The $16 Billion Dollar Dump

Seemingly unnoticed in the new budget, is the incredibly giant leap in state spending on Public Welfare from $8.8B to $11.2B. This budget has obligated Pennsylvania taxpayers to permanently sustain a standard of living for welfare recipients that had been made 'temporarily' possible by one-time Federal stimulus dollars, and no one is batting an eye. It's a $2.4B increase in state spending, overnight. Just like that.

Last year, and the year before last, Pennsylvania received $2B per year in Federal stimulus grants for welfare, and $1.5B each year for K-12 Education. This year, with the Federal Government tightening its belt, Pennsylvania was not issued those previously enjoyed stimulus funds.

Governor Corbett's proposed budget created quite a stir when he allowed state spending on Education to return to pre-stimulus levels--even though he had executed exactly what was necessary and he encouraged school districts to do the same: operate within available means. Unfortunately, however, Governor Corbett did not apply the same principle he'd preached to the Education community when he laid out his proposal for spending on Public Welfare.

Last year, $25.2B was spent on Public Welfare in Pennsylvania, but most of that amount was funded by the Feds who gave roughly $16.4B. Pennsylvania taxpayers were obligated for the other $8.8 Billion. This year, however, rather than $16.4B from the Feds, Pennsylvania received only $14.4B because the Feds did not include the $2 Billion in stimulus funds as they had the previous two years. The lack of stimulus funds would have reduced spending on Public Welfare in Pennsylvania from $25.2B to $23.2B--that is if Governor Corbett had allowed spending to return to pre-stimulus levels as he did with Education, but he didn't. Instead, Governor Corbett made up for the lack of Federal stimulus dollars by allowing the PA taxpayer obligation to leap from $8.8B to $11.2B. That's a $2.4B spike. It's $2.4B added to the General Fund Budget. Without it, the General Fund budget would have come in at $24.7B rather than the $27.1 that passed on June 30.

To put the gravity of this $2.4B increase in perspective, it took former Governor Ed Rendell eight years to boost the taxpayer burden for Public Welfare by $2.4B. When Rendell took office, the taxpayer obligation to Public Welfare was $6.4 Billion. Eight years later, when he left, the taxpayer’s obligation had risen to $8.8 Billion. Governor Corbett and this Legislature have accomplished an increase of the same amount in less than one half of one year, of Corbett's first term. It's simply amazing.

Rather than return spending to the level that existed before the federal government’s one-time enticement, as he did with Education, when confronted with the choice, the Governor proposed to obligate the taxpayers to a gargantuan increase, for years and administrations to come--and the legislature voted to allow it.

With this budget now passed, as presented by the Governor, the taxpayers of the Commonwealth are now obligated to $2.4B in additional spending this year, next year, the year after and the year after that. Spread over Governor Corbett's four-year term, that's increased spending that adds up to more than $8B--and if Corbett secures a second term, the increase adds up to $16B assuming there is no increase. That’ll be $16 Billion not available for meeting known state debt. It's $16B Governor Corbett might have allowed us to keep in our pocket or put back into our businesses. It's $16B literally dumped on Pennsylvania taxpayers. Astounding.

State Lawmakers are working to protect us from the Federal Government

Written by Roberta Biros

The Federal Government seems out of control. There are things going on in Washington DC right now that make us feel helpless. There are deals going on inside the beltway that don’t seem to take the concerns of Pennsylvanians into consideration. It is partially our fault for having elected Senators and Representatives that don’t care about us or our needs, but national politics is sometimes “too big” for some locals to feel attached to. I’m one of those people. I work hard to retain the ear of my state legislators (some of them), but when it comes to our Senators and Representatives in Washington DC, I’m left with a feeling that they “live in DC now” and they don’t have a sense of what their constituents in the area are thinking.

Let us take a look at the key issues on the national news THIS MORNING. If you tune in to Fox News today, Saturday, March 20, 2010, you will find ONE gigantic story topping the headlines. That topic is Health Care Reform. Let us talk about that subject first.

Health Care Reform

Like many of you, I’ve received numerous email messages and phone calls urging me to contact my Congresswoman (Kathy Dahlkemper) to urge her to vote Yes OR No for Health Care Reform. If you attempt to call the Congresswoman’s office, however, you never get an opportunity to talk to her. In some cases you can’t even get through to the office because of the high volume of calls. It is difficult to feel attached to the issue when you can’t even have an educated debate regarding the topic.

