Plenty of regrets over Kane debacle
On her last day in office, convicted Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane indicated she had “no regrets.” That’s one of us. We have plenty. We regret that the first woman and first Democrat ever elected to the state’s top law enforcement officer is now a convicted felon.
We regret that Kane, who was actually considered by many to be in line for possible higher office after her impressive victory at the polls in which she tallied more votes than President Barack Obama, threw away her career in a petty personal vendetta.
But most of all we regret what is the latest in Pennsylvania’s long line of politicians and public servants who have found themselves enshrined in the Keystone State’s evergrowing Hall of Shame.
It’s not like “Kalamity Kane” was breaking new ground here. She wasn’t even the first attorney general to be convicted of criminal activity.
Did you forget Ernie Preate? The Republican went to jail back in 1995 for mail fraud involving campaign funds.
How about Bud Dwyer? The state treasurer called a press conference the day before he was to be sentenced on a bribery conviction in and took his life on live TV.
And how could we forget our esteemed Legislature. They basically have their own wing in the Hall of Shame.
Sen. Vince Fumo ring a bell. He made a point of bragging about how he used “other people’s money.” That was your money.
He wasn’t alone. John Perzel. Bill DeWeese. These were leaders of the Legislature. All got caught crossing the law. Before he became governor — or maybe because of it — Tom Corbett made hay by taking down powerful Harrisburg politicians with their hand out.
And let’s not forget the investigation at the heart of Kane’s troubles. She put the kibosh on a sting operation that snagged several Democratic legislators pocketing cash and jewelry.
Our elected members of Congress are not immune either. U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, once one of the most respected members of the local congressional delegation, resigned his post after being convicted on corruption charges.
Is there something in the water when it comes to Pennsylvania public officials that renders them incapable of toeing the line and performing the public’s business without taking care of their own first?
Is the air in Harrisburg, or Washington, D.C., or Philly City Hall so rarified that these folks forget the common people that are supposed to represent, instead of what they too often do, serve themselves.
Kane’s case is especially maddening. She didn’t sell her office. She didn’t line her pockets. She was looking to settle a personal vendetta, a boiling feud with another prosecutor she blamed for an unflattering story in the newspaper.
She decided to remedy the situation — and get her pound of flesh — by doing likewise. She leaked grand jury information about an investigation he was involved in. Then she doubled down on her criminal activity by waltzing into a grand jury and lying about it, and the cover-up that ensued.
Kane, who declined to take the stand in her own defense during her trial — in fact her attorneys failed to call a single witness — had something to say as she breezed into her Scranton office for her last day as the state’s top law enforcement official.
As with so many of her actions since taking the reins of the attorney general’s office, it was unfortunate.
“I try to live my life without any regrets,” Kane said less than 24 hours after she was convicted of two counts of perjury and seven other counts of abusing the power of her office. “I try to do the best job I can every day. An I have no regrets. I hope that people see that we’ve done our best ... And, you know, sometimes the price is high.”
Oh, Pennsylvania knows that all too well, Ms. Kane. We know all about the going price in Harrisburg, and of the long string of public officials who have sullied not just their reputations and this state’s, but those of every citizen who voted for them, an abuse of trust that strikes at the heart of our democratic civic process.
We’re waiting for the day when the price of a public servant’s personal integrity reaches the same level.
We’re not going to hold our breath.