Big-bucks party inaugurates de Leon

Government in America increasingly resembles the 1978 comedy, “Animal House.” In this instance, it’s the scene where the Delta frat rats are thrown out of the school and respond with — Road trip!

California’s poverty rate is the highest of any state. Its schools continue to rank among the worst in the country. Sixty years after the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, its schools are the most segregated. Its unfunded pension liabilities are $600 billion. And for all that, its tax burden is the highest. With its business climate the most oppressive.

So what does new Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon do for his swearing-in ceremony? Hold a modest celebration at McDonald’s? Hold it on a plane like LBJ did after JFK was shot?

No. Instead — party!

The Chronicle reported:

“The event at Walt Disney Concert Hall with an estimated price tag of $50,000 resembled a presidential inaugural more than the low-key affairs at the state Capitol held by past senate leaders.

“‘What a beautiful venue,’ de Leon said of the modern architectural marvel designed by Frank Gehry. ‘This is a grand public building and the centerpiece of my district. I chose this venue because it sits close to the working families who put me in office, and it is a visual representation of California’s innovative spirit.'”

He’s clueless. It was like driving a Rolls-Royce through an impoverished inner-city area.

The money for the sybaritic shindig was not provided by taxpayers. But of course, private parties funding such things expect payoffs in the end.

After all, that’s what politics really is all about.