We see that many are making the trip to DC in an effort to protest one side of the issue or the other, but not everyone has the time or money to make a trip like that. We are left back at home watching the discourse from a distance on TV or over the internet.

In the end, we are all left with the feeling that Health Care Reform will be decided through backroom deals and super secret payoffs. What WE have to say doesn’t really matter in the long run.

Closing Guantanamo Bay in exchange for military tribunals

Another issue that is at the top of the headlines is a possible “horse trade agreement” headed by Lindsey Graham that will close Guantanamo Bay in exchange for military tribunals. It is another example of politicians making backroom deals that WE have no control over. Lindsey Graham thinks that he can make a deal, but Eric Holder still stresses that he “believes in civilian trials”. Lindsey Graham may think that he is making a “gentlemen’s agreement”, but I would argue that there is no such thing in Washington DC.

What are our Legislators doing to protect us from the deals in Washington DC?

Using the two examples above, it is important that Pennsylvanians understand that they DO have a way to fight back against the deals in Washington. Our way to protect ourselves against “deal making” is to count on our State Lawmakers. Here are a few examples of state legislators that are pushing to protect us from Washington DC deals:

Health Care Reform Protection from Harrisburg

HR 562 – Introduced by Rep. Karen Boback (R)*

HR 562 is a House Resolution memorializing the Congress of the United States in its health care reform decisions to apply the American Cancer Society's guidelines for breast cancer screening. Rather than following the USPSTF recommendation against teaching women breast self-examination and recommendation against routine mammograms for women 40 to 49, HR 562 requests that Congress apply the recommendation of the American Cancer Society (suggesting continued annual screening).

HR 562 may seem silly to some in that it is extremely specific, but it attempts to send a message to Washington DC regarding a very specific concern. It illustrates that our only way to combat the Universal Health Care Reform legislation may be by picking it apart one item at a time.

HB 2179 – Introduced by Rep. Curt Schroder (R)*

HB 2179 is a House Bill with a broader goal. HB2179 is a House Bill which attempts to amend the PA Constitution by adding the following clause: "No law or program shall be enacted requiring citizens of this Commonwealth to participate in a health care system and no law or program shall:(1) prohibit a person from or penalize a person for making direct payment to a health care provider for tendering health care services;(2) prohibit or penalize the purchase of health care insurance from a privately owned health care insurance company; or (3) penalize a person, employer or health care provider for declining to participate in a health care system.

This bill is specifically designed to protect us from the unconstitutional elements of the Health Care Reform legislation that is being pushed through Washington DC.

What do they mean?

These pieces of legislation illustrate that there are elected representatives in Harrisburg that are actively attempting to protect Pennsylvanians from the actions of Washington DC. If we can’t fight DC, we can atleast retain protection from their poor decisions. In the case of HR 562, we can send clear messages to to DC regarding a specific issue (breast cancer screening). In the case of HB 2179, we can attempt to protect ourselves in the case that our specific messages aren’t heard.

Guantanamo Bay and Civilian Trials Protection

HR 110 -- Introduced by Rep. Dan Moul (R)*

HR 110 is a House Resolution that urges the United States Congress not to transfer any detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to Pennsylvania.

HR 622 – Introduced by Rep. Michele Brooks (R)*

HR 622 is a House Resolution memorializing the United States Department of Justice and United States Attorney General Eric Holder to not hold the trials for those individuals accused of being the masterminds behind the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the citizens of the United States of America in Pennsylvania.

What do they mean?

These pieces of legislation attempt to send a message to Washington DC that explain that Pennsylvanians don’t agree with the direction that DC is going. They make simple statements like “we don’t want your detainees” and “we don’t want your 9/11 trials”. We many not have the ability to control the decisions in DC, but we can send a clear message that we don’t want to be a part of their actions.

Wrapping it up

These are just a few examples of how Pennsylvanians can have a voice in Washington DC. While you may not be able to state your concerns personally to your Senators and Congressmen and women, you we still have the ability to voice our concerns through your state lawmakers. While Congresswoman Dahlkemper may not return my calls, I know that I will receive a response from State Representatives like Curt Schroeder, Karen Boback, Dan Moul, and Michele Brooks. You don’t believe me? Well, try it for yourself. I may not reside in Representative Brooks district (although I am from her County), but that doesn’t stop her from responding to my questions. I don’t live anywhere near Curt Schroeder’s district, but he has responded to my email inquiries personally (and I might add that he did so more quickly than my own legislators).

