We got a visit yesterday from two of the leading Delaware County Republicans in Harrisburg, state Sen. Dominic Pileggi, R-9, and state Rep. Mario Civera, R-164.

Both are up to their necks in the budget standoff that has now dragged on for a month and a half. In particular Pileggi has found himself on the hot seat, at times being accused of holding the city of Philadelphia “hostage” in these hardball negotiations.

Yesterday we offered them an opportunity to give their view of the budget mess.

I came away with three distinct impressions.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for a budget to be put in place. It’s not going to happen anytime soon. If I was going to guess, I would say this thing will drag on well into September, if not October.

Both Civera and Pileggi are frustrated by state Democrats, in particular Gov. Ed Rendell, and what they claim is the lack of action toward reaching a deal.

Finally, here’s a sure bet. Table games are coming to Pennsylvania.
Video poker in bars and social clubs is not. Pileggi basically said it’s a matter of when, not if, table games arrives in the Keystone State. He said there is zero support – and zero chance – of video poker getting the green light.