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.

Tom Corbett, A Contradiction In Terms

GOP gubernatorial front-runner Tom Corbett seems to be getting a little too comfortable as things begin to heat up on the campaign trail this election year. Corbett's gubernatorial campaign has brilliantly masked Corbett's Harrisburg insider status by depicting him as a good government crusader/reformer. Despite the fact that Corbett has been a major political force in Pennsylvania politics since the start of the Ridge administration.

In 1994 Corbet was asked to provide criminal law and policy expertise to the gubernatorial campaign of then-Congressman Tom Ridge. Once Ridge was elected Governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett was asked to fill several key roles in service to the Commonwealth which eventually led to his appointment as Attorney General.

Despite his campaign finance connections to state GOP power players like Governor Ridge, former President Pro Temp Bob Jubelirer and former House Speaker John Perzel, Corbett himself has managed to distance himself from all the political corruption scandals that have plagued many state lawmakers by indicting 12 democratic members of the state legislature and two of their aids who received illegally $4 million in bonuses for campaign work. Despite the pending indictments Corbett still accepted campaign contributions from the very same people he he was indicting. Former Speaker of the House John Perzel even held a campaign fundraiser that Corbett attended weeks before Perzel was indicted.

Perhaps the most laughable pillar of Corbett's my hands are squeaky clean gubernatorial campaign is how he has manage to distance himself from the illegal 2005 pay raise scandal. Corbett has even gotten away with criticizing his primary opponent state Representative Sam Rohrer for voting for both the 2005 pay raise and the 2001 pension legislation. At a recent gubernatorial forum in Philadelphia he blasted his republican primary opponent Sam Rohrer for his support for the pension increase.

From the Philadelphia Daily News: "The only political shot of the night came from Corbett, when asked about the state's burgeoning public-pension crisis. He noted that some of the participants in the forum had voted to raise state pension benefits - a veiled reference to Rohrer."

His criticism of Rohrer's legislative voting record on the pension issue and the pay raise issue is laughable because Corbett himself benefited from both of Rohrer's votes. Corbett gladly accepted the pay raise that Governor Rendell negotiated for executive offices in 2005 knowing full well the pay raise was illegal and that it violated the state's constitution.

At the time the pay raise was passed I didn't hear of any outrage radiating from the Attorney General's office. I don't remember Tom Corbet, the state's chief law enforcement officer, holding press conferences saying hey wait a minute we need to investigate the legality of these unvouchered expenses. We never seen any grand jury indictments from the Attorney General's Office resulting from the overwhelming evidence of collusion between the judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government.

Corbett is a candidate that seems to love having his cake and eating it too. At a recent state budget hearing Corbett warned state lawmakers of potential layoffs if the Attorney General's office budget wasn't increased despite his gubernatorial campaign calling for dramatic cuts in state spending.

But these contradictions are only the tip of the iceberg for Tricky Tom Corbett. I just cannot allow myself to support a candidate where the more you learn about him the more confused you become.

TEA for Two? Should the TEA party movement be co-opted by the government?

Guest Column By Lowman Henry

The TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party movement over the past year has developed into a major force in American politics. So much so it lifted a little known state senator in Massachusetts into the U.S. Senate seat once held by Ted Kennedy, and last month held a national convention that attracted Sarah Palin and other big names as speakers.

But where does the TEA Party movement go to from here?

TEA activists, in Pennsylvania and nationwide, will undoubtedly have a significant impact in a number of statewide, congressional and even legislative races. There will also likely be an inflow of TEA activists into the official Republican Party structure as seats on both the state and county committees are up for election this year.

How closely though should the TEA Party movement bind itself to the Republican Party? When it adheres to its principles, which it sometimes does not, the Republican Party is clearly more ideologically in step with the TEA activists than the Democrats. In fact, is the Leftist Democratic agenda pushing for nationalized health care, Cap and Trade, excessive spending and massive deficits which have awakened and energized TEA partiers causing them to become involved or more involved in the political process.

Despite that, there is good reason for the TEA Party movement to not allow itself to be co-opted into the establishment Republican Party. It would be far better for the movement to exist as an independent political force, making common cause with the GOP when interests coincide.

