State House Catfight!

State legislators are busy people. Once elected, they have to figure out how to keep their jobs, how to get re-elected, how to advance, and how to keep their peers from stabbing them in the back. (Presumably, they govern in the midst of all that. Oh, who are we kidding?)

Such is the case of House speaker Sal DiMasi, who, according to Casey Ross at the Herald, informed two underlings yesterday to pretty please stop jockeying for his position:

DiMasi (D-Boston) issued the stern warning in a State House meeting in which he assured fellow lawmakers he expects to remain speaker for several years. Two members of his team, Reps. Robert DeLeo and John Rogers, have been campaigning to succeed him in recent months.

Word is that DiMasi was "stern and emotional" and that he displayed "vehemence." The Globe also used the adjective "stern" to describe DiMasi. Bostonist wasn't there, but "stern" appears to be a euphemism for "highly pissed off." Good for DiMasi if he's reminding people to do their jobs, but power plays and catfights don't bode well when the state's leaders are about to discuss little things like casinos, transportation, and the state's economic future.

Image of DiMasi from his official web page.