Free Republic

Democrats in Pennsylvania cheered Republican Gov. Tom Corbett’s ouster last week. But winning the governorship may not assuage the loss of their top Republican ally, Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, who was deposed in a GOP leadership election on Wednesday. Notwithstanding the Republican governor’s 10-point defeat to Democrat Tom Wolf, Republicans picked up eight seats in the state House and three in the Senate. The gains bolster the GOP majority in the Senate to 30-20 and 119-84 in the House. That’s not strong enough to override a veto, but Democrats will now have a hard time passing legislation merely by...

State Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi's (R-9) bid to replace incumbent Democrat Bob Casey (Pennsylvania) in the U.S. Senate is not warming the cockles of the hearts of some Tea Partyers this Christmas season.

HARRISBURG - For eight years, Gov. Rendell has lobbied hard in the halls of the Capitol for what he calls "commonsense" handgun laws. He wanted to limit sales to individuals to one handgun a month. He wanted owners to report lost or stolen weapons. He wanted to close a loophole in state law that he believes lets criminals use gun permits obtained in other states. At each turn, the legislature - including some of his allies in the Democratic-controlled House - knocked down the proposals like so many slow-moving clay birds on a skeet-shooting range. On Monday, Rendell defended his...