Pa. state senator backtracks from Hitler reference

    A Republican state senator from central Pennsylvania is backtracking from comments that labor unions, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Adolf Hitler are about “power and control.”

    York County Sen. Scott Wagner wrote in a letter posted Friday on the York Daily Record/Sunday News website that he “used an unfortunate analogy” and has contacted union leaders to tell them that.

    Wagner says he remains angry that public sector unions get their dues collected by the government. Wagner made the original comment during Senate floor debate Wednesday on legislation he supports to stop government employers from collecting union dues.

    Wagner was recently elected to fill the unexpired term of Sen. Mike Waugh, and is running to keep the seat in November.

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