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.