The debate is running both ways. Establishment Republican leaders are divided over how to deal with the TEA Party movement. Some are politically savvy enough to understand many of the TEA partiers are part of the conservative base of the GOP that became disaffected with the party's straying from its principles over the past decade.

Other Republican officials are scared of the TEA Party types. One Republican county chairman recently called a congressional candidate to berate him for speaking at a TEA Party rally. State Republican Chairman Rob Gleason was the master of ceremonies at a TEA Party candidates' night, and then branded as rebels anybody who opposed the party's endorsed candidates - all in the same week.

There is no doubt that when the TEA Party movement and the Republican Party are united they are unbeatable. But, that unity should only exist around candidates who deserve it. TEA partiers should remain free to boycott those Republican candidates who don't reflect their ideals - or even to support conservative Democrats who do.

If the TEA Party movement is co-opted into the mainstream Republican Party its influence will wane. The movement is powerful precisely because it cannot be counted on: it must be courted, and candidates must prove they deserve its support. If the TEA Party activists are assimilated into the establishment GOP they will simply be taken for granted much in the same way the conservative Republican base has been in recent years.

This is not a broadside at the Republican Party. It simply is the natural order of things. In the Democratic Party, for example, the African-American vote is taken for granted because party leaders know 90% or more will vote for the Democratic candidate in any given election. Thus, elected Democrats tend not to be overly responsive to the needs of that community.

The same fate will befall the TEA Party movement if it allows itself to be incorporated into the Republican Party. For now, at least, the TEA Party is best developing as an independent movement, and the GOP would be wise to court its support. That will allow the TEA Party movement to keep alive its activist fervor, while making the Republican Party toe the ideological line.

It is best if the Republican Party is forced to earn the support of the TEA Party activists. Or perhaps, as happened in Massachusetts, the TEA Party movement can earn the support of the mainstream Republican Party. After all, the GOP had written off Scott Brown and it was the TEA Party movement that put him in a position to win. Only then did the Republican machinery kick into gear and help to put him over the top. The bottom line there is that Republicans and TEA Party activists worked together - and won.

The formula for success has been discovered, and there is no reason to fix what isn't broken.

(Lowman S. Henry is Chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal. His email address is lhenry@lincolninstitute.org.)

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!

Union County Republican Committee Votes To Not Endorse Candidates In Defiance Of PA GOP State Committee

Source Sam Rohrer's Facebook Page:

Billy Allred a member of the Union County Republican Committee is reporting that committee members voted unanimously tonight not to endorse any GOP candidates running in the statewide races during the Primary Election.

This vote is a major victory for GOP candidates Stat Representative Sam Rohrer and Peg Luksik and puts the committee in direct defiance of the State Republican Committee's directive of only allowing the endorsed candidates to attend official committee events.

If you are a local county republican committee member, please contact your county chairman and urge your committee to follow Union County's lead. Join fellow republicans around the state who are calling for an open primary election.

LETS SHOW CHAIRMAN GLEASON AND THE STATE PARTY THAT IT IS TIME TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR A CHANGE!

UPDATE:

The local GOP county committee revolt continues as I found out today that the Bradford County Republican Committee bucks has voted to buck the state party's endorsement. David Baldinger on Sam Roher's Facebook page is reporting that the Bradford County Republican Committee has voted 19 to 11 against endorsing a GOP candidate in the gubernatorial primary race and 18 to 15 against endorsing a GOP candidate in the US Senate primary race. This is more great news. Once again, I urge other local GOP county committees do the same. A comment today on this blog suggested that the Perry County Republican Committee has done the same.

Read More:

Hey, GOP bosses: We don't need no stinkin' endorsement (PhillyBurbs)

Two Roads Diverged in Penn's Woods

Will PA-12 be NY-23 or Massachusetts?

By Lowman S. Henry

Will the special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Congressman John P. Murtha be a re-run of New York 23, or a Republican coup like the election of U.S. Senator Scott Brown in Massachusetts?

