The LuLac Edition #32, June 17th, 2006

NEWS OF THE DAY..............The State House of Repreesentatives Speaker is at it again. Representative John Perzel again defended the payraise of last year on a Harrisburg Talk Show last night. Perzel bemoaned the fact that some state legislators (about 30 of them) have bad credit and cannot even obtain credit cards. Perzel also said tatoo artists in his district made more money than lawmakers. The base salary of a State Legislator is $72,000 plus health benefits, per diem benefits of over $100.00 a day as well as a $600.00 car allowance.

IMMIGRATION ISSUE WILL CHANGE DYNAMIC OF SENATE RACE...The recent immigration issue is going to change the dynamics of the U.S. Senate Race pitting Senator Rick Santorum against State Treasurer Robert P. Casey, Junior. Casey supports the latest bill passed by the Senate. (Those supporting it are people like Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist, John McCain and even President Bush). Santorum has opposed the bill and called the President "wrong headed" for supporting it. Casey is fond of saying that Santorum has voted with the President 98% of the time, Santorum now can say that he broke with his President over this issue and therefore independent. Santorum also has the ability to exploit the hot immigration issue leaving Casey to defend his position. (Casey said he'd side with the majority over the immigration issue if he were a Senator. So Casey is put in the position of actually defending something he didn't vote on). Look for Santorum to make big inroads with this issue.

LISTING OF SENATORS VOTING FOR IMMIGRATION BILL:

Alaska: Stevens (R-AK), Yea Arizona: McCain (R-AZ), Yea Arkansas: Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR), Yea California: Boxer (D-CA), Yea Feinstein (D-CA), Yea Colorado: Salazar (D-CO), Yea Connecticut: Dodd (D-CT), Yea Lieberman (D-CT), Yea Delaware: Biden (D-DE), Yea Carper (D-DE), Yea Florida: Martinez (R-FL), Yea Georgia: Hawaii: Akaka (D-HI), Yea Inouye (D-HI), Yea Idaho: Illinois: Durbin (D-IL), Yea Obama (D-IL), Yea > Indiana: Bayh (D-IN), Yea Lugar (R-IN), Yea Iowa: Harkin (D-IA), Yea Kansas: Brownback (R-KS), Yea Kentucky: Louisiana: Landrieu (D-LA), Yea Maine: Maryland: Mikulski (D-MD), Yea Sarbanes (D-MD), Yea Massachusetts: Kennedy (D-MA), Yea Kerry (D-MA), Yea Michigan: Levin (D-MI), Yea Stabenow (D-MI), Yea Minnesota: Mississippi: Missouri: Montana: Baucus (D-MT), Yea Nebraska: Hagel (R-NE), Yea Nevada: Reid (D-NV), Yea New Hampshire: New Jersey: Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea Menendez (D-NJ), Yea New Mexico: Bingaman (D-NM), Yea New York: Clinton (D-NY), Yea Schumer (D-NY), Yea North Carolina: North Dakota: Dorgan (D-ND), Yea Ohio: DeWine (R-OH), Yea Voinovich (R-OH), Yea Oklahoma: Oregon: Wyden (D-OR), Yea Pennsylvania: Specter (R-PA), Yea Rhode Island: Chafee (R-RI), Yea Reed (D-RI), Yea South Carolina: Graham (R-SC), Yea South Dakota: Johnson (D-SD), Yea Tennessee: Texas: Utah: Vermont: Jeffords (I-VT), Yea Leahy (D-VT), Yea Virginia: Washington: Cantwell (D-WA), Yea Murray (D-WA), Yea West Virginia: Rockefeller (D-WV), Not Voting Wisconsin: Feingold (D-WI), Yea Kohl (D-WI), Yea.

BUFALINO NAMED LUZERNE COUNTY DEMO CHAIRMAN......Mark Bufalino of West Pittston was name Chairman of the Luzerne County Democratic Party Thursday. Bufalino succeeds Joe Mazur who said his resignation was his way of making room for "new blood" in the Democratic Party. Bufalino had the support of Commissioners Skrepenak and Vonderheid. Bufalino's father, Atty. Charles was a longtime Republican who switched his party affiliation when Frank Trincewski, then a Republican elected commissioner switched his affiliation from Republican to Democrat. Many high profile Trinicewski supporters migrated to the Democratic party after their boss made the big move. Trinicewski's supporters were known as Trinicrats providing the Heights native with a solid political base of all parties to draw from.

COMING SOON: THE IMMIGRATION ISSUE BOILS OVER IN HAZLETON/ITS LONG TERM EFFECT ON POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT IN THE LULAC REGION