The fact of the matter is that the Turnpike Commission is one of the last outposts of patronage in this commonwealth.

and

"The Turnpike Commission persists and remains as a haven for those who want to load up the payroll for political purposes."

"That's a disgusting statement. I resent that, I really do, because it ruins all of us."

Parsons: "So you're personally offended?"

Brimmeier: "I am offended."

Parsons: "But Joe, didn't you hire the son of Commissioner James Dodaro?"

Brimmeier: "Yes."

Parsons: "Didn't you hire the son of Congressman Bob Brady?"

Brimmeier: "Yes."

Parsons: "Were those the most capable people for those jobs?"

Brimmeier: "They can do the job that they were hired to do. I personally knew both of them."

People who know Brimmeier get hired before those who don't, despite a 1997 legislative report that urged the Turnpike Commission to "adopt and implement a merit-based hiring and promotion system."

Brimmeier: "Sure. Do we hire somebody that might be recommended by a legislator or by a senator, or by a county commissioner or by myself? Absolutely, we do that. That doesn't make them a bad employee."

Parsons: "Does it make them the best employee?"

Brimmeier: "We hire the best employee, absolutely."

They hire lots of them. With more than 2,000 workers, the Turnpike Commission employs four people for every mile of road. That's 12 times the number of employees that PennDOT has per mile of road.

When state lawmakers agreed in 1938 to build a statewide toll road, they specified that when the debt was paid off, the tollbooths would come down and the Turnpike Commission disbanded. PennDOT would then take over the highway. That could have actually happened 20 years ago.

Thornburgh: "I was determined to see the Turnpike Commission abolished. There was no need for it. The turnpike was completed. The debt was down to a manageable size. It could have been paid off."

In 1985, Turnpike debt was only $65 million. Now, it's more than $2 billion. Twenty cents of every toll dollar throughout the turnpike system now goes to pay down the debt.

In short, the lease payment is funding permanent assets to serve the needs of current and future Hoosiers. Further, the concessionaire has spent over $88 million in 2008 so far on construction contracts for work on the ITR itself. Over 97 percent of this work went to Indiana businesses, well exceeding the 90 percent target specified in the lease contract for the roughly $4 billion planned in ITR construction work over the 75-year term. That's $4 billion in addition to the $3.8 billion upfront payment that will remain in Indiana.

Without the toll road lease, these projects would likely have never materialized, or they would have necessitated tax increases to move forward. And Indiana has also earned over $360 million in interest on the upfront payment in just two years (over $185,000 per day, at current rates), which will be used to fund additional state and local transportation projects for decades.

This sort of wise fiscal stewardship was a key factor in Standard & Poor's recent decision to award Indiana its first-ever AAA bond rating in July, indicating top-notch financial conditions and management. Indiana's excellent credit rating means it will save millions of taxpayer dollars in interest payments when it issues bonds to fund capital construction projects and the like.

The Indianapolis Star got it right in a recent editorial, saying that the S&P rating "has validated several difficult, controversial decisions that Gov. Mitch Daniels and the General Assembly made to bring Indiana's budget back into balance. [...] [T]he $3.8 billion in capital leveraged through the [ITR] deal has enabled the state to make much-needed improvements in infrastructure while handing off management of an underperforming asset."

The report has the usual Columbia School baby-journalism of finding a very ordinary person to say something so ordinary you wonder why it's considered worth reporting - in this case a self-employed lady who made the observation that "they are always doing work on it" and that "there are a lot of accidents."

Really.

More serious is the reporter's tendentious line: "the deal is sparking debate about whether America's highways are too much a part of the national fabric to be controlled by anyone but the public."

In what sense does "the public" control the Pennsylvania Turnpike? It is controlled by the board of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, and the public has about as much control over them as it has over the weather.

After two years of writing the Pennsyltucky Politics blog and 13 1/2 with The Patriot-News, this is my last post.

It's been a lot of fun. I've enjoyed interacting with many of you, including those who did not always appreciate what I was reporting.

In the future, I can be reached at Brettdlieberman@gmail.com

Thanks for a good ride.

- 30 -

Self-promotion warning: We'll be on XM Satellite Radio's POTUS '08 sometime during the 11 a.m. hour to discuss Pennsylvania politics and the presidential race. It's on channel 130.

APLibertarian Presidential nominee Bob Barr sits in a really ugly chair.

All you ever hear these days is Barack Obama this and John McCain that, so we thought we'd pause for a moment and give Bob Barr a few seconds of love.

Barr, the former Georgia congressman and Libertarian Party presidential nominee, is irate over the $32 million that the federal government will give the Democratic and Republican parties to put on their national conventions in the coming weeks. That doesn't include another $50 million for security.