The direction of the race now lies in the hands of the nine county Republican committees who will select conferees to a convention that will choose the GOP nominee in the special election likely to be held in conjunction with the upcoming May Primary.

New York 23, you may recall, was won by the Democrat Bill Owens after a Republican civil war erupted when the party establishment selected a nominee who held views to the left of President Obama. This spawned the third party candidacy of Doug Hoffman who quickly became a cause célèbre for the conservative wing of the Republican Party. Ultimately GOP nominee Dede Scozzafava withdrew from the race; then plunged the knife in Hoffman by endorsing Owens.

In Massachusetts the scenario unfolded very differently. The establishment GOP early on wrote off Scott Brown. But, the Bay state's TEA party movement ignited a grassroots brushfire for Brown which lifted his candidacy putting it back on the national Republican radar screen. The GOP establishment engaged in the race; forged a common bond with the TEA partiers and Brown scored an upset victory that literally changed the political landscape in Washington, D.C.

The PA-12 special election could go either way.

Bill Russell was the party's 2008 nominee against Murtha and he gave the incumbent a run for his money. Murtha and the Democrats went into panic mode the last weeks of the campaign and then rode the national Democratic wave to victory.

Russell has never stopped running. He has been engaged fore square in the TEA party movement that burns bright throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. It is likely Russell will be the choice of a majority of the grassroots, TEA party types and certainly has emerged as a favorite of the GOP's conservative wing.

But the TEA party activists will have no voice in the party selection process. Under the rules of the Republican State Committee each of the nine counties which have territory in the 12th Congressional District will select conferees who will meet in convention to select the nominee. Typically conferees are tried and true party activists. Thus, the establishment GOP will pick the candidate.

What makes the picture both more complicated and more hopeful is the fact that southwestern Pennsylvania Republican party leaders tend to be more conservative than those in some other parts of the state. They also tend to be fiercely independent. Thus, the establishment party in Murtha's district is more in tune with the grassroots back-to-our-principles movement sweeping the region, the state and the nation.

Left to their own devices, Republican leaders in PA-12 likely will arrive at a party-uniting consensus. But, this is a special election and that means outside interests - including the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Republican National Committee will try and bring about the selection of a cookie cutter candidate who fits Washington's poll and focus group driven view of the world.

Also complicating matters is that Republican State Committee Chairman Robert A. Gleason, Jr. hails from Cambria County, which will send one of the biggest delegations of conferees to the convention. Under Gleason, the Republican State Committee has recruited candidates in congressional districts around the state to oppose grassroots conservatives, and even tried to gin up competition to Pat Toomey in the U.S. Senate race.

Gleason has also had an unholy alliance with Murtha over the years. Thus, he will want a candidate beholden to him. But he is also pragmatic, and with the eyes of the nation on PA-12 Gleason will want, above all, to win. This means the considerable influence of the Gleason organization will, for the first time in decades, be deployed on behalf of the Republican candidate. And that dramatically improves chances for a Republican victory.

The upcoming special election in PA-12 will be a gut check for the Republican Party in Pennsylvania. All the crosscurrents and rip tides that currently roil both the state and national Republican parties will be at play in this selection process.

In the end we are going to get either NY-23 or a Pennsylvania version of Scott Brown. It will be interesting to see what happens.

(Lowman S. Henry is Chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal. His e-mail address is lhenry@lincolninstitute.org.)

PA GOP Facebook Deletions Continued.....New Strategy To Squash Dissent Is To Insult People

From Vonne Andring, GM of TJ Development Co, & Supporter of Sam Rohrer...

I was at the Mobilize for Liberty event when it was announced that comments referencing the GOP's Corbett endorsement, were deleted on the GOP's Facebook page.

I was incensed! While probably not politically brilliant, I did send message to Glitch and Gleason, received several responses and responded in kind. All thus far, is copied in the thread below:

On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 2:21 PM, TJDCo wrote:

"the PA GOP cannot support comments that slanderize our process or our candidates"

Mr. Glick when you make reference to "your process," and "your candidates," you show just how far from reality the GOP has strayed. This is not YOUR process, and neither are these YOUR candidates. Both are OURS, and despite the gross liberty the GOP has unilaterally awarded itself, you have no exclusivity toward either.

