The Pa. Senate’s viral shouting match and the state of state politics

A dispute over a bill and a violation of rules in the Pa. Senate recently devolved into a brouhaha that went viral. What does it say about the state of state politics?

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Pa. Sen. Katie Muth reading a letter from a homeless man on the Senate floor in Harrisburg. (Youtube/CBS Pittsburgh)

Pa. Sen. Katie Muth reading a letter from a homeless man on the Senate floor in Harrisburg. (Youtube/CBS Pittsburgh)

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A dispute over a bill to end a cash assistance program devolved into chaos in the Pennsylvania Senate recently. Video of the incident quickly went viral — Republican Majority Leader Jake Corman is seen shouting over Democratic Sen. Katie Muth as she speaks in violation of Senate rules. WITF’s Capitol Bureau Chief Katie Meyer explains why the Democrats conspired to break the rules that day and what the incident says about the state of state politics in the social media age.

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