Here is some advice. If you find that YOUR legislators aren’t listening, find ones that do. The legislator that represents my district (Representative Mark Longietti from the 7th in Mercer County) is responsive to my questions and he is a nice fella, but he doesn’t support the issues that are important to me. As a concerned citizen that actively pushes for government reform, transparancy, and accountability, I’ve found it necessary to seek legislators that “think the way that I think” and that “support the issues that are important to me”. If you are finding yourself frustrated with your elected officials, take steps to fix the problem . . .

(1) work to vote out the lawmakers that don’t represent your values
(2) seek out and support lawmakers that DO represent your values (where ever they may be)


* NOTE: Representatives Karen Boback, Curt Schroeder, Dan Moul, and Michele Brooks are all included in the Directory of Fiscal Conservative Pennsylvania State Legislators. If you are looking for legislators that support good government, you might want to start with this list.

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Uncontested Races Troubling

Guest Column By Denny Bonavita

So, the Tea Party folks are going to force the national government to change its ways, are they? Hot air. Ditto for screamers in Internet chat rooms, for strident espousers of Second Amendment gun rights, for the people who claim our government is spending us into bankruptcy.

We yak about that, but it's simply lip-flapping. Nobody will change the current system of government, despite all the jaw-jabber. Why do we say that?

Look at who is running for election this year: Mostly, it's incumbents, or former incumbents. In area races for the state House of Representatives, there is not one contested race in the May 18 primary election, according to the filings with the Department of State. Matt Gabler (R), Kathy Rapp (R), Sam Smith (R), Martin Causer (R), Donna Oberlander (R), Bud George (D) are all assured of renomination.

Rapp, Causer and Oberlander are all but assured of re-election. No Democrats filed against them, so there probably won't be any major contests in November, either.
On the federal level, first-term incumbent Glenn Thompson, a Republican, is unopposed in both the primary and in the general election. So is Altoona-area Rep. Bill Shuster.

Sure, incumbent U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter is opposed - but by a current member of the federal Congress in the primary, and by a former member of Congress in the general election. More incumbents.

To hear the critics of government tell it, the state and federal governments are poorly run. But the critics are lip-flappers, only. Otherwise, some would have joined in the campaigns.

It doesn't take a lot of money, either. Gabler won the Republican nomination two years ago on a write-in basis. In our system of government, it is impossible to vote "No," or "None of the above," except in judicial retention elections. We can't vote people out of office if there is no opponent to vote in. Don't blame the incumbents. It isn't their fault if they do not have opponents. That is our fault.

Even the best incumbents benefit from having opponents - for the same reason that we learn something best when we know we have to teach about it. When an incumbent knows that he or she will be called to account on an issue, the incumbent rethinks the issue. Sometimes, the incumbent even changes positions, because the circumstances surrounding the issue have changed.

But that won't happen this year. We just don't care enough about our system of government to help to lead it. So the incumbents can just keep on doing what they have been doing.

Mary Young: Tea Party fighting against 'politics as usual'

Today the Reading Eagle has a column written by Mary Young that captures the essence of the Tea Party movement both Nationally and here in Pennsylvania.

While national media outlets and blogs like The Huffington Post attempt to portray the Tea Party movement as a "circus show" primarily made up of radical conservative, at the grassroots level Tea Party party groups continue to grow in numbers locally.

In her article Mary correctly identifies that the Tea Party movement is really about restoring our country to the limited government principles that it was founded upon and rebellion against "politics as usual".

Here a snip from Mary's article:

According to the Berks Patriots mission statement, the group is committed to restoring and promoting the conservative values and ideals of the country's founding documents.

They believe their creator, not the government, gave them certain inalienable rights including life, liberty, property, free speech, a free market and the pursuit of happiness.

They believe a limited government is necessary to ensure those rights. Click Here To Read More

This is what political pundits from both political parties cannot seem to rap their thick noggins around. They just can't understand that the American people still believe in and agree with our founding fathers who created a system of limited government to protect us from Tyranny.

Both elected politicians and party leaders can't seem to understand that documents like the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution are not mere historical documents. They are documents that still have real meaning in our lives and to the unidentified majority who gave up on politics the past 30 years they are still worth fighting for.

That is right folks. This movement isn't a conservative majority or a liberal majority. The movement is made up of the 55% of Americans who didn't vote in the past because they felt like their vote didn't matter or didn't feel they could impact the political process. The Tea Party movement is showing these disengaged voters that their voice and vote can impact the direction of our country.

