Harrisburg digging its way out of the muck

0 Comments | Philadelphia Daily News, March, 2007 | by John Baer

AND NOW AN UPDATE on my 2007 Race to Reform, a contest between the state House and Senate to see which is quicker to attack the greed and clandestine ways so deeply ingrained in the Legislature.

As month three of the race opens, the Senate leads, but the House is poised to sprint.

It's all part of an institution's effort to crawl out of the muck of public distrust and disgust it brought on itself, especially since the '05 pay grab, when people really started paying attention.

Its respondent push for openness and fewer perks and rush to reveal its spending habits is fun to watch.

Bill DeWeese, veteran Democratic leader, a poster boy for past sins who came within a surprising five points of losing last year, yells from the cab of his pickup truck...