Posted on 06/08/2014 4:42:32 PM PDT by HokieMom
State Sen. Phillip P. Puckett- D-Russell has resigned his seat, leaving Democrats one vote shy of the majority they need to control the chamber.
Puckett's stunning resignation throws Democratic budget strategy into chaos and opening the way for Republicans to seize control of the chamber and reorganize its committees with GOP majorities.
“I am deeply disappointed by this news and the uncertainty it creates at a time when 400,000 Virginians are waiting for access to quality health care, especially those in Southwest Virginia,” Gov. Terry McAuliffe said in a statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesdispatch.com ...
Allow me to guess that there was criminal behavior involved.
Have you been watching “House of Cards?” :^)
Of course...DIMocRAT modus operandi.
Game changer in Richmond regarding Budget, Medicaid Expansion and control of the Senate.
WP: “Va. lawmaker to resign, paving way for jobs for self, daughter, according to associates”
“When one hundred and eleventy billion virginians are waiting for access to quality health care”. Why are they waiting? Hasn’t emporer nero kardashian narcissus in charge of health care? I don’t know much about virginia politics, but this article implies that up until now there was a democrat manority. So why don’t they have quality health care right now?
The article implies that he resigned because his daughter applied for an appointment to a judgeship that had rules about being related to a member of the legislature.
Noble of him, but ouch for the Dems :)
(God I hate this stupid virtual keyboard)
Nah, he just felt the need to spend more time with his family...
/sarc
Best news of he week!!!
This is beyond huge! It means all the committees get GOP chairmen!
Hey Terry!
Where are you suggesting folks were going to receive this mythical “quality healthcare” that now won’t be available?
Yes, it will be both chambers vs. the liberal Governor. We’ve been praying for something like this to happen. I thought it might be a party-changer for a southern democrat downstate.
So this means a special election to replace him? Any chance the R’s can win this seat?
Wow, this is hugh! Best news I’ve heard in quite a while.
Great question! We’ll have to see what Pat Mullins, the state chairman, has to say as a follow-up.
For those unfamiliar as I was “In the 2007 Virginia state elections, the Democratic Party reclaimed the majority in the Senate for the first time since 1995, when the Republican Party gained a 20-20 split. The Republicans took control of the Senate for the first time in history after a January 1998 special election. The 2011 elections resulted in a 20-20 split between the parties, but as the tie breaker was Republican Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, the Republicans effectively regained control.[1] After the 2013 elections, Democratic State Senator Ralph Northam became the Lt. Governor, but the Democrats did not regain control of the chamber until Northam’s seat was filled with a fellow Democrat after a January 2014 special election.”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_of_Virginia
“I am deeply disappointed by this news and the uncertainty it creates at a time when 400,000 Virginians are waiting for access to quality health care ...”
What did government do before there was such a thing as “access to quality health care”?
Dear Friend:
HUGE NEWS! Democratic state senator Phil Puckett just resigned. Read the Richmond Times-Dispatch article here.
In addition to giving Republicans an immediate 20-19 majority, this is a very conservative seat (in southwest Virginia), and Republicans will be heavily favored to take it once a special election is held.
The Republican House and the Democratic Senate have been deadlocked over the budget for almost three months. It’s too early to know exactly how this will impact the negotiations, but it certainly improves chances that a budget will be completed on time and without Governor McAuliffe’s proposed Obamacare Medicaid expansion.
Sincerely,
Rob Bell
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