Free Republic

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.