Democrats, Republicans and Perzel

A hot topic of conversation at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference over the weekend was the role of John Perzel in various Legislative races across the state.

I spoke to several Republican candidates who lost primary races on April 22. Each said the same thing. They could have won if John Perzel hadn't showered their opponent with money. That's what these candidates firmly believe.

Makes you wonder how different the Pennsylvania political scene would be if Republicans didn't have someone like Perzel playing games behind the scenes.

You expect Ed Rendell to campaign for Democratic candidates and hand out large amounts of campaign cash to get more Democrats elected. Republicans have one of their own working to defeat GOP candidates.

After my conversation with Perzel last week, I got the impression that Perzel didn't care if the Republican Party regains the majority in the House in 2009 ... as long as Perzel finds a way to return to the Speaker post. That's all Perzel cares about.

That means Perzel is very willing to work with any and all Democrats to form a coalition that will elevate Perzel to the Speaker's post.

It's clear that we have three political parties in the Pennsylvania Legislature: Republicans, Democrats and the Perzel Party.

Since his ouster as Speaker by members of his own party in January 2007, Perzel has been scheming to return to the top Legislative post. He is the most prolific fundraiser the Republican Party has in the state Legislature and he's very willing to throw money into House races to help determine the winner (and secure future loyalty) for his comeback bid.