Kudos to Sen. Boscola for standing with taxpayers

Something unusual happened Monday as the Pennsylvania Senate rejected the bloated $29.1 billion budget sent over by House Democrats.

A Democratic state Senator broke ranks with the party and joined the 30 Republicans in the Senate to turn down the House budget.

Kudos to Sen. Lisa Boscola, a Democrat who represents parts of Lehigh, Monroe and Northampton counties, for crossing party lines and standing up for Pennsylvania taxpayers.

"The reality is we don't have all the money to fund all the programs we would like to," Boscola said. "Working families understand that."

The Senate vote, 31-19, sends a clear signal to Gov. Ed Rendell and his Democratic lackeys in the House that the Senate is serious when it says it will not burden Pennsylvania taxpayers to fund more spending by Rendell.

The Republican Senate has approved a $27.1 billion budget that is balanced and calls for no tax increases.

Fans of big government and higher taxes are disappointed to learn that the Senate will not bend on the tax issue. The only way to get a budget passed is for Rendell and House Democrats to abandon their plans to raise taxes on working Pennsylvanians and small businesses.

POLICY BLOG has a link to Boscola's remarks on the Senate floor.