Word: speaker
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Speaker Finneran spoke up yet again, this time replacing hyperbole with that old Ciceronian stand-by, alliteration. The morning after the primary, at a Democratic "unity breakfast," he refused to endorse Harshbarger, voicing concerns about the candidate's liberal policies...
...irony of his comment was two-fold: first, a Democratic Speaker in a largely Democratic state should not be worried about a liberal agenda, and second, Scott Harshbarger is hardly a radical liberal dragging the party over a cliff. He favors an increase in education spending, but given the immense budget surplus we've enjoyed this year, his plan is not too far-fetched. Finneran, on the other hand, is almost Republican in his fiscal policies. Most notably, in July he quashed a bill which would have raised the minimum wage by 90 cents an hour. The bill had Democratic...
...disturbing comments may reflect less the real concerns of a party leader and more the personal worries of someone whose power would be severely diminished should a Democrat become governor. Several years ago, in a contest against a liberal Democrat who had a plurality of Democratic votes, the Speaker gained his position by promising a small group of Republicans to be sympathetic to their needs if they would vote him into the speaker's chair...
...stands now, Finneran controls the House and has the ear of Cellucci, who needs the Speaker's help to push through major policy changes. Should Harshbarger take office, he would not need Finneran to help him communicate with Democratic legislators...
Thus, as the Speaker coyly hints at endorsing Cellucci, the weeks leading up to the Nov. 3 election will perhaps center most on the person not even running for the office: Finneran. Whatever will he say next...