The GOP’s Perzel Problem

Former speaker intent on personal, not party comeback

The Republican Party has a Perzel problem.

After having led Republicans from a substantial majority to minority status in the state House last year, Perzel himself was ousted as Speaker when six members of his own party joined with Democrats to elect Republican Dennis O’Brien as a compromise candidate for that office.

Relegated to the meaningless position of “Speaker Emeritus,” Perzel has dropped from public view in recent months. Behind the scenes, however, it is a different story. Perzel is working hard to reclaim his leadership position. His maneuvering has effectively prevented both the new Speaker and Republican leader Sam Smith from cementing their status and gaining operational control over the House.

That Perzel continues to see himself as a player surfaced when he showed at the door of the leadership meeting during preliminary budget negotiations. After being initially turned away, the real leaders relented and allowed him to participate. Perzel is holding himself out as the only person able to coble together a budget package. That is a chilling thought because, as Speaker, Perzel convinced just enough Republicans to support Governor Rendell’s first term tax and spend agenda to hand him significant budget victories – a sell-out which fueled discontent among Republican voters last year.

Perzel is also busy politically. As Speaker, Perzel leveraged the perks and powers of his office to become the House GOP’s most prolific fundraiser. But, last year the sheer number of primary and general election challenges coupled with a record number of retirements caused Perzel to empty the vault in an unsuccessful effort to maintain control. In the process he essentially bankrupted the House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC) which is now reportedly $700,000 in debt. What Perzel did not do, however, was bankrupt his personal committee, which enjoys a $417,000 balance. That is money he appears intent on using to fuel a comeback.

That comeback could come at the expense of some of his Republican colleagues. Upon losing his position as speaker, Perzel cancelled a $50,000 contribution to the HRCC – money the committee obviously needs. And then, there is the matter of political paybacks. Perzel is reportedly ready to take aim at some or all of the six Republicans who backed O’Brien for Speaker. Particularly vulnerable could be the two freshmen legislators, Brad Roae (Venango) and Jim Cox (Berks) who voted for O’Brien. While Perzel could make life difficult for the four veterans – Curt Schroder (Chester), Sam Rohrer (Berks), Kerry Benninghoff (Centre) and David Steil (Bucks) – his chances of ousting them are significantly more remote.

It is unlikely that Perzel will successfully remove all six from office, although he could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in the effort. Those dollars will then not be available to defend Republican seats against Democrats in November or to help new GOP candidates win in open seats. All of which lessens the chances of Republicans regaining majority control next year.

This maneuvering by Perzel has effectively undercut any effort by his fellow Republicans to craft a viable election strategy for 2008, and of more immediate significant to present a comprehensive budget alternative to the governor’s big spending proposals. Fortunately, similar crosscurrents are not at play across the rotunda in the state Senate where the old leaders are completely out of office and new leadership has begun to assert itself in a credible manner.

The last time a sitting Speaker was removed came in 1992 when a rebellious Democrat caucus ousted Philadelphia’s Robert O’Donnell from office. Rather than return to the back benches, O’Donnell resigned. That move had two positive effects. First, it allowed O’Donnell to move on to a new career where he has become an effect advocate for school choice. Second, it cleared the way for new leadership to take control without looking over its shoulders as the personal maneuverings of a deposed leader.

With John Perzel seemingly more intent on restoring his personal power rather than resurrecting the Republican majority, many in the GOP might wish he would follow the gentlemanly example of his fellow Philadelphian by graciously accepting reality and moving on to the next phase of his life. Otherwise, all of the above could be looking at an extended stay in minority status