Vonne Andring, GM
TJ Development Co.
Phone: (412) 527-2759
Fax: (412) 246-7235
Email: tjdvlp@mac.com

On Feb 15, 2010, at 2:41 PM, Michael Glick wrote:

Sir, I work for the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania has voted to endorse candidates for US Senate, Governor and Lt. Governor. I will do my job to the best of my ability. While I have many responsibilities as an employee of the PA GOP, the primary mission of this organization is to elect the candidates the State Committee chooses to endorse. I will advise you that the State Committee who has voted to endorse these candidates are also elected officials. They were elected by you. They are your representatives for the Republican Party.

So, I will do my job as well as I possibly can. As I am sure you do the best job you can as the GM for TJ Developement Co. Since you so adamantly believe that State Committee has made the wrong decisions. I encourage you, as a passionate individual, to become involved, run for State Committee if you feel so inclined. I truly hope that your anger over something like a party endorsement (of candidates who I truly believe are unbelievably qualified) does not blind you to the injustices that are being perpetrated in Washington by the extreme liberal agenda of President Obama and Nancy Pelosi.

I hope that we can find common ground instead of just pointing fingers at each other. I believe that we believe in the same core principals. We may simply have different beliefs on the best way to get there. I truly hope those differences can be reconciled.

I stand behind Toomey and Corbett 100%. I believe they are absolutely the best candidates to win in November. The Members of State Committee, your elected representatives, have chosen to stand behind them as well. Thus, I will do my job to the absolute best of my ability to ensure that they are elected. It is not only my job. It is my passionate belief.

Thank you.

J. Michael Glick

On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 3:55 PM, TJDCo wrote:

Mr. Glick,

I am not a sir, but a woman. I appreciate your response just the same. I do believe the State Committee has made the wrong decision. It has, with its clout, and despite repeated requests from vocal constituents, (a group larger than the committee itself), denied republican voters the right to fair representation, and the process of vetting.

We elected you to represent we the people, not yourselves. You ignored us instead and have effectively committed all that we've given you to further your agenda, and a process so many oppose.

Where there is open, pre-endorsed debate, the people can make sense of your eventual endorsement whether they agree or disagree. Where there is only your endorsement, you are shutting the people out altogether.

And as we voice the opinion we elected you to consider and represent, you erase it. You are shutting out the very people that elected you--erasing us as though we don't exist. It's false representation, an abuse of position, and a misappropriation of resources. Not only do you refuse to represent us, you stand in the way of letting us represent ourselves on a platform that belongs to us. Shame on you all.

As you ignore, and delete the will of the people, you grow and strengthen the resolve of the effort unfolding on the ground.

I don't know if a run for State Committee is the best route, but I will surely move forward with my focus trained on the goal, and will seek the best way to accomplish it. You can be sure of that.

Regards,

Vonne Andring, GM
TJ Development Co.
Phone: (412) 527-2759
Fax: (412) 246-7235
Email: tjdvlp@mac.com

On Feb 15, 2010, at 4:12 PM, Michael Glick wrote:

Apologies Mam.

As I said, you are not speaking to an elected official. You are speaking to an employee, who is hired by your elected officials. I am paid to do a job. And I will do this job to the best of my ability. I work for people like yourself, indirectly, as I work directly for the Republican representatives whom you and your Republican friends have elected.

I wish that you would not simply discount the decision of the committee as irrelevent, simply because you do not support it. If you do not like the way the people you elected have voted, I advise you to vote in a different direction this May. That is your right as a Republican. It is also your right as a Republican to vote for an alternative candidate in the primary. It is also your right as a citizen to volunteer as you see fit to defend the candidates you support.

As I said, I think anger and finger pointing within the Republican Party will only lead to a division of resources that could otherwise be used to defeat the real threat, President Obama's euro-socialist agenda. I do not have a doubt in my mind that the candidates who were endorsed by the party are absolutely the best route we can take to help defeat this threat. I know what I am doing and the principals I am fighting for is the right thing to do.

