvanians about the way things are going."

Layered upon a foundation of anxiety about the economy is distrust in state government, dating to the 2005 failed legislative pay raise but including the ongoing legislative corruption investigation and this year's budget impasse, Borick said.

"Quite a bit of it is national," he noted. "There is a correlation between national and state polls."

But Borick believes the disgruntlement is heightened in Pennsylvania because of the recent political spectacle of the Legislature's inability to approve a state spending plan during three months of debate.

Although voters fume about the Legislature, some, like Gabriel, aren't sure they'll vote against their own legislators. Gabriel said he'll wait to hear the explanation during next year's campaigns, when all 203 members of the House and half of the 50 senators seek re-election.

Only 15 percent of voters think the Legislature is doing a "good" or "excellent" job. Almost one-third consider the Legislature to be doing a "poor" job, and almost half rate it "only fair."

But when asked whether they would like to see their own legislators re-elected, 44 percent said yes, 30 percent said no, and 26 percent said they didn't know.

That's a long-standing view of voters, Borick believes. "It's standard psychology. It's easier to hate an institution than a person. When you put a face on something, it's more personal."

It's also an issue of "ownership," he said. "You might have voted for them. They're yours."

Lawmakers blew past the July 1 budget deadline for the seventh year in a row. They didn't approve a $27.8 billion spending plan until Oct. 9. Social service agencies and nonprofits went without state money, laying off employees and curtailing services.

"There's a few (state legislators) I'm going to take it out on," said Phyllis Loughry, 59, of Avella. But she said she will wait to see who the challengers are, running against incumbents.

"I don't think it's moving in the right direction, with all the talk of increased taxes," said Loughry. "I think we'll be mired in this economy for awhile."

Loughry, who works in a group home run by Northwestern Human Services, said she is thankful to have a job -- but she has dipped into her savings account to pay bills.

Said Rebecca Hill of Franklin Park: "When we fail to pass a budget on time for seven years, I blame it on the governor and the Legislature. I think people are numb to what's going on. I think they don't believe anything can be improved."

Hill, 59, a retired manager in the Department of Public Welfare, is disenchanted with the negative TV advertising she saw for the contentious race for one state Supreme Court seat. Joan Orie Melvin, a Republican from Marshall, and Jack Panella, a Northumberland County Democrat, both are Superior Court judges seeking the seat. The winner today will tip the court's balance toward his or her political party.

"I'm not only disgusted with the Legislature and governor; I'm disgusted by the judicial branch," Hill said.

"Everyone is speaking in sound bites. No one is coming forth to provide the information that's available," she said. As an example, she cited the lack of public debate about the condition of water supplies from drilling in the Marcellus Shale natural gas reserve. "Why aren't our Western Pennsylvania representatives talking about this?"

Rose Marshalek, 63, of North Bethlehem in Washington County said the state is moving in the "wrong direction" because the recent budget deal raised taxes, including a 25-cent increase on a pack of cigarettes. She is a smoker.

"A lot of people suffered (during the impasse). It took so long to pass a budget. I think the disappointment was the taxes," said Marshalek. "It's never been right just to pick on one group. They're targeting one group of taxpayers."

It makes no sense to Marshalek to cut state funding for smoking-cessation programs.

"None of it makes any sense," she said.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0288-39382242