Free Republic

HARRISBURG — A Chester County entrepreneur won the endorsement Saturday from Pennsylvania’s Republican Party in what could be a bruising, four-way primary election for the nomination to contest Democrat Bob Casey’s re-election bid for U.S. Senate. The endorsement was won by Steve Welch after an extraordinary show of power by Gov. Tom Corbett, who began calling state party officials to tell them of his support for Welch less than two weeks ago. (snip) The endorsement of Welch will be viewed by grassroots party members “as a poke in the face,” Rohrer said. Welch has been criticized by his rivals for...

With little hope of performing well in Florida next week, Rick Santorum may be cutting his losses. The Republican primary, as predicted, has become solidly a two-man contest between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney. Santorum is struggling to compete in a state that is much larger, much more expensive and has a more diverse electorate than the previous three contests. The former Pennsylvania senator told reporters in Florida that he was leaving the state after Thursday night's debate for a fundraiser in Pennsylvania and to prepare his tax records to make public at home in Virginia, according to an NBC...

U.S. Rep. Todd Platts, R-York, announced this afternoon he will not seek a seventh term in office. During his time in office, Platts developed a reputation as a political moderate, who strongly supported the military and veterans. He routinely advocated more transparent government. In 2010, Esquire magazine named him one of the top-10 members of Congress. In the last year, Platts has drawn fire from the York 912 Patriots, a Tea Party group that criticized Platts for supporting the bank bailouts and the stimulus program. Platts, 49, is stepping away before a new district map for the state goes into...

IN the five days since his almost-victory in the Iowa caucuses, Rick Santorum’s critics have tried out an unusual line of attack against the former Pennsylvania senator. Not content with the many targets that Santorum’s record presents, they’ve gone after the way he and his wife, Karen, handled the premature delivery and death of their fourth child, Gabriel, in 1996. At 19 weeks of pregnancy, Gabriel was found to have a potentially fatal fetal abnormality. After a risky intrauterine surgery, Karen Santorum came down with an infection that ended up triggering labor. The baby lived for just two hours, and...

On Wednesday’s edition of Now with Alex Wagner, the eponymous host asked MSNBC commentator Meghan McCain if her party was in crisis. McCain trashed the Iowa caucus and dreaded the rise of surging Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum. “My father did not become the nominee having anything to do with the Iowa caucus. I find it completely irrelevant. If Rick Santorum becomes the nominee of this party, I mean, it is going to be bedlam and hysteria like you have never seen.” With her over-the-top prognostication for the pending apocalypse in that scenario, McCain appeared to be channeling Bill Murray...

In Monday afternoon Fox News interview, ex-Alaska Guv praises Santorum again and adds "Donald Trump has a lot to offer." Palin: "I did praise Rick Santorum and I'll praise him again...

Mitt Romney's top ten is made up of Goldman Sachs, followed by Credit Suisse (Switzerland), Morgan Stanley, Barclays (UK), Bank of America and JP Morgan. In contrast Romney's co-frontrunner in Iowa, Ron Paul, has a top three donor list made up of the US Army, US Navy and US Airforce.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) - A new poll shows Pennsylvania Republicans favor Newt Gingrich as the GOP Presidential nominee. In the Susquehanna Polling and Research poll released Tuesday, the former House Speaker has a 17-point lead over former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. In a hypothetical match-up with Republican voters, Gingrich leads the race with 35 percent, followed by Romney with 18 percent. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum was the favorite among 18 percent of voters, while eight percent said they planned to vote for former Texas congressman Ron Paul. Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachman received six percent of the vote and Texas...

Rick Santorum, a former Pennsylvania Senator, is getting some love from conservative luminaries Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck as he struggles to win the hearts of voters in Iowa weeks before the presidential caucuses there. "If voters start shifting gears and deciding they want ideological consistency, then they're going to start paying attention to say, Rick Santorum," the former Alaska governor said as a guest on Fox News Thursday evening. Palin continued with praise for his "hard-line" positions on cutting taxes, dealing with Iran and abortion. Santorum, understanding the implications of her remarks, immediately tweeted his appreciation. "Thank you @SarahPalinUSA...

