An odd couple

I support the recent awarding of the Pennsylvania Society Gold Medal honor to U.S. District Court Judge Marjorie O. Rendell, a distinguished and dignified public servant. I find loathsome the joint presentation of it to her estranged husband, former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.
The corruption and legislative shenanigans that continue to be inflicted on the people of our state can largely be laid at the former governor’s doorstep.
Rendell brought the commonwealth to a new low when he went to federal court not to argue for a tough sentence for grand thief and multiple felon Vincent Fumo, a former state Senate kingpin, but to plead for leniency, making the ridiculous argument that “no one is all good or all bad.”
Rendell looked the other way as one legislative crony after another fell to indictment and conviction, refusing to condemn the behavior of the thieves. With his usual coarseness, he told a group he was addressing that sometimes it is necessary “to kiss a little butt” with the General Assembly, meaning that when you give them what they want, no matter how outrageous, you will get what you want in return. Part of this unseemly horse-trading occurred when Rendell set ethics and serving the public aside to shamefully sign into law the middle-of-the-night pay grab of 2005, having the audacity to classify it as “good legislation.” His poor judgment included the failure to foresee a citizen revolt which forced repeal of the “good legislation,” a rare victory for the people over the corrupt and the greedy.
Despite his shady past, Rendell continues to be popular with the people and to be regarded as an esteemed elder statesman, a sad phenomenon. I suppose being a “good ol’ boy,” a schmoozer, and a backslapper is what is important.
Marjorie and Ed Rendell are the epitome of the odd couple.
Oren M. Spiegler
Upper St. Clair