Let me give some advice to the political aristocracy in this country a.k.a the republican and democratic parties. Phrases like "Viva liberty" and "Give me liberty or give me death" still mean the same in 2010 as they did back in 1776.

PA Sixth Congressional District Drama: Schroder to Get Nominated From Floor?

Did anyone else read Chris Freind’s post about the prospect of Curt Schroder getting nominated to Congress from the floor of the ChesCo GOP Convention tomorrow? I have talked to enough people today to confirm there is a legitimate grassroots movement afoot to do just that. Hard to say how large this movement is.

But just think of it this way:

Curt was close to securing enough commitments to win the endorsement over a month ago. If just half of those people decide to go ahead and vote for Curt event though he’s still not formally running for this seat, that could split the whole affair into a three-way tie. Depending, of course, on which existing candidate– Welch or Gerlach– experiences more desertion.

Of course, it is also possible that Curt gets nominated from the floor and doesn’t get many votes at all.

But seeing how the chair of the Chester County Republican party decided to send an e-mail just yesterday re-emphasizing his support for Gerlach…well…the necessity of that e-mail certainly wouldn’t comfort me if I was Jim.

Now is the time, Sam is the man, and we are the people!

An 18-year veteran of the PA House of Representatives from Berks County, Honorable Sam Rohrer is above all else, a Christian whose pro-family agenda is capturing great attention, and loads of support among grassroots activists, and many many constitutional conservatives across the state.

A constitutional conservative himself, Sam has spent the last six years attempting to eliminate property taxes altogether, and has garnered the support and endorsement of Pennsylvania Tax Payer's Coalition. Sam's view is that we should not have to pay rent to the Government for property we've purchased in good faith. We are essentially buying our home three and four times over. Sam has fought tirelessly against this, and as Governor, he will make it right.

When it comes to education, Sam believes the ultimate responsibility for our children's education lies with the parent--not Government. One has only to take a look at how our students stack up against other nations, and other states, and it becomes clear Government has not done such a great job.

Sam will seek to bring about educational choice for parents. I had a teacher friend of mine, now a principal, scoff at Sam's educational policy. Despite that my friend is a democrat, he is extremely interested in Sam and the majority of his principles. We talked about Sam's proposal, and he realized that Sam is talking about choice for parents (providing a set of tools), but that what this creates is competition. Competition is good for everything and everyone who truly wants the best. It raises the bar on standards, and no teacher or administrator that takes his or her position to heart need worry in time of higher standards and competition. On the other hand, those that are merely putting in time until pension day kicks in may experience slight anxiety with Sam as Governor.

Sam is unequivocally pro-life, and is truly a man of honor and integrity--well-worth our support. He will bring about the fiscal responsibility our state, which is currently dreadfully insolvent, has lacked for so long. Sam knows we cannot afford more taxes. Sam will cut Government spending instead, by carefully inspecting every state program including welfare and ask simple questions like "what was your original mission and have you strayed from it?" "Do we need this program and this many employees?" "Are we wasting money on this program?" "Where are necessary employees wasting money?" Where our current Governor punts these issues away, Sam will face them head on.

Sam is first and foremost a sound, decent man, who really "gets it." He gets that government has grown large, and arrogant toward us. He knows that with the relationship so severely fractured and abused, politicians must move forward with great care as there is no room for even the slightest breach of trust. Sam will not spend his four years seeking re-election. That's not what he's about. He's passionate, and when elected, Sam will use every second of the time available to him focused on righting what is so wrong in our good state. He is integrity through and through.

Never before has the movement on the ground been so active. Sam has created quite a stir. The GOP, however, has sought to silence the Sam Rohrer movement, and forge ahead with their machine politics.

They would have us believe that Corbett's name recognition is the only chance we have of defeating the democrats in the general election. But the fact is when the underdog, a much lesser known defeats the Attorney General (a self-titled moderate republican) because of a silly little grassroots movement, he'll have plenty of name recognition, publicity and momentum to take with him to the election.

If Scott Brown were running against Corbett, after the attention he gained recently, my money says Scott Brown would have the name recognition and the momentum to defeat Corbett. It was the people of Mass. that elected Scott Brown. Not the machine.

Likewise, we the people believe we have the power to rise above the political machine when we assemble on the ground for what is right and good. Tom Corbett belongs to the machine that supports and endorses him. Sam Rohrer belongs to the people. He owes nothing to the machine. Now is the time, Sam is the man, and we are the people!