Rick Santorum‘s bid for the Republican presidential nomination is not going well. While rivals such as Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and now businessman Herman Cain enjoy bursts of popularity, the former Pennsylvania senator can’t seem to get his campaign out of the gate. Endorsements from leading Republicans – say, Sarah Palin - would certainly help. “Her being out of the race and potentially getting involved in a campaign with somebody else could be a big lift,” Santorum said on ABC’s ‘Top Line.” “We’d like your endorsement by the way,” he joked, staring straight to the camera. Palin...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Here's Josh in Pittsburgh. Welcome, Josh. Great to have you on the EIB Network. Hello. CALLER: Hey, Rush. I am in ninth grade, and I'm a very active Tea Party member. I'm involved with some local congressmen, and when I heard about Ryan Rhodes' comments to the president -- RUSH: Yes? CALLER: -- I was very encouraged to see that I am not alone as a young Republican when it seems that most people my age are very, very liberal and Democratic, and it was nice to see that. But. Then when I heard about the elder...

Give your environmental wacko friends something to think about while you promote America's energy independence! (See link.)

York, PA - Just as in 2008, York County will be the site of a pitched battle during the 2012 presidential race, according to local party chairmen. And though the election is more than a year away, both sides are already marshaling their forces. York County Democratic Chairman Bob Kefauver said the national re-election campaign for President Barack Obama has two workers in York County. One is a Dillsburg resident, and the other is an intern from the University of Pennsylvania, Kefauver said. York County Republican Chairman A. Carville "Peck" Foster said local Republicans have not been contacted by a...

A poll unveiled this week from American Research Group shows that three Republican presidential candidates -- U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska -- are gaining serious momentum in Iowa, site of the first presidential caucus. Bachmann, who declared her candidacy in June and has been surging in polls at both the national and state levels, topped the poll with 21 percent. Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts placed second with 18 percent. Paul, who was the Libertarian candidate in 1988 and ran for the Republican nomination in...

This is a personal experience so indulge me. Also, I still have a bit of Guinness hangover, so forgive the vague details. However, what I do write is the truth from the events that took place. Last night, after doing a performance at the Iota Club in Arlington, VA, I needed to relax, to get rid of the adrenaline built up from performing. So, a buddy who came to see me perform invited me to go to a hookah bar nearby. For those who do not know what hookah is, it is a communal pipe, cooled by water, that you...

Sarah Palin draws crowds with her hide-and-seek bus tour. Michele Bachmann says Palin’s plans won’t dissuade her from her likely presidential bid. Iowa GOP activists travel to New Jersey to implore Gov. Chris Christie to run, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry weighs a campaign. The Republican presidential field is far less settled than it seemed just a week ago, and it shows few signs of jelling soon. With campaigning off to a slow start in early-voting states, half a dozen potential candidates are mulling whether to jump in. So keen is the interest, among journalists at least, that two news...

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was met by a gaggle of reporters outside of Philadelphia's Independence Hall Tuesday, on day three of her "One Nation" bus tour. The question du jour: Will she or won't she run for president? The would-be-candidate once again refused to "put a timetable" on when she will announce her decision, but when asked by CBS affiliate WKYW if she could beat President Obama, Palin replied, "To put it concisely - yes." Palin also noted her belief that most of the Republicans in the field "have a very good chance" of beating the president, and specifically...

Of all the complaints about Sarah Palin and her bus tour, this one’s easily the strangest. CBS reports that the media has begun to grumble that Palin’s decision to keep them out of the loop on the tour’s stops have created a dangerous working environment for reporters: Since Palin and her team won’t share where the potential candidate is headed, reporters and producers have little choice but to simply stay close to Palin’s bus. This has resulted in scenes of the Palin bus tooling down the highway followed by a caravan of 10 or 15 vehicles – including a massive...

Sarah Palin revealed this much today during a surprise stop in Dillsburg today: she has no plans to appear on Dancing with the Stars. “She assured me she wasn’t,” laughed Carroll Twp. resident Richard Weigel, who questioned her on the subject. That was right after Weigel asked if she planned to make Coffee Express in Dillsburg the site of a presidential run announcement. Palin assured Weigel any such announcement will have to wait for another time and place. Weigel, 69, was among about a half-dozen people sitting in the tiny coffee shop when Palin's tour bus rolled up around 10:30...

GETTYSBURG, Pa. — Sarah Palin has apparently decided that she can treat the media any way she wants — and they will be there regardless. And she might not be wrong. On Monday night, the media following the former Alaska governor were hot and sweaty, sitting in 100-degree weather at the Gettysburg battlefield, when they got the word: Ms. Palin was at the Courtyard by Marriott a few minutes away. Within a half-hour, about a dozen reporters were lined up at the Courtyard counter, asking for rooms overlooking the hotel’s parking lot. As a reporter noted, one could keep an...

