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"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
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The Beat Goes On
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Candidate
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| Contributor | Scott³ |
| Last Edited | Scott³ Aug 20, 2009 08:05pm |
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| Category | News |
| Author | John L. Micek |
| News Date | Friday, August 21, 2009 01:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | "The Senate Republican Effort to override Gov. Ed's line-item vetoes of accounts that pay for social welfare programs failed yesterday, ensuring that Pennsylvania's epic budget stalemate will drag into a ninth week.
The chamber's minority Democrats derided the votes ..., as a political stunt intended to embarrass Rendell and prolong the deadlock between the Democratic governor and Republicans who control the Senate.
The override votes failed on a batch of party-line, 30-19 votes (three shy of the 2/3 majority needed to roll back Rendell's vetoes). Just one Democrat, Sen. Lisa Boscola of Northampton County, crossed party lines to with Republicans.
The Bethlehem lawmaker clashed violently with her party's leadership early in yesterday's debate, after Democratic leaders declined to cast her ballot to override Rendell's veto of an account that underwrites funding for rape-crisis centers.
In long-standing Senate practice, Boscola asked Democratic leaders to put her on leave so she could leave the Capitol to return home to the Lehigh Valley ahead of an incoming thunderstorm. In such cases, absent senators tell leaders how they intend to vote and leaders cast their ballots accordingly.
Sen. Jay Costa, the Allegheny County Democrat managing floor debate for Democrats, said Boscola's request came after the chamber began a roll call vote on the override. Boscola's top aide, Bernie Kieklak, said Democratic leaders declined to cast the ballot because Boscola was voting with Republicans.
As a result, Boscola, who was in the Capitol garage preparing to leave, was recalled to the Senate floor to cast her vote in favor of the override. Moments later, she angrily confronted Costa over the perceived slight.
"Don't you dare blame this on me," she reprimanded the Pittsburgh legislator. In response to an inaudible rejoinder from Costa, Boscola then shot back, "Don't embarrass myself? What you just did embarrassed all of us." |
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