The PA GOP Saga Of Deleting Comments On Their Facebook Page Continues........

I received the following message via Facebook this morning from Michael Glick, Deputy Technology Director of the PA GOP or better known today as Pennsylvania's version of the Soviet Politburo!!

Michael sent you a message.

--------------------
Re: Page Block

I am just a guy. I believe in what I am fighting for. I understand you believe differently. Please respect that I am truly believe in the Republican Party and that we are the best chance at defeating President Obama and Nancy Pelosi's liberal agenda. It is absolutely nothing against your beliefs or passion. I hope you are having a great weekend and are looking forward to a great work week, not to mention (in light of a Democratic majority in the US House and Senate, a tremendous election year).

I truly believe that our country is being destroyed by a liberal socialist agenda. And that perhaps we may win a few seats by simply saying that Democrats are bad politicians. However, I believe that Americans want more than rhetoric about Corbett being an insider (which is an absurd notion considering Rohrer has been here longer or that Toomey is not a fiscal conservative)

I believe that these candidates, as do the State Committee Members who voted to endorse, that these candidates are what PA needs to win the support of a state that currently has more than 1,000,000,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans.

You, obviously, have the right to disagree. However, we will never discourage you from your beliefs. But please do not be slanderous to the Members of the Republican State Committee of PA by saying that an endorsement of a candidate is anti-American.

Best,
Michael Glick

I have not responded to this Facebook message from Michael Glick. In fact I don't think I will. Mr. Glick has a right to his own personal beliefs and his own personal opinions on what is best for the Republican Party. However, he does not have the right to inflict those beliefs on people that disagree with the same party he is a member of and works for. Heck our donations support his job. Is something wrong in the universe here or something.

This in a funny way sums up the essence of the entire Tea Party movement. The American people are finally standing up and saying, "Hey you guys work for us!". This entire situation is an embarrassment for the state party.

But apparently Mr. Glick is not the only one at the PA GOP that feels that dissent should be discouraged in the party. The entire organization apparently is discouraging dissent. John Micek of the Morning Call on his Capitol Ideas Blog has a great post today, "No Free Speech Please, We're Republicans.", covering the behind the scenes shenanigans that are going on at the PA GOP. According to the post:

Criticism of the endorsement, which came Saturday at the Harrisburg Hilton, is being efficiently purged from the page in the name of party unity, we learned this afternoon.

"We didn't allow any disparagement of our candidates before the endorsement and we won't allow it after the endorsement," state GOP spokesman Michael Barley told us this afternoon. "It's not in the best interests of the party. Our job is to win in November."

This is embarrassing and I am very ashamed that the party that I support has stooped to soviet style tactics in order to reaffirm their own agenda. The PA GOP will now forever be known as the PA Politburo for now on in my mind.

Toomey way ahead of Specter in latest poll

It looks like no matter how Democratic Party pundits try to spin things, PA voters sure are in an anti establishment, anti incumbent mood these days.

This bodes well for the PA GOP candidates who seem destined to win the Governor's race, the U.S Senate race, and a pick up of two or even three Congressional seats in the November election.

However the mood doesn't bode well for everyone's favorite Senator, Arlen Specter. So just how bad are Specter's prospects of re-election right now? The Politico is reporting Specter trails GOP front runner Pat Toomey by 14 points in a latest Franklin and Marshall College poll.

A new poll from Franklin and Marshall College confirms Specter’s precarious situation. He trails Republican Pat Toomey by 14 points, 45 percent to 31 percent. Only 34 percent of Pennsylvanians gave Specter favorable job marks, with 58 percent saying he was doing a “fair” or “poor” job as senator. Click Here To Read More

These poll numbers shouldn't surprise anyone. To many voters around the state Specter has become a symbol for what is wrong in Washington and has become a poster boy for the need for term limits. Specter's move to switch parties to save his political life has not worked out as originally planned.

Specter now finds himself in the middle of a political buzz saw. First, Democratic Party voters are not energized by his campaign. Second, conservative voters and Tea Party activist are fired up to take him out. Then add to all of this independent voters who are disgruntled with the Obama Administration's policies. Double Ouch!!!

Probably, President Obama's State Of The Union address may have put the final nail in Specter's coffin. Obama's push to continue the Democratic Party's left wing agenda while snubbing the American people's pressure to move to the center will hurt Specter tremendously.

The bottom line in the PA Senate race is simple. Voting for Arlen Specter is not "Change that we can believe in".

