That essentially was the charge of Philadelphia Inquirer staffers Amy Worden and Suzette Parmley over the weekend, reporting on the evacuation of legislators from the Pennsylvania capital at Harrisburg for an annual

festival of politicking and socializing by something called the Pennsylvania Society in New York City.

The ladies wrote that “after days of closed-door wrangling and one spirited late-night debate, the long-promised bill to add table games at slot parlors -- and hundreds of millions of dollars to state coffers -- failed to reach a floor vote.”

Even some legislators agreed. State senator Jane Earll, a Republican from Erie a city which hopes to get funds from the games to establish a community college, said, “we need to stop monkeying around. This has been so mired down in the muck it needs to be done.”

Colleagues agreed, and this week, two months after a state budget was passed 101 days late, it appears a pre-holiday vote might actually be forthcoming.

Democrat John Pallone called it “disingenuous to continue to hold critical and necessary funding for these institutions of higher education in escrow until action on other non-related legislative matters has been acted upon.”

The spokesman for house republicans said they were united in fixing “a flawed gaming law.” His Democratic counterpart predicted action this week.

(Harness Tracks of America)