Posted on 01/05/2021 2:26:48 PM PST by lightman
The usual solemn and joyous occasion that surrounds the Swearing-in Ceremony in the Pennsylvania Senate was anything but on Tuesday.
The raucous session began with a dispute over mask wearing that led to the passage of a temporary rule proposed by Senate Democrats to mandate everyone in the chamber have a face covering, which a couple Republican Sens. John DiSanto of Dauphin County and Doug Mastriano of Franklin County had resisted wearing until that point.
But that was only a precursor to the real fireworks that the Senate Democrats set off.
Pa. Senate GOP leader to deny seating an incumbent Democratic senator
With shouts and long impassioned speeches, Democratic senators tried unsuccessfully to make a case to their Republican colleagues to allow Democratic incumbent Sen. Jim Brewster to be seated as the senator from the 45th senatorial district despite a challenge filed by Brewster’s GOP opponent Nicole Ziccarelli asking the chamber to determine the winner of the contested race.
According to the Department of State’s certified results, Brewster beat Ziccarelli by a 69-vote margin. However, Ziccarelli is challenging whether mail-in ballots received from Allegheny County voters without dates on them should be counted, which is what gave Brewster that winning margin.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre County, decided on Monday to leave the seat vacant for now until senators have an opportunity to review the 500 pages of paperwork that Ziccarelli filed with the Senate as well as Brewster’s response to it. He cited a provision in the state constitution that grants the chamber the authority to “judge of the election and qualifications of its members” as the rationale for allowing the Senate, rather than the election results in the senatorial district, determine the winner of that race.
Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday weighed in on that decision, saying, “Republicans in Pennsylvania and nationally have spread disinformation and used it to subvert the democratic process. Sen. Jim Brewster rightfully won the 45th Senate District, but Senate Republicans are ignoring the voters in the district and refusing to swear him in as Senator. This is a shameful power grab that disgraces the institution.”
He went on to call it “simply unethical and undemocratic to leave the district without a voice simply because the Republicans don’t like the outcome of the election. Voters, not Harrisburg politicians, decided this election, and Sen. Brewster is the rightful winner,” Wolf said. “All ballots were counted and certified, and the results are accurate. Sen. Brewster received the most votes in this race and should be sworn in as the senator for the 45th District. There is no precedent, and no legal rationale, for failing to do so”
The governor ended his statement, saying, ““I will do everything in my power to ensure that voters have the final say in elections.”
After a prolonged and highly contentious debate and Brewster’s decision to not hold up the swearing-in of his fellow Democratic senators who won election in November, judges ultimately administered the oath of office to them. That ceremony was preceded by the swearing-in of the GOP senators who won their election in November.
The dispute over the handling of the 45th senatorial district seat spilled over later to the election for a president pro tempore. Corman was elected by a 31-18 vote that drew support from all Republican senators, one independent and two Democrats.
Lawmakers in both the House and Senate were sworn into office Tuesday. State Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster County, was elected as speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
The election dispute between Republican challenger Nicole Ziccarelli and Democratic incumbent Jim Brewster for the 45th state senatorial district seat led to fireworks during a raucous Swearing-in Ceremony in the Pennsylvania Senate chamber on Tuesday.
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Putting a pretty face on the fight!
Funny how all these RAT close wins have funny ballots. Every time.
So be won by illegal votes. Sounds familiar.
We wants video! . . . We wants video! . . . We wants video! . . . We wants video! . . .
TTIWWV
Just let the dispute play out, and whoever ultimately wins can be seated.
Refuse to seat a Democrat, it’s a threat to Democracy.
Refuse to seat a Republican, it’s upholding Democracy.
/Democrat thinking.
Tom Wolf lies and his policies killed seniors. FU Tom.
Illegitimate State legislators. How many does it take to throw the whole system off? These are the bodies that certify Electors.
The fire that begins the turn.
I don’t want fireworks.
I want to see our people get Escape From New York baseball bats with nails sticking out, and start going to work.
Democrats wanted their white male privilege so badly they had to steal and disenfranchise women and minority voters.....
So apparently, two Dems also believed that Brewster’s victory was suspect. I can only conclude that from their votes in support of Corman as President pro tempore.
Count all the votes leftists can illegally manufacture!
The Hall of Chumpians.
5.56mm
are you drunk? stoned?? or just hard up!???
“Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday weighed in on that decision, saying, “Republicans in Pennsylvania and nationally have spread disinformation and used it to subvert the democratic process.”
Great chart. I took those 5 states (NY, NJ, PA, CA and MI) and added them together and got this.
27,467 nursing home deaths out of 55,672 total
49.3%. Half of the deaths were from nursing homes.
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