The Franklin & Marshall Poll

Also: New poll shows Toomey leading Sestak, Specter (Delaware County Times)

More: Toomey Surges Over Specter in Poll as Fundraising Shows Strong Fourth Quarter Draw (Fox News)

Rohrer's message to state committee members. Let's have a debate

At today's Pennsylvania Press Club's luncheon, Republican gubernatorial candidate Sam Rohrer urged party leaders to hold off on endorsing a candidate until the candidates have a debate in front of the full committee.

Rohrer said he is counting on support from conservative Pennsylvanians who are disenchanted with the political system. Without an open exchange of ideas, he said the Republican Party risks becoming more of “a social club” than a vehicle to advance different points of view. Click Here To Read More

The state committee is schedule to endorse candidates at their meeting February 13th. I for one think a debate would be a great idea. Anything to make this more of an open process.

Real Hope and Change Coming in 2010

Pollster Scott Rasmussen asks Americans each month to give their opinion on whether the United States is headed in the right direction or the wrong track. His polls were widely reported by the mainstream news media during George W. Bush's last year in office, but the right direction/wrong track numbers get little coverage now that the media's hand-picked candidate occupies the White House.

Nearly 80 percent of Americans told Rasmussen just before the November 2008 election that the country was on the wrong track. That explains why Barack Obama was elected president and Democrats picked up seats in Congress.

Bush has been out of office for 11 months as promises of "hope" and "change" swept the land, but most Americans now believe Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats are taking the country in the wrong direction.

A majority of voters — 62 percent — believe the nation is heading down the wrong track, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Just 32 percent of U.S. voters say the country is heading in the right direction. That's a small gain after two months of decline that culminated in a finding of 29 percent, the lowest number Rasmussen reported since February 2009.

The percentage of voters who feel the country is heading in the right direction remained in the range of 31 percent to 35 percent from July to early November. From late November until the end of 2009, confidence in the country's current course steadily declined, Rasmussen says.

It's no surprise that Democrats suffered embarassing defeats in the New Jersey and Virginia governor races last November. Obama campaigned heavily for the Democrats in both states, but Republicans won decisive victories in what many saw as an early referendum on Obama's agenda of record deficit spending, higher taxes and a government takeover of health care.

Only the most partisan of Democrats can feel good about the midterm Congressional elections. Most pollsters and pundits predict heavy losses for Democrats in both the House and Senate.

You not only have the normal disappointment with a presidential administration, but the Democrats' heavy-handed tactics in ramming through the unpopular health care reform bills will cost Democrats seats in Congress.

There have already been two attacks on U.S. soil by Islamic terrorists during Obama's first year in office — the shootings at Fort Hood in early November and the attempted downing of a Detroit-bound passenger airliner on Christmas Day.

Concerns that Obama is soft on terrorism are starting to resonate with many Americans, even ones who voted for Obama.

With Obama's job approval numbers below 50 percent and poll numbers for Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid consistently below 30 percent, it's no longer a question of whether Democrats will lose seats, it's now a matter of whether Democrats will lose control of Congress.

Most political observers predict Republican gains of 20 to 30 seats in the House, where Democrats have a 262-178 majority and a handful of seats in the Senate, where Democrats have a 60-40 majority.

Some pundits are predicting a historic comeback for the Republican Party. The astute Dick Morris, who helped Bill Clinton win two terms as president, believes Republicans will take back the majority in both the House and Senate.

While publicly downplaying potential losses in Congress, the Obama administration has seen the writing on the wall. Pushing a far-left agenda and breaking numerous campaign promises has alienated independent voters and some Democrats. That's why Obama's job approval numbers have declined rapidly since he took office. Obama's personal popularity remains high, but most Americans do not support his radical policies.

The reason Obama is rushing legislation through Congress and making back-room deals that will cost taxpayers billions of dollars is because he knows his time is running out.

The health care reform bills, negotiated in secret without any Republican input, barely passed the House and only won Senate approval after key Senators were bribed by Majority Leader Reid at the prompting of the Obama White House.

And don't forget that the defection of Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter to the Democratic Party is the only reason health care passed in the Senate. Specter is probably in his last year in the Senate, facing a tough primary challenger (Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak) in May and an even tougher Republican opponent (former Congressman Pat Toomey) in November.

Without the 60-vote majority in the Senate, Democrats are done and Obama will end up a lame duck in his last two years in office.

Tony Phyrillas is an award-winning political columnist and blogger for The Mercury, a daily newspaper in Pottstown, Pa.