Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Whither the New Years Eve Phone Call?

Did anyone else get whiplash reading the Inquirer this morning? I was browsing the Local News Section, specifically "Pa Dems seeking top spot in House,"* by Amy Worden when I read this:

[State Rep Keith] McCall said he was lobbying Republicans for support as well, in an effort to prevent a repeat of January 2007, when Rep. Dennis O'Brien, a Philadelphia Republican, was elected in a surprise move orchestrated by Rep. Bill DeWeese (D., Greene), who was minority leader at the time.


Say what? Orchestrated by whom? Of all the versions of the fateful events of January 2007 and the famed New Year's Eve phone call (and I compared a number of printed versions of this story, including some in the Inky, in Sept 07), none attributed it solely or even primarily to the work of DeWeese.

Is Josh Shapiro being written out of the historical record? What about Rendell schmoozing O'Brien's young son with cookies, basketball, and dogs? This is a good story, people, and one we shouldn't lose. "orchestrated by Bill DeWeese"? I don't think so.

* The headline in the print edition and in the online edition differ. I read it at home so used the print version.

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