One drawback for the GOP is that the few Republicans who are household names in Pennsylvania are either not interested in running — former Govs. Tom Ridge and Mark Schweiker — or are preoccupied with other endeavors. Santorum recently set up a fundraising committee that allows him to take the first steps toward a presidential bid next year. At the other end of the spectrum is Harrisburg lawyer Mark Scaringi, a former Santorum aide who is the only declared candidate. Scaringi, who has not previously run for public office, has been traveling across the state to drum up support from...

Former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum slammed former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney Thursday, yanking his support for the potential Republican presidential candidate. “I have a lot of concerns about him in this election cycle because of the pre-eminence of health care and the issue of Romneycare,” Mr. Santorum said. Mr. Santorum, who endorsed Mr. Romney in 2008, said he does not plan to support Mr. Romney in 2012 because “It’s a different field. It’s a different set of issues.” The announcement comes as Mr. Santorum prepares for his own run for president. The Pennsylvania Republican has traveled to a number...

Sam Rohrer, the Tea Party candidate who made a surprisingly strong showing in last year's (Pa)Republican gubernatorial primary, is being touted for U.S. Senate. A Facebook page has even been set up to push him into a candidacy.

The Republican Party of Pennsylvania, today at its annual Winter Meeting, endorsed Vic Stabile of Cumberland County for state Superior Court and Anne Covey of Bucks County for Commonwealth Court. Judges to these bodies are chosen in state-wide elections. The GOP won all races during the last state-wide judicial election.

Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-9) has been diligent about tweeting updates to the goings on of the Pennsylvania Senate. Yesterday, for instance, he informed the world that the Senate Rules Committee has a new website with links to documents filed by cabinet and other nominees. He notes that Senate Bill 106 has been introducted by Sen. Kim Ward (R-39) to amend the state Constitution to prohibit lame-duck legislative sessions.

An impending snowstorm and a four-hour drive back to Johnstown kept conservative favorite Peg Luksik from her traditional mingle with the crowd but she still entranced a banquet room of Delaware County Patriots (Pa) with her hour-plus talk of tips on dealing with elected officials. Tonight's meeting was at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Newtown Square which was a bit of a break for Peg since it was a half-hour closer to the the Turnpike than the Kings Mills in Aston where the meetings had been held. She said getting home took a priority this night since she was...

A Democratic Congressman plans to bring in a bill to outlaw violent symbols targeting members of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Senate, or the judiciary. In an inteview on CNN, Robert Brady (D-Penn) said he wants to make it a federal crime to use threatening language or symbols against federal officials. "All we are trying to do is protect ourselves and our staff members," Brady said. When asked when the legislation would be brought forward, he replied it would be on the "first day when we go back in session". Brady hinted that a controversial map created by Sarah...

John Lawrence, the Tea Party Republican who beat incumbent Democrat Tim Houghton in November to represent the 13th District in the Pennsylvania House has declared that he will accept neither per diems nor pension. “The citizens of Chester County are tired of rhetoric and are looking for action,” he said. “If we are truly going to reduce the financial burden on taxpayers and get a handle on excessive state spending, then it is incumbent upon me as a lawmaker to lead by example.” Lawrence advocates replacing the current defined benefit plans for government workers with a defined contribution plan akin...

Gov.-elect Tom Corbett has tapped Diana Reimer, a co-founder of the Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots and statewide coordinator for the national Tea Party Patriots organization, as a member of the Budget, Pensions and Revenue Committee of his transition team. He also picked Ana Puig, who co-chairs the Kitchen Table Patriots of Bucks County, for a spot on the teams' Education Committee.

Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Domenic Pileggi (R-9) entered the den that was Avondale Presbyterian Church, Dec. 2, to face about 130 lions associated with Chester County Tea Party groups. He answered generally unfriendly questions without getting flustered then stayed long after the event ended to field more. The event was sponsored by Coalition for Advancing Freedom . That's not to say the questions were always answered completely or clearly. Pileggi began with a description of what to expect in the next legislative session in which the Republicans will control the state house, senate and governor's office. He touched on redistricting...

