Pa. Senator Kicked Out of Bar After Possible Fight

A woman in a Republican bar in Harrisburg alleged that Dem. Senator Lisa Boscola hit her. The House Speaker says Boscola is in "denial."

The Inquirer‘s Angela Couloumbis reports Pennsylvania Sen. Lisa Boscola, a Democrat from Lehigh, was asked to leave a Harrisburg bar after getting into a fight with Republican House Speaker Sam Smith. She also got into a disagreement with an unidentified woman in the bar; that woman later wrote on Facebook that Boscola struck her.

In an interview Wednesday, Boscola acknowledged she was asked to leave the bar, but said she did not strike anyone.

“When you hit somebody there is a physical act of ‘stay away from me,’” she said of the woman. “Unless she was in my face. I do not know what her motivation is. I need to figure that out. Because in this business, it could be misinterpreted. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt as well. No one wants to hurt anyone in this business. Especially a woman. You know what I’m saying.”

The conversation, Boscola told the Inquirer, began over a bill that would ban lawmakers from taking cash gifts. (Yes, as you probably know, that is still perfectly legal.) She accused Smith of being condescending — well, she said “Some of those leaders talk to you in ways that are sometimes condescending” — and decided to respond in kind.

Meanwhile, Smith told the Patriot-News‘ Jan Murphy that he “hope[s] she gets whatever help she needs for her problems. Her statement is a clear indication of her own denial of the situation and I feel sorry for her.” Boscola was convicted of a DUI in 2000.

The woman who alleges Boscola hit her has since deleted her Facebook post, but actually did a “shout out to Pennsylvania Senator Lisa Boscola” format like she’s a radio DJ. She also called Boscola an “alcoholic geriatric piece of shit.” Aw, c’mon. She’s only 52.

But here’s my favorite part of the story: Boscola may have been looking for trouble that night. The bar she went to, the Brick Haus, is a Republican hangout. Boscola said she was “in the lion’s den.” Next, lawmakers will start flashing political-themed gang signs.

[Inquirer]