[pittsburgh gop guy]

You asked:"Why in the world would you turn out a judge because the lawmakers voted in a pay raise?"

It is because the culture in Harrisburg is corrupt and just about everyone up there is OUT OF TOUCH with what real people do and the expenses we deal with.

Read this article from the Pittsburgh Trib-Review - highlights below:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/search/s_376227.html

"We learned that Justice Russell Nigro must be afflicted with some obscure neuromuscular disorder that apparently prevents him from discussing legal matters without clutching a fork.

How else to explain the 115 meals for which Nigro billed taxpayers, many at upscale Philadelphia restaurants where the tab occasionally topped $400?

(There is no explanation as to why Nigro also expensed three bottles of wine, one costing $89, other than the obvious -- a fine merlot is far superior to Diet Dr. Pepper, particularly when someone else is paying for it.)"

and

Pa.'s top judges rack up $164K in expenses
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/search/s_375492.html

"HARRISBURG -- The state's seven Supreme Court justices last year billed taxpayers for a total of $164,000 in food, travel and lodging expenses that included $300 dinners, $1,766 to frame an office picture and an $85 bottle of wine, according to a published report.
The seven justices each charged from $13,737 to $36,894 in expenses last year, the Harrisburg Patriot-News reported Sunday.

Pennsylvania's justices are among the highest paid in the nation, each earning more than $170,000 a year. They also enjoy an uncapped expense account in addition to their salary and a $17,000 benefits package that includes long-term care insurance, health benefits and up to $600 a month for the lease of a vehicle.

Last year, Justice Thomas Saylor charged taxpayers for 34 car washes."



THAT IS WHY we would vote to turn out a judge. Not to mention that he is a lib dem from Philly....

[PennsylvaniaMom]

Great compilation of news accounts. I particularily enjoy the part about the $600 per month for a car lease. Can't have our jurists riding in anything other than an Escalade.

[Palladin]

We Pennsylvanians turned a major corner in politics yesterday. We claimed the power of the people in a legal, non-violent way.

With our votes, we erected a symbolic guillotine in Market Square in Harrisburg.

Greedy legislators, proceed at your own risk!

[libertylover]

Thanks for your comments "splainin" about the judges. It figures there's a good reason for ousting the judge and my in-credulousness was meant to be more directed at the writer for not making the connection in the article rather than the voters.