As an employee and a true believer, I will do all that I can to defeat this threat. I hope that you will do the same without resorting to smearing your fellow Republicans, like myself, or your competing Republican candidates, like Corbett or Toomey. I believe that is wrong and self defeating. For after the May primaries there will be one candidate for Governor and one candidate for Senate. Whoever is elected, at that time, I hope that we can put aside our differences and truly fight for what is right.

On Feb 15, 2010, at 4:32 PM, TJ Development wrote:

Mr. Glick,

I discount the decision of the committee, not because I don't support it, which I don't, but instead on the grounds that it excluded the people. You are assigning anger to me but what I feel is not anger. I feel resolve. I know my rights, and I, along with many, will assert them.

No one has smeared or slandered the GOP. We have questioned the practice and the process of excluding voters. Rather than address the remarks, you deleted them. If handled appropriately, such a challenge would give the GOP the opportunity to strengthen it's position. Instead, it has chosen to further alienate us. You erase our remarks because they offer a view that is different than your own, and you talk of self-defeating behaviors?

It is not our actions, our anger, nor any finger pointing that will divide the party, but instead it is the the GOP that will divide and damage the party by shutting out those who people the party.

Vonne Andring, GM
TJ Development Co.
Phone: (412) 527-2759
Fax: (412) 246-7235
Email: tjdvlp@mac.com

On Feb 15, 2010, at 4:40 PM, Michael Glick wrote:

I am glad that you have the passion and resolve to exercize your rights in the greatest Democracy in the world.

In regards to you attacking me for deleting facebook posts, I discount your argument that I am alienating Republicans by deleting posts. I am doing my job, as I have tried to explain to you. My job is to support the Committee in the decisions that they make.

They have chosen to endorse specific candidtes. So, when you ask me to allow people to make posts intended to degrade the respect that many PA voters feel for these candidates, you ask me to ignore my responsibilities. I will not do that. I will do my job.

I will do everything in my power to encourage the voters of PA to support the candidates that the Committee has endorsed. I will do so because it is my job and my belief. And while I am doing so, I will not go onto your facebook page or your companies facebook page and post derogatory things about yourself or your company. If I did so, I'd expect you would delete them as well, as a rational human being would do.

So, do not attack me for doing my job. I have no respect for that kind of attack. I will do my job and I will do it well. As a business person, I would think you could understand that.

On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 5:02 PM, TJDCo wrote:

Mr. Glick,

You confuse debate with attack. You confuse question and opinion with anger and slander. Were you not so confused you might see that you represent all the people of the party, not just those that agree with you. Has the committee instructed that you blackball differing opinions? Is this in your job description?

It is not ok, under any circumstances, and certainly not in this country, for an employee to delete the will of those who fund his salary. You are all running amuck.

Kindly,

Vonne Andring, GM
TJ Development Co.
Phone: (412) 527-2759
Fax: (412) 246-7235
Email: tjdvlp@mac.com

On Feb 15, 2010, at 5:22 PM, Michael Glick wrote:

I am done discussing this with you. You have not addressed one of the points that I have brought up. You are not debating anything. You are simply pointing fingers and blaming everyone else for what is wrong.

As I said, in a very positive manner, I am happy you are now fighting for what you believe is right. I hope that you will continue to do so all the way through November and beyond. I will not say anything negative about yourself or your likeminded friends.

Should you have taken an interest in this debate before it became a popular topic, you would have noticed that prior to endorsement. All opinions were welcome. There was no deletion of any post that discussed open primaries or the various candidates. However, note that if a comment was posted that said, ANYTHING, negative about a candidate, it was deleted. Now that the committee has made a decision. The only posts that many people want to post are negative. They attack the candidates and the Party. So, keeping with the policy of deleting negative posts, I will delete all posts that are negative. Does that make sense to you, Vonne?

I will continue to do my job, promoting the candidates whom the Committee has endorsed. I hope that you will be able to put aside your bitterness towards the party as we approach the November elections. We look forward to working with you and ensuring victory in 2010.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy your Monday evening.

