Unfortunately this front page article in todays Sunday LNP is not available at www.Lancasteronline.com, which seems to often be a problem.
The article breaks no new ground, but it is essential information and deserves being re-published by newspapers across the state.
Here is an excerpt taking from www.LNPtoday.com .
“A stacked system: ‘This is politics’
…Despite public opinion surveys showing historic levels of dissatisfaction with state lawmakers, a loss of trust in government institutions and widespread pessimism about the state’s direction, more than 95 percent of incumbents who ran for reelection last year won.
And that represented the low-water mark of the last three cycles.Taken together, about 96 percent of incumbents who wanted to keep their jobs in 2012, 2014 and 2016 were given another term by voters.
Those incumbents enjoy the benefits of systems of elections, governance and oversight constructed largely by their peers, which in many cases tilt the field to their advantage. They have more contact with potential donors who can give unlimited amounts of money, third parties are locked out of the state’s closed primaries, and laws limit outside scrutiny of their spending and accusations of unethical behavior…
