UPDATE: WhoSaidYouSaid has audio of the incident:
Somewhere, Rep. Andy Kerr is secretly smiling. Kerr, of course, was narrowly edged out by Rep. Sal Pace to be leader of the House Democrats this legislative session. Pace beat out Kerr on the strength of the argument that it was he, not Kerr, who posessed the political acumen needed to lead downtrodden Democrats back to the majority in the House.
Democrats in the State House who fell for that argument must be kicking themselves after Pace suffered a full-blown psychiatric meltdown at a rally with union activists yesterday. Apparently unconstrained by the rules of syntax or the customs of the English language, young Pace launched into a rambling, run-on laden tirade, punctuated by this whopper from the Minority Leader: "I'm willing to put my fist where I need to put it," Pace bellowed. "I'm willing to fight. I'm willing to go and rumble. . ."
Put your "fist where (you) need to put it?"
Oh, Sal. . .
After that performance, our guess is his colleagues in the Democratic caucus are hoping he will forget his fists and pull both feet out of his mouth instead.
Pace went on to give an indefensibly absurd defense of Big Labor, going so far as to suggest that the middle class began to fade when unions' role did the same. Look for Pace's unabashed embrace of Big Labor to make its way into mail pieces against every targeted Democrat in 2012. Indeed, look for the unhinged Pace to become the centerpiece of Republicans' argument about why Democrats can't be trusted to run the House next cycle.
Pace's blundering yesterday comes on the heels of a bizarre fight the Democrat leader staged as his first stand against Speaker Frank McNulty and ascendant Republicans on opening day–over committee names no less. Add that performance to yesterday's Chernobyl-esque meltdown, and what appears is a picture of a man who seems to be unstable, untethered to reality, and wholly unqualified to lead anything.
The question now is, when will House Democrats realize the same thing? How long until one of the adults in the Dem caucus intervenes? When will Reps. Kerr, Claire Levy, or Nancy Todd save Democrats from the daily embarrassment that is Sal "The Fist" Pace?
Republicans no doubt hope that doesn't happen, at least not for a while. Pace is quickly distinguishing himself as the perfect foil for Republicans in the Legislature.
That is why Andy Kerr isn't the only person smiling. Republicans must be perfectly giddy that Pace is the face of their opposition Under the Dome.
Can you just imagine the outrage that would occur if a Republican had made the same comment about business? Or anything, for that matter.
There would be more venom spewing than this “boys will be boys” attitude.
Pace has already apologized for his choice of words. His comments weren’t exactly well-accepted, and I think he realized that after the fact.
Sal didn’t exactly apologize… He just said he “went overboard.” Thank you, Captain Obvious. Besides, it was really only to save face after this embarrassment.
In Pace’s defense, he did come out later and admit his speech was a little too aggressive. He’s got a right to speak his mind as much as anyone else. And honestly, I’d prefer he actually say what’s on his mind as opposed to the sly tricks politicians tend to pull. Whether you agree with him or not, at least you know where he stands.
that this might be a nice change of Pace?
Sorry, I just couldn’t resist. 😉
While you make a good point, this is a question of what’s actually appropriate. Of course he has the right to say whatever he wants. However, you can be frank without raising violent analogies.
I agree. Being honest doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be civil. Plus, as an elected official, he’s held to a higher standard.
I’m not saying it was the best choice of words, but I don’t think he deserves the beating he’s getting now.
I bet everyone who voted for Pace over Kerr is regretting it now!
Hasn’t Pace ever heard that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar? So hyper-partisan! He reminds me of former Rep. Alan Grayson. If we’re lucky, Pace will fare as well in 2012 as Grayson did in 2010.