The LuLac Edition #1038, Dec. 15h, 2009

PHOTO INDEX: FORMER GOVERNOR OF VERMONT HOWARD DEAN AND STATE CAPITOL IN HARRISBURG.

DEWEESE GOES DOWN

What has been rumored for almost 24 months has come to fruition. Bill DeWeese the erudite and articulate former Majority Leader and Pa. Speaker wanna be has been charged in Bonus Gate. A grand jury found that DeWeese conducted political fundraising work inside the Capitol from 2001 to 2007. Also charged were Stephen Stetler, who resigned this morning as Department of Revenue secretary, and Sharon Rodavich, an aide to DeWeese.DeWeese, Stetler and House Majority leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, had received invitations to appear before the grand jury earlier, but Eachus was not charged today. Stetler is significant because he is the first member of the Rendell Cabinet to be charged. The allegations against him are not when he was Revenue Secretary as far as we can tell. Corbett said DeWeese hired Kevin Sidella, who earned $275,000 from 2001 to 2006, onto his Capitol legislative staff. Sidella handled DeWeese's fundraising during the legislative work day with DeWeese's knowledge, Corbett said. "It was clear, even from his job interview, that his primary function was to be DeWeese's campaign fundraiser." It appears Bonus Gate is continuing as the 2010 Legislative cycle gets underway.

DOCTOR SAYS: DESTROY

Howard Dean is so disgusted by the gutting of the Health Care Reform bill to appease that substitute for a Senator Joe Lieberman that this afternoon he called for the Democrats to kill the bill. the compromises needed to get the vote of Sen. Joe Lieberman and others have so weakened the legislation that it wouldn't be worth passing. According to Greg Sargent's The Plum Line blog, Dean, a physician by training and a former Vermont governor and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, made his remarks during a Vermont Public Radio taping Tuesday. Here's an excerpt: Dean said the removal of the Medicare buy-in made the bill not worth supporting, and urged Dem leaders to start over with the process of reconciliation in the interview, which is set to air at 5:50 PM today on Vermont Public Radio, political reporter Bob Kinzel confirms to me. The gauntlet from Dean -- whose voice on health care is well respected among liberals -- will energize those on the left who are mobilizing against the bill, and make it tougher for liberals to embrace the emerging proposal. In an excerpt Kinzel gave me, Dean says: "This is essentially the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate. Honestly the best thing to do right now is kill the Senate bill, go back to the House, start the reconciliation process, where you only need 51 votes and it would be a much simpler bill." Kinzel added that Dean essentially said that if Democratic leaders cave into Joe Lieberman right now they'll be left with a bill that's not worth supporting. Dean has a good point, right now it seems like the President just wants a bill for the sake of getting a bill. If what is proposed passes now, the watered down version will not change anything. And no matter what the Democrats do or how they explain, the GOP will murder them on it politically. To go down in defeat fighting and doing something that will be remembered as bold and decisive is a noble enterprise. To go down to defeat with a milquetoast version of a health care bill disguised as reform is not only cowardly, it is ridiculous and politically counterproductive. If Lieberman were around for the American revolution, we'd still be subjects of England.

WHO BOUGHT OFF JOE?

As recently as December 9th, Joe Lieberman, the whiny, petulant little New England freak said that he was for a buy in for Americans over 50 for a government sponsored Medicare program. Here's what he said and after seeing this we must as the question: "WHO BOUGHT OFF JOE?"