Little Bobby Casey, who is Pennsylvania's other Democrat senator, voted no yesterday, Nov. 30, on an attempt to place a three-year moratorium on earmarks. Earmarks are a legislative provisions that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects, or that directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees. They are also known as pork, which makes it puzzling why Little Bobby would vote for such an unpopular thing as he is not known for being able to bring home the bacon. Of course, he is known for being able to take orders so it's probably not that puzzling. Bobby...

The Pennsylvania Legislature jumped on the big green bandwagon in 2008 and overwhelmingly passed the Pennsylvania Impoverishment Act otherwise known as Act 129. The law mandates a 3 percent reduction in the retail consumption of electricity -- 4.5 percent for peak demand -- by May 31, 2013 and creates an unelected commission that is empowered to make further demands as it sees fit. The baseline is the electric power consumed between June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2010.

Rep. Sam Smith of the 66th District got the nod to be Speaker of the Pennsylvania House at a closed door meeting of the soon-to-be-in-control Republican caucus on Nov. 9 but the official vote comes Jan. 4 and it will be done in the open. Bob Guzzardi of LibertyIndex.Com notes that if all Democrats and 11 Republicans vote against Smith, he will not get the job. Smith was the man who submitted the infamous 2005 legislative pay-raise bill. To his credit, though, he voted against the recently passed Gen Theft Pension Bailout Bill. (snip) The state's Tea Party movement is...

HB 2497 aka Gen Theft was sent to the governor's desk for a signature Nov. 15 after a 165 to 31 vote in the Pennsylvania House. The sick thing is that 32 minutes earlier a vote to declare the bill unconstitutional passed the House on a 128-68 vote. This means that 39 legislators ended up voting for a bill they had voted to be unconstitutional.

Today's Delaware County Daily Times had a tough editorial calling for the abolition of teacher strikes. The Times points out that teachers in Moon Area School District across the state in Allegheny County went on strike after being offered a 2.88 percent raise. The Times points out that teachers in the Bethel Park School District, also in Allegheny County, who get salaries of between $45,700 and $92,548 are striking, offended by the district's request that they pay 2 percent of their individual health plans and 4 percent of their family ones. They now pay 0.5 percent and 0.9 percent respectively....

The Pennsylvanian Generation Theft Bill -- termed by its supporters "needed pension reform" -- was approved by the State House this afternoon 165-31. It goes on to Gov. Ed Rendell for his certain signature. It was strongly supported by government unions such as the PSEA. The first time the House passed HB 2497 on June 16 the vote was 192-6. The Senate passed it Oct. 16 by a 41-8 vote, however, it tacked on amendments which required a new vote in the House. On Nov. 5, lame duck Speaker Keith McCall announced that his assembly would be quitting for the...

The Delaware County (Pa) Patriots, the county's tea party group, has taken a stand against HB 2497 , which state House Finance Committee Minority Chairman Sam Rohrer has called "generational theft " . The bill attempts to resolve the severe funding shortfalls of Pennsylvania's largest pension plans -- Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) and State Employees Retirement System (SERS) -- by deferring pension payments and increasing the unfunded liability by tens of billions of dollars. Rohrer of the 128th District was only one of six to vote against HB 2497 when it passed the Democrat-controlled House on June 16....

A standing-room-only crowd of 50 attended this morning's post-election meeting of Philadelphia-area tea party groups for a panel discussion moderated by journalist Chris Freind at a conference room at The Union League of Philadelphia. The panel was Diana Reimer of the Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots, Jennifer Turner Stefano of the Conservative Leadership Coalition, Lisa Esler of Delaware County Patriots, Diane Canney of Valley Forge Patriots, Teri Adams of the Independence Hall Tea Party Association, and Kevin Kelly of The Loyal Opposition, which hosted the event. Before the discussion started the group was given a bit of good news from the...

PLUMSTEADVILLE, Pennsylvania — Sarah Palin teased yet another audience about whether she will seek the presidency in 2012, but the US conservative powerhouse insisted that if she did run, she would be "in it to win it." Palin, the Republican 2008 vice presidential candidate, told several hundred people at a fundraiser for a Christian school in Pennsylvania that she would need to take "prayerful consideration" of a White House bid and acknowledged such a move would require "great sacrifices" from her family. "I wouldn't do it just to shake it up," she said when asked whether she was considering a...

Punxsutawney Samuel H. Smith of the 66th District was elected Speaker of the Pennsylvania House by his fellow Republicans this morning. He assumes the role when the new legislative session starts Jan. 4 in which the Republicans will hold a 21-seat majority in the 203-member House. Smith's name is the first among the submitters of the infamous 2005 pay raise.

