The Lehigh County Republican Party has called a meeting to vote on a censure motion for Pennsylvania state senators Pat Browne, whose 16th District consists of parts of Lehigh County, Monroe County and Northampton counties, and Bob Mensch, whose 24th District consists of adjacent Bucks, Berks and Montgomery for their union-backed votes.
Browne and Mensch are among those who have allied themselves with Scott Wagner of the 28th District who is seeking to unseat Dominic Pileggi of the 9th District (Delaware and Chester counties) as Majority Leader of the Republican-controlled Senate.
Wagner, a newcomer, is leading a rebellion against Pileggi.
Pileggi receives much money from the unions in the state, and Wagner blames him for not getting commonsense pro-consumer, pro-taxpayer legislation passed despite the Republicans having complete control over the state government since January 2011.
Perhaps, Pileggi isn’t entirely to blame.
The Lehigh organization notes that Browne and Mensch voted against an amendment proposed by Senator Wagner in support of “paycheck protection” legislation that would prohibit automatic deduction of union dues from state workers.
It should also be pointed out that Browne was among those getting a huge dump of union money just before the last election.
Browne is seeking to chair the Appropriations Committee while Mensch is attempting to become Caucus Chairman, reports PoliticsPa.com.
Jake Corman, who is tapped by the rebels to replace Pileggi, also gets his share of union money. Granted, it’s not as much as Pileggi but will that sill be the case if he should win the Majority Leader seat?
And Joseph B. “Joe” Scarnati, the president pro tempore, of the Senate, who is also part of the rebels, appears to be outright owned by the forces of darkness.
Pileggi, by the way, voted for Paycheck Protection.
The new boss may end up being the same as the old boss or worse. However this battle ends those who care about the poor, elderly and unemployed — this means one is against the unions — keep it about issues and not people.
Update: A comment on the story at PolitcsPa by someone identifying himself as Lehigh County Republican Party Chairmen William Heydt says it is not the party but a faction and that there is “there is no assurance there will be a meeting because until the night of the meeting there is no assurance of a quorum.”
“Neither the party itself or the leadership has suggested a censure,” he said.
“We are supportive of the Senators overall and of their leadership bids as good for our region,” he said.