Editor's Note: First off let me thank Vonne Andring for post this thread on PennPatriot Blog. Since my original post many republicans have voiced their concerns and shared their outrage at the committee's position on this matter.

This post has to be the most hilarious thing I have ever read on a political blog. Mr. Glick is the gift that keeps on giving. Where does Mr. Gleason find these party hacks at the PA GOP anyway? No doubt Mr. Glick is a legacy of some finagled political connection some how.

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.

Endorsement

Why endorse? These are the answers I got from the State Committee and the County chairmen:
If we do not endorse, why bother having a state committee?
I worked hard, and deserve to choose the candidate.
These committee folks were elected by the local citizens.
The citizens of the Commonwealth are not smart enough to make the decision. We need to help them.

True, we did elect them. True, in the past, we were too trusting, allowing them to give us such foxes as Gov Spendell and Sen Specter.

I think we could have done better if we had randomly chosen from the phone book. The Republican/Democrat habit of endorsement has given us the mess we are in. If you like the way your elected employees are running the government, vote for another candidate endorsed by the Republocrat Machine.

If not, look at the Rohrer for Governor, and Luksik for Senator. Two God fearing leaders who have been fighting the Machine (in both the Democrat and Republican flavors) for the last two decades.

You own a business, called government. Your children need you to manage it. If you lack understanding, ask God to lead you, and visit the www.pfa-pa.org web site.

Statewide Endorsement: Why Not Just Let The County Committee People Vote?

No less an insider than the current Chester County GOP put the whole open-primary case to me in the following manner, and I happen to agree with it. So never let it be said that I don't always give people a fair listen.

It isn't really in a party's best interest to happily let a primary with a whole raft of candidates hit the ballots. Inevitably in these situations the winner is the one who can really motivate a fire-breathing minority. If you're running against four or more candidates, the party will probably end up with a general election candidate with virtually no cross-party appeal. Fine for upstate, but not so fine for southeastern PA, or those parts of the Commonwealth that probably belong on Ohio. I kid, I kid.

But when you have just two or three candidates that are pretty well-liked, a primary is the best way to figure out which one is actually good at motivating voters. Winning the primary proves you know how to win an election, and it gets your organization in fighting trim for the general.

So by the logic of the chair of the Chester County Republican party, it would have probably been best for the state committee to winnow down the Lt. Governor's race. But for senator and Governor, where you really had only two viable candidates apiece, the state committee should have let a primary decide the winner.

Now, the way we do it in Chester County is in order for the two-way primary to happen with the party's blessing, each candidate needs to secure 40% of the committee votes. Then they're both "recommended". Obviously, up in Harrisburg this weekend, neither Rohrer nor Luksik got anywhere near that. So by the letter of the law, here in Chester County, we would have ended up with the same result.

But when it comes to Sam Rohrer, every man and women in that room knew the vote would have been a LOT closer if left to the County committee people, let alone actual voters. So by the spirit of the Chester County rules, every man and women in that room should have at least consulted with their county people. Frankly, I'm not even sure why only the state committee votes on the statewide offices.

I mean, sure, a hundred years ago it would have been a tremendous chafe to organize precinct level endorsement votes. But it's no problem at all, today.

So perhaps the first step of reform, here, is not to insist the party never make an endorsement. Maybe it's just to say "We have two committee people in every precinct in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Why don't we let them vote on the endorsement?" Wouldn't that be the best way to figure out what Republicans on the ground want?

WE THE PEOPLE SHALL STAND UNITED

"Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction. " John F. Kennedy

I chose this quote because it says it all. There are people everywhere trying to get Obama and or all the democrats out of office. This, I can deal with however; take the republicans with them.

My congressman, Bill Shuster, asked me to support him in opposing Obama's health care plan. I am all for stopping this health care plan but, I will not support Mr. Shuster in his effort or lack thereof. I asked his staff, what is he proposing to American's on this issue and all I got was directed to a statement he made on the internet, that didn't offer any answer to my question.

I can't accept a person just because he disagrees on the same topics as I. I want someone in office who has a solution, not an excuse to blame someone else. I have no interest in helping anyone stay in office because they have a family to feed and need a paycheck. If you have no solutions to offer then you need to step down and get out of office, so someone else can bring fresh ideas to the table and be productive at the position.