The pundits say Jason "Glory Grabber" Altmire will be among the few Dem congressional incumbents who won't be sweating on Tuesday but there those in his Pennsylvania 4th District who still have hopes to change that. (snip) And those pundits? The most recent Susquehanna poll showed Altmire ahead of Rothfus 47 percent to 35 percent. It seems any well-known incumbent under 50 percent ought to sweat a little.

Seeking to pick up some steam for the last stretch of his senate bid, Congressman Joe Sestak held a rally at 5 o'clock today in the heart of his 7th District in Media Borough which is the Democrat-sympathetic Delaware County seat. He was greeted by 25 Republicans and tea party protesters which was not all that much smaller than the pro-Sestak contingent estimated to be about 100 at the time of the speech but included several supporters of other candidates. Since the Sestak rally was in the parking lot of a vacant car dealership -- an unwise and poorly planned...

GOP Challenger Tim Burns has the edge in dollars for the final sprint in Pennsylvania's 12 District congressional race. As of Sept. 30, he had $409,735 in the bank compared to $263,182 for incumbent Democrat Mark Critz.

DUBUQUE, IOWA — Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is throwing down the gauntlet in the first-in-the-nation state of Iowa. The former Philadelphia mayor and chairman of the Democratic National Committee is calling on Democrats to help him match the political star power of Sarah Palin. In an e-mail to Iowa Democrats, the tough-talking Rendell is promising to draw a bigger crowd at the state party's upcoming Jefferson-Jackson dinner than Palin was able to muster at the GOP's annual Ronald Reagan dinner last month. "Sarah Palin was able to get 1,300 people to show up at the Republican Party of Iowa’s dinner...

The Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police, today, endorsed Republican and former Congressman Pat Toomey, who represented the 15th District, for U.S. Senate over Democrat Congressman Joe Sestak who represents the 7th District.

Distressing signals for Democrats keep streaming in as key polls in two major electoral bellwether states show the prospect of major gains for Republicans in November. Long considered two critical and accurate measures of the electorate’s mood in Presidential and other federal races, recent polls in Ohio and Pennsylvania are showing signs of voter disappointment with Democrats, particularly in hard fought Senate and Gubernatorial races gaining national attention. In a soon-to-be-released survey by Raleigh, NC-based Public Policy Polling, a majority of Ohio-based respondents surveyed claim they’d prefer former President George W. Bush in the White House than current President Barack...

The Republican's road to returning as the party representing Pennsylvania's 8th District in Congress got a little easier after a successful petition challenge knocked conservative independent Tom Lingenfelter off the ballot, Thursday. Commonwealth Court Judge Dan Pellegrini ruled that 769 signatures on the petition were invalid because they were obtained by circulators who lived outside the district. snip Among those circulating the petitions for Lingenfelter were two interns working for Democrat incumbent Patrick Murphy. The Republican in the race is former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, who Murphy beat by 1,518 votes in 2006.

The state Supreme Court, yesterday, ordered the trial judge to unseal documents relating to the cases of state Sen. Jane Clare Orie (R-40) and her sister, Janine Orie. The Ories have been charged in Allegheny County with theft of service and other crimes relating to the allegation that they improperly assigned state employees to work on the successful election campaign of their sister Joan Orie Melvin to the state Supreme Court last fall. The 40th District includes part of Allegheny County. The District Attorney is Stephen Zappala, a Democrat and a political enemy of the Ories.

LibertyIndex.com run by Bob Guzzardi of Bryn Mawr is a fascinating site full of useful information where each bill passed by the Pennsylvania legislature since 2003 is analyzed with regard as to how it effects the liberty of the residents of the Commonwealth. The legislators are then graded on their support for liberty based on their votes. The site defines The Liberty Index rating as an "assessment of whether a piece of legislation advances or restrains individual liberty, particularly, economic freedom to spend your money the way you think best." The highest grade for a Delaware County legislator is the...

Pennsylvania's filing deadline for minor and independent candidates for state-wide races was yesterday. Among those who appear to have acquired the needed number of signatures are John Krupa, who is running for governor under the "Tea Party" banner; engineer Douglas Jaimson who is running for U.S. Senate as a Libertarian; and York County homosexual activist Marakay Rogers who will be the Libertarian candidate for governor. Ms. Rogers running mate will be Kat Valleley.