all the more reason why the governor needs to get to work and build the coalition of Ds that esnures the pig perzel does not get the speaker spot. hopefully he was finished with eagles post gam live early enought to do it. since the mummers will probably be rained out, he will probably have time tomorrow too. get to work eddie!!!!!

The result of Mr. Caltagirone’s decision extends well beyond Mr. DeWeese being denied the Speaker’s post. First, it shows those who don’t learn from history are…well, you know the rest. DeWeese was notorious for legislatively abusing dissenters, removing Dems from committees and the like for not following his will. Now Dem heavyweights like Rooney are aghast that someone like 30-yr. vet Caltagirone has the chutzpah to lash out against his rhetorically-gifted oppressor. Sure, it denies Democrats full control of the state House, but Caltagirone felt that highlighting a larger philosophical point was of greater importance. Electing Bill DeWeese Speaker of the Pennsylvania House would’ve been nothing but business as usual in Pennsylvania. Considering Rooney and Company’s depth of respect for the “will of the people”, perhaps they should consider the freshmen who make up nearly a quarter of the House and ask how they won their seats. Certainly not on a “stay the course” platform. DeWeese, if anything, exemplifies old-school politics in the state, a brand that rubs even committed Dems the wrong way. The second, thus far overlooked, aspect of this is the potential rebirth of John Perzel. Many conservatives in the state House have grinned and beared Perzel’s tenure as Speaker, but Perzel has an opportunity to win those important caucus members back. He could potential bring down two elusive political birds with one shot: one, he re-establishes himself as a power player by dividing committee chairs equally and allowing votes on everything from taxes to naming rights. Secondly, he holds his conservative caucus by giving them a larger role in the House. Simultaneously, Perzel could build goodwill amongst Dems and indys while winning over conservatives simply by not shutting them out. Put another way, he wins by being everything Bill DeWeese isn’t.

I would think Caltagirone will not have many friends among Democrats if he is the traitor who gives the Speaker’s position to Perzel.I wonder what Perzel promised Caltagirone if he supported him?

Apparently there’s some bad blood between Caltagirone and DeWeese and this is how Caltagirone is getting even. Unfortunately, electing Perzel could result in Rendell’s agenda
being thwarted, which I doubt Caltagirone wants given Ed was
reelected with over 60% of the vote. A story in the Inky says
Perzel only promised he’s pass a package of reforms which Caltagirone supports, but Perzel hasn’t told his GOP caucus what they are so passage may be problematic, and that if DeWeese and the Dem leadership retaliate, Perzel will pay for Caltagirone’s staff. But in any event, I’d say Caltagirone’s a lame duck right now.

oh well—i guess it was too good to be true.

what i want to know is if deweese is the problem, why not just dump him and find domeone else. you can’t tell me that deweese did not know he had a problem. i guess his ego just stood in the way.

it is pretty sad that we have a governor that wins in an historic landslide, and, by virtue of his position and strength can promise and deliver just about anything a legislator could want and he’s getting politically out maneuvered by perzel and his dying party.

anyway, can’t believe the governor is going to let himself be outmaneuvered and must be switching one of the philly r’s, or will do something to get this clown back on the reservation.

let’s hope fast eddie can pull a rabbit out of the hat.

I’ve met tom in the past and he has a beef with DeWeese in the worst way. Tom is not a bad person, just unwilling to allow himself to support DeWeese. Tom would support just about any other Democrat.

Yeah, that’s pretty apparent. But when you have a chance to implement a good and progressive agenda and legislation for the state, you have to set personal grievances aside, swallow your
pride and allow the voters’ choice to come through. What Tom is
doing thwarts the will of the voters.

As I see it, the will of the voters was that NEITHER DeWeese nor Perzel should be speaker.

LOL, that is probably true, too. But, it was clear the voters voted for Rendell’s agenda and having a Dem speaker helps ensure
what Rendell wants will get a fair hearing.