"My party has already held its convention without a single taxpayer dollar in its support," said Barr.

You don't say. Of course, how many people really thought he was serious about running for president.

Barr, who calls it "obnoxious" to force taxpayers to underwrite other people's political opinions, says he would end the practice of federal subsidies for the conventions.

We now return to the regularly scheduled campaign between Obama and McCain.

It's probably not a good sign of a campaign's strength when it announces an event like Thursday's first ever "McCain Nation" events and the entire population of that country can squeeze into the Kingston, Pa. home of Sandy Kase.

APCindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., talks with teens at the Broadway Diner in Red Bank, N.J. on Tuesday.

Well, not quite everybody. They've also got some room at the Colonial Country Club outside Harrisburg, where no doubt folks will empathize with struggling working class families, and in King of Prussia at Peppers Italian Restaurant, where the baked manicotti sounds good.

McCain supporters in all 50 states will meet Aug. 14 for these house parties to organize volunteers, register voters, distribute lists of voters to call and basically try to excite the GOP grassroots.

If that's not enough to excite you, Cindy McCain and a senior McCain adviser to be named in a trade later will participate via conference call.

There's a grand total of six such events planned in Pennsylvania. Keep reading for details.

MCCAIN NATION EVENTS IN PENNSYLVANIA

Philadelphia
Pepper's Italian Restaurant
239 Town Center Road
King of Prussia, PA, 19406

Harrisburg
Colonial Country Club
4901 Linglestown Road
Harrisburg, PA, 17112

Kingston
Home of Sandy Kase
416 N. Maple Avenue, Kingston, PA 18704

Strasburg
Fireside Tavern at Historic Strasburg
1 Historic Drive
Strasburg, PA, 17579

Bethel Park
Home of Victoria Goodman
211 Navajo Road
Bethel Park, PA, 15241

Coopersburg
Home of Rosemarie and Gregory Ebert
2192 Pine Tree Road, Coopersburg, PA, 18036

Don't worry about that shrieking noise you may hear this evening on Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh or interrupting your Friday lunch hour on Market Street in Harrisburg. It's just Howard Dean.

The chairman of the Democratic National Committee, aka The Screamer, will be visiting the two 'burgs as part of a cross-country "Register for Change," bus tour to register voters.

The tour started in Crawford, TX, and will end in Denver for the Democratic National
Convention.

Keep reading for the details...

Thursday, Aug. 14:

GRASSROOTS FUNDRAISING EVENT
The Church Brew Works
3525 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA

Event Time: 6:15 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 15:

REGISTER FOR CHANGE VOTER REGISTRATION CANVASS LAUNCH
Sci Tech High
215 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA

Only about a month before Pennsylvania state senator Vincent Fumo is to go to trial on federal fraud, obstruction of justice, and tax evasion charges, an aide to the embattled lawmaker has pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with federal authorities in the case against Fumo.

Leonard Luchko, 52, of Collingdale, Pa., has pleaded guilty to 29 counts of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. He has admitted to a systematic and exhaustive effort to delete years’ worth of e-mails and other electronic evidence.

That evidence had been sought by the FBI as part of its federal corruption probe.

Federal prosecutor John Pease outlined the case against Luchko in court:  read more »

As part of an ongoing public corruption investigation, agents from the Attorney General’s Office today filed numerous theft charges, as well as criminal conspiracy and conflict of interest charges, against 12 suspects, including a state representative from Beaver County, a former House Democratic Minority Whip and four current House Democratic staffers. The investigation has uncovered the illegal use of millions of dollars in taxpayers’ funds, resources and state employees for political campaign purposes.  read more »

For all our Democratic friends.

It is with great pleasure that I announce the launch of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party’s new website and online community. ... We officially launched it this past weekend at our annual convention in Harrisburg to great audience response. And now I want to make sure you know about it and take advantage of all it has to offer.  read more »

Join Councilman Peduto for a Special Announcement  read more »

Campaign Kickoff Celebration Set for January 26.
Visit www.stevegucciniforjudge.com for more information.  read more »

Sy Snyder will continue to run the site for now, while its new owners plan to expand its scope and seek more original content.  read more »

Lehigh County Democratic Committee (LCDC)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rick Daugherty Chair, LCDC 610-504-4376
Steven Bliss LCDC Communications Chair 610-434-3388
------------------------------------------------

Lehigh County Democrats Gearing Up Candidate Recruitment for 2007 Party Seeks to Continue Momentum with Strong Showing in Local Races

Allentown, Pa.  read more »

PRESS RELEASE

Mayoral candidate Chaka Fattah yesterday announced his plan to fight illegal guns in Philadelphia  read more »