Now this is not a personal attack on Mr. Shuster. This should be the respect held for the particular seat/office by all our politicians. I hear way too many people complaining about the problems instead of actively searching for a solution. If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem.

We've all heard this sad story before but, do oneself a favor and think about it for a second. I personally do not wish to be a part of the problem anymore. Yes, at some point we have all been or are part of the problem.

Everyone says Obama is the whole problem. Well I can assure you that no one man is the whole problem. History has proven that there is always more than one. Most of you are fully aware of this, so I will not go any further on this.

We spend all this time idolizing politicians and those in office. Why? Has one of them never let you down? Has one never disagreed with you on a single subject? or is it just because he was a democrat or republican like you? I ask that stop your idolizing. Idols fade away. Idols will only let you down.

They are but mere men or women. Please don't idolize because these people portray themselves in a way to mess with our minds. I become irritated from time to time, because I try to talk to people and help Americans realize that we need to unite. The irritation comes from the fact that almost everyone agrees with some of which I deem best for America. Yet, the "almost" is normally the same thing. They are quick to defend the political party of choice.

This is a major issue in our nation. I think it is a pretty simplistic statement and strong one too. " UNITED WE STAND & DIVIDED WE FALL" Political parties are nothing more then dividers amongst the American people. So, why is it that very few in comparison actually see this point?

America, we must stop allowing the corruption of our nation to blind us and even worse turn on each other. Once again I say it,"UNITED WE STAND & DIVIDED WE FALL". Please, I plead with you, rid the tyrants of this tool of leverage. We need a president that won't be lead by the corruption of the banks and corporate America.

We need a Congressman who isn't in his seat because all his buddies from high school didn't do their homework or do not care about issues and just want to help a friend out. The buddy system must come to an end, NOW! The buddy system is part of what allowed the corruption in our government in the first place.

WE THE PEOPLE, must stop voting for the lesser of the evils, and stop voting the evil in PERIOD! That's like me saying "heroine is worse, so I'll just smoke crack instead". That is the dumbest justification or excuse ever.

Time has come my fellow Americans. The time to take our nation back and rise up from the grasp of these nay sayers and false idols. It bares repeating: "WE THE PEOPLE", "UNITED WE STAND", "DIVIDED WE FALL" America, we the the people shall stand united.

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.

Pennsylvanians want true GOP gubernatorial primary

Guest Column By David Baldinger

The grassroots have awakened.

Scott Brown carries the day in Massachusetts by a solid margin. Chris Christie prevails in New Jersey’s governor race. Bob McDonnell wins in Virginia’s governor race. Florida Republican Chairman Jim Greer is ousted by activists infuriated by his endorsement of an insider candidate for the state’s Senate seat.

These were not necessarily victories for any political party as pundits are eager to claim but, rather, for ordinary citizens who are frustrated and angry with machine politics and the political elite who anoint candidates for their party loyalty rather than for their principles.

The caring, decent people of our country have only just begun to demonstrate their displeasure with the pompous party bosses who control the electoral process.

Now the activists have established a new beachhead in Pennsylvania in their fight for electoral freedom, with the Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman as the target of their resentment.

In a newspaper account of Congressman Jim Gerlach’s withdrawal from the Governor’s race, an obviously gratified Republican Chairman Rob Gleason said that now candidate Tom Corbett “doesn't need a primary" to establish himself and that he is pleased that Corbett would be able to "husband his resources."

With this pronouncement Gleason effectively dismissed the candidacy of State Representative Sam Rohrer and crowned Corbett as the party’s gubernatorial candidate. Six weeks before party delegates meet to vote, Gleason had already written off Representative Rohrer without giving him adequate opportunity to make his views known or gauging the support of the electorate.

The protesters regard Rohrer as an honest, common-sense candidate whose message and principles resonate with a grassroots movement hungry for a rejection of the status quo. Gleason’s unbridled arrogance and his blatant attempt to marginalize Rohrer by ignoring him has provoked the ire of activists and Rohrer proponents from across the state who are now demanding an open primary election that is free of bias and unfettered by political favoritism.

