This Is What Leadership Looks Like!

Pennsylvania Governor-elect Tom Wolf is putting principles first during his inauguration ball and it is making the Republicans apoplectic:

A Pennsylvania lawmaker claims the Yuengling brewery has been banned from donating free beer to the inaugural ball of Pennsylvania Gov.-elect Tom Wolf (D).

State Rep. Mike Vereb (R) said during a radio interview Thursday that he thought Wolf's transition team was punishing Yuengling because the company's president, Richard L. Yuengling, has supported so-called right-to-work laws in Pennsylvania, which would make it more difficult for labor unions to organize.

Vereb said that he wasn't sure if Wolf personally was aware of the Yuengling ban.

"What we found out last night is that there will be beer at this event, but there is a specific restriction and request to not have Yuengling product there,” Vereb said. “Somebody, there’s a bureaucrat in this transition team that does not like Dick Yuengling because of his stance that he took in defending Governor Corbett on right-to-work a few years back."

Pennsylvania is not among states with right-to-work laws. Labor leaders called for a boycott of Yuengling in 2013 after the brewery president announced his support for such a law.

A Wolf spokeswoman declined to tell The Philadelphia Inquirer whether the beer, which has been brewed in Pennsylvania since 1829, had explicitly been banned from the inauguration ball.

"We met our beverage needs, and we have a variety of choices for attendees from a number of breweries including Pennsylvania-based breweries," spokeswoman Beth Melena told the Inquirer.

The Republican goes on to say that it is "unAmerican" to turn down free beer. I don't know but I would like to think that it is most American to stand up for what's right and honoring the workers of his state.

I just wonder how many Wisconsin Democrats would be willing to make that stand? Judging by the way the Democratic Party pays homage to the anti-union Chris Abele, I'm afraid that it wouldn't be nearly as many as we would like to think.

Pennsylvania Government Compares Gays To 12 Year Olds

From the Wisconsin Gazette:

Marriage licenses given to same-sex couples in the state are invalid because the couples were barred from marrying, just like 12-year-olds, Republican Gov. Tom Corbett's attorneys said on Aug. 28.

Corbett's administration has filed a lawsuit seeking to block same-sex marriage licenses in suburban Philadelphia, where Montgomery County Register of Wills D. Bruce Hanes has issued more than 150 to gay and lesbian couples since July 24.

State attorneys said in a court filing that the marriage licenses given to gay people have no "value or legitimacy" and can't be defended in court. They compared gay and lesbian couples to children, who can't marry because a 1996 law says marriage is between a man and a woman.

"Had the clerk issued marriage licenses to 12-year-olds in violation of state law, would anyone seriously contend that each 12-year-old ... is entitled to a hearing on the validity of his `license'?" the state wrote, according to a story on the Philly.com news website.

I wonder if they called Becky Kleefisch in as an expert witness so they could also compare gays to dogs and claim that gay marriage is like marrying furniture.

Pennsylvania Republicans Launch Attack On Unions

From Workers Independence News:

Another chapter in the relentless attack on union rights for workers is beginning to unfold in Pennsylvania. Right-wing Republicans are pushing so-called ‘right to work’ legislation in Pennsylvania that could cripple the ability of unions to collect dues and keep all workers in an organized workplace as union members. The Center for Media and Democracy says it’s no accident this is coming soon after a similar push in Michigan. The center says its part of an effort by American Legislative Exchange Council, backed by a witch’s brew of right-wing groups like the billionaire Koch brothers’ Americans For Prosperity and the Tea Party . Brandon Fischer of the Center for Media and Democracy says this looks like a state-by-state march attacking unions and labor rights in an effort to weaken progressive politicians and progressive groups. These efforts have been made in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio. Michigan and now Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Rick Bloomingdale told Working In These Times that the ‘right to work’ attack is firmly opposed by Democrats and some union friendly Republicans in the state legislature. He says the measure has been blocked before and he believes it will be blocked again. Governor Tom Corbett, though has said that if the Pennsylvania legislature passes the anti-union bill he will sign it.

Quote of the Week - Part 2

H/T Buzzfeed:

 "We will never have the media on our side, ever, in this country," Rick Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator and republican presidential frontrunner, told the audience at the Omni Shoreham hotel. "We will never have the elite, smart people on our side."

Republican Extremists - Part 2

Following in the footsteps of Republican Extremists, comes even more extremism.  It seems like throughout the country, republican elected officials try to outcrazy each other.   In the latest installment of "he didnt really say that did he" or " people really vote for these guys?" comes Pennsylvania Republican Representative Mike Kelly:

“I know in your mind you can think of times when America was attacked. One is December 7th, that’s Pearl Harbor day.  The other is September 11th, and that’s the day of the terrorist attack,” Kelly said, according to NBC. “I want you to remember August the 1st, 2012, the attack on our religious freedom. That is a day that will live in infamy, along with those other dates.”

 No wonder the republican party of Pennsylvania is trying to purge as many voters as possible before November.    What was the horrendous event that happened on 8/1/12?   Women now have access to birth control! Seriously that's it! 

By the way, Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye, who was actually at Pearl Harbor on that horrendous day, says Not so much!

  

"I witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor and had the privilege of serving in the United States Army during World War II," Inouye, 87, who will celebrate 50 years as a senator in January, said in a statement.

"It is complete nonsense to suggest that a matter discussed, debated, and approved by the Congress and the President is akin to a surprise attack that killed nearly 2,500 people and launched our nation into the second World War.”