Wednesday, January 03, 2007
That Harrisburg Two-Step
So after a nail-biting recount last month the Democrats returned to the majority in the State House by a razor-thin 102-101 margin. First thing they do? Why, shoot themselves in the foot, of course! Pissy about how he had been treated as a minority caucus member, Rep Tom Caltagrione (D-Berks) announces he intends to vote for cloak-and-dagger master (statehouse category) GOPer John Perzel to continue as House Speaker.
It was clear after lots and lots o' backroom politicking that neither Perzel or putative Dem-leader Mike DeWeese could carry a vote. So in a moment of (enlightened?) desparation, Montco Dem Josh Shapiro reaches across the aisle to Northeast Philly GOP Rep Dennis O'Brien to ask if he would be interested in the Speaker's job. Local mahoff's were consulted, and Voila!, we've got a new Speaker. . . albeit a Republican one in a Democratic-led chamber.
It's being portrayed, at least right now, as a Democratic coup against a bitter and machiavellian Perzel, who steadfastly refused to give up the post even after his party lost control of the House. That remains to be seen, although according to the Inky (yes, they still have a Harrisburg bureau) O'Brien "promised not to interfere with the powers of the Democratic majority, including the naming of the chairs of the House committees."
Luckily, the back-stabbing, power-grabbing Perzel had made some enemies among his GOP colleagues as well, six of whom defied party orders and voted for O'Brien. Of course, Ol' John did have some pals across the aisle--the aforementioned Caltagrione voted for him, as did longtime Philly do-nothing hacks Angel Cruz and Rosita Youngblood.
If only things weren't that close, those two (or three) should be purged from the ranks. At the very least these vote should be remembered and the Dems should give her a tough primary fight (kudos to my neighbor Marc Stier for trying last time), or at the very least not jerryrig the election and flood it with money to prevent a real debate among liberal Northwest Philly democrats. Oh wait, I forgot. . . it's Philly!!!!
So after a nail-biting recount last month the Democrats returned to the majority in the State House by a razor-thin 102-101 margin. First thing they do? Why, shoot themselves in the foot, of course! Pissy about how he had been treated as a minority caucus member, Rep Tom Caltagrione (D-Berks) announces he intends to vote for cloak-and-dagger master (statehouse category) GOPer John Perzel to continue as House Speaker.
It was clear after lots and lots o' backroom politicking that neither Perzel or putative Dem-leader Mike DeWeese could carry a vote. So in a moment of (enlightened?) desparation, Montco Dem Josh Shapiro reaches across the aisle to Northeast Philly GOP Rep Dennis O'Brien to ask if he would be interested in the Speaker's job. Local mahoff's were consulted, and Voila!, we've got a new Speaker. . . albeit a Republican one in a Democratic-led chamber.
It's being portrayed, at least right now, as a Democratic coup against a bitter and machiavellian Perzel, who steadfastly refused to give up the post even after his party lost control of the House. That remains to be seen, although according to the Inky (yes, they still have a Harrisburg bureau) O'Brien "promised not to interfere with the powers of the Democratic majority, including the naming of the chairs of the House committees."
Luckily, the back-stabbing, power-grabbing Perzel had made some enemies among his GOP colleagues as well, six of whom defied party orders and voted for O'Brien. Of course, Ol' John did have some pals across the aisle--the aforementioned Caltagrione voted for him, as did longtime Philly do-nothing hacks Angel Cruz and Rosita Youngblood.
If only things weren't that close, those two (or three) should be purged from the ranks. At the very least these vote should be remembered and the Dems should give her a tough primary fight (kudos to my neighbor Marc Stier for trying last time), or at the very least not jerryrig the election and flood it with money to prevent a real debate among liberal Northwest Philly democrats. Oh wait, I forgot. . . it's Philly!!!!
Labels: PA politics, Philly politics
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