And well they should. Republican Party endorsements have included Lynn Swann, Mike Fisher, Rick Santorum, and others who were chosen for their purported name recognition and “electability” but were decisively rejected at the polls. The party and the people would undoubtedly be better served by allowing the voters to select their candidate rather than forcing upon them someone chosen by power-hungry party bosses who crown their royalty in furtive backroom deals.

Those chosen by the party elite prior to the primary election have a decided advantage over rival candidates by allowing them the use of party resources such as databases, research, and funding. This practice immediately tilts the playing field in favor of the endorsed candidate and will go far toward assuring their success. This must end if we are to restore the open electoral process that has been taken from us by those who have no desire to risk placing candidate selection in the hands of the people.

The coronation of candidates taints the integrity of those contenders by making them beholden to the powers that choose them and the special interests that finance their campaigns. It is sordid politics like this that ultimately leads to the pervasive corruption that is so prevalent in Pennsylvania government today.

Gleason and the Pennsylvania Republican leaders have completely lost touch with their base and are misreading the mood of the Pennsylvania electorate and, indeed, that of the nation. At the party meeting in February they will again order their delegates to march in lockstep with the party powers to endorse their hand-picked candidate. But this time that edict will become a liability for those who are chosen.

Patriot organizations, taxpayer advocates, tea party, 9/12, and similar grassroots groups have come together and will speak with one voice to repudiate the power of the political elite who would strip us of our liberty. We have had enough of the party powers dictating candidates and policy to us and we will regain control of the process that is guaranteed to us by the Constitution. The Governor’s seat belongs to the people, not the party; it is time for all citizens to demand of the Republican bosses an open, transparent primary election so that we, the people of Pennsylvania, may choose who will lead us.

David Baldinger is a taxpayer advocate and a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations, an organization of thirty-six taxpayer groups that is working for school property tax elimination and education finance reform.

Conservatives Supporting State Representive Sam Rohrer Over Frontrunner Attorney General Tom Corbett In Primary Race

It seems like the Republican State Committee has already decided which candidate they want to run for Governor. Last week US Rep. Jim Gerlach announced that he was no longer running do to a lack of support from committee members.

Also last week various news sources reported that both the State Committee's Central and the Southeast Caucus's straw poll results overwhelmingly favored Corbett over Rohrer.

Now we all know just how much members of the state committee hate heated primary battles. That is why they spend so much time holding fraternity like, internal mini elections to determine which candidate will get the party's endorsement.

As a conservative, I am glad that State Representative Sam Rohrer is sticking it to the party establishment. Rohrer is fired up and is in this primary race for the long hall. He is an outstanding candidate and has a great campaign team. Rohrer has demonstrated throughout his years of service in the state House that he is a principled conservative. Add to this Rohrer's crusade to eliminate school property taxes and you have a candidate that many conservatives are taking a good look at around the state.

Just recently at a Blair County Republican Women Meeting State Senator, John Eichelberger discussed how important this upcoming Governor's race is to the future of Pennsylvania. During the meeting Eichelberger said a lot of favorable things about Rohrer. Eichelberger also raised a lot of questions about Corbett's record. Eichelberger did not endorse Rohrer yet. But today Rohrer's campaign announced that Eichelberger will be hosting a town hall meeting with Rohrer on Janruary 23rd in Altoona. Click here for more information on the event.

I've said before that I am going to support Rohrer. I just like him as a person. He is a great family man. He loves this state. He is passionate about the things he believes in. He seems grounded by his conservative principles.

I truly believe that Sam knows what it will take to turn things around in Harrisburg. People are tired of all the scandals and budget debacles. Rohrer will provide this state with sound, principled leadership. Something that the Rendell administration has never given us.

The last thing our state needs is another Harrisburg/GOP party establishment insider like Tom Corbett as Governor. Come to think about it what do we really know about Corbett's vision for Pennsylvania? When I think of Corbett I have more questions than answers. Pennsylvanians know Sam Rohrer and they know he will fight for our values.