Archive for the ‘Election’ Category

PA GOP News Brief 9.3.10

1. Philadelphia Daily News: Sestak Clarifies Controversial “Earmark” Timeline

2. Pittsburgh Tribune-Reivew: Onorato: Make gas drillers pay, not taxpayers

3. Delaware County Times: Meehan offers his plan for creating jobs

4. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: National unemployment rate up to 9.6 percent

5. The Hill: GOP seizes on expiring tax cuts as unemployment ticks up

1. Philadelphia Daily News: Sestak Clarifies Controversial “Earmark” Timeline

U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak reached out to PhillyClout this afternoon to clarify his explanation from earlier this week about a $350,000 federal spending “earmark” that has been seized on by his Republican opponent in the race for the U.S. Senate, former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey.  Sestak told us Monday that he had no idea the constituent who requested the earmark in February in the name of the non-profit Thomas Paine Foundation of Media was also linked to a for-profit corporation, New Way Energy LLC in Aston.

Turns out that’s not exactly correct.  Sestak just released a letter that he sent to the U.S. Department of Energy on April 12 that clearly connects the non-profit organization to the for-profit company. Sestak also released the initial application for the funding, to pay for construction of a prototype for a vertical axis wind turbine, which has a less definitive connection between the non-profit and for-profit.

2. Pittsburgh Tribune-Reivew: Onorato: Make gas drillers pay, not taxpayers

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett wants taxpayers, not gas drillers, to pay for environmental protection along the Marcellus shale formation, Democratic nominee Dan Onorato charged Wednesday.

…

“Corbett believes (the Marcellus shale) must be developed responsibly and with strong environmental stewardship,” said Kevin Harley, Corbett’s campaign spokesman. “The difference is Onorato and Gov. (Ed) Rendell believe the answer is more taxes and spending.”

Corbett contends the economy will grow as businesses, including gas drilling, expand, Harley said.

3. Delaware County Times: Meehan offers his plan for creating jobs

Pat Meehan, the Republican candidate for the 7th Congressional District, discussed his plans to create jobs and improve the economy during a speech before the Upper Darby-Lansdowne Rotary Club Wednesday.

“The opportunity to put people back to work is through small business,” said Meehan.

Meehan said his job-creation plan includes a tax incentive to any small business that hires a first and second employee. He said there is a need to provide incentives to angel investors, such as a capital-gains tax break, so they will commit money to a business in its early startup stages.

4. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: National unemployment rate up to 9.6 percent

The nation’s unemployment rate ticked up slightly in August to 9.6 percent, an increase of just one-tenth of a percentage point over the July rate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning.

There were 14.9 million jobless workers in the country last month, up slightly from July as employers reported cutting another 54,000 non-farm jobs. Much of the job loss was directly attributable to the ending of the work on the U.S. Census. The federal government’s payroll fell in July by 114,000. That loss was only partially made up for by the private sector, which added 67,000 jobs.

Long-term unemployment fell during the month. The number of unemployed people who were out of work more than six months dropped to 6.2 million, a decline of nearly 300,000 people. They now make up 42 percent of the unemployed population.

5. The Hill: GOP seizes on expiring tax cuts as unemployment ticks up

Top Republicans urged Congress to extend all of the expiring Bush tax cuts as the August jobs report showed mixed results.

Numbers from the Labor Department released Friday indicated that unemployment ticked up to 9.6 percent but that private sector added 67,000 new jobs, even though the economy lost 54,000 overall.

House GOP Leader John Boehner (Ohio) and GOP Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) both released statements criticizing Democrats economic policies for failing to create enough jobs. But they also said that allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire at the end of the year will hinder the economic recovery.

“The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress’s official tax scorekeeper, estimates that the tax hike endorsed by President Obama and his economic team will raise taxes on 50 percent of the small business income in America,” Boehner said. “We will not solve our fiscal challenges until we cut spending and have real economic growth – and we won’t have real economic growth if we keep raising taxes on small businesses.”

PA GOP News Brief 9.1.10

1. PA GOP: Sestak Tries, Fails To Use Common Sense

2.    Delaware County Times: Guest Column: Sestak tax would see rates rocket

3.    The Mercury: GOP candidate: Reduce spending, extend tax cuts, repeal Obamacare

4.    Rasmussen Reports: Election 2010: Pennsylvania Senate

5.    The Washington Times: Editorial: Democrats party while nation suffers

1. PA GOP: Sestak Tries, Fails To Use Common Sense

Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason released the following statement regarding U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Joe Sestak’s continued refusal to take responsibility for his latest earmark scandal.

“How many times must the people of Pennsylvania be subjected to another scandal involving Joe Sestak, and how many times must we be forced to watch him refuse to take responsibility for his actions?,” Gleason said. “No matter how often he tries to avoid the countless questions regarding his actions, it was Joe Sestak who requested an unethical $350,000 earmark so that a group dedicated to promoting the ideals of a Founding Father could supposedly build a wind turbine.

“Joe Sestak’s office said he did ‘due diligence’ when his office decided to pursue this unethical earmark. Knowing what we know about the Thomas Paine Foundation, does it sound like an organization that is active in the field of turbine construction? Did Joe Sestak miss the fact that the Thomas Paine Foundation hadn’t filed with the IRS in the past six years, or did he just not care?

“Once again, the voters of Pennsylvania are left to draw their own conclusions regarding this shady situation. It’s time for Joe Sestak to learn that leaders stand up and take responsibility for their actions.”

2.Delaware County Times: Guest Column: Sestak tax would see rates rocket

Common sense says that if you impose a massive tax on a product, that product will be more expensive. And if that product is essential to a particular sector of our economy, then we will witness job losses in that sector. In fact, if I told you that taxing a particular industry would create jobs in that industry, you would probably laugh out loud.

But that is exactly the argument my Senate opponent, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak (D-7) of Edgmont, tried to make recently in a commentary on these pages.

Last spring, Congressman Sestak co-sponsored and voted for a cap-and-trade bill that would impose a massive tax on energy … This is a non-controversial concept. And a host of independent studies and bipartisan elected officials across Pennsylvania understand it — but not Congressman Sestak.

2. The Mercury: GOP candidate: Reduce spending, extend tax cuts, repeal Obamacare

Congressional candidate Dee Adcock says the best way to strengthen the nation’s economy is to pull the plug on the remaining money in the “stimulus” package approved last year.

“The government does not spend money well,” said Adcock, the Republican candidate for the 13th Congressional District seat held by Democrat Rep. Allyson Schwartz.

For the sake of cost certainty, Adcock also said Congress should act to extend the current tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year, even for Americans making more than $250,000 annually.

4. Rasmussen Reports: Election 2010: Pennsylvania Senate

Republican Pat Toomey continues to hold a modest lead over his Democratic Challenger, Joe Sestak, in the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state finds Toomey earning 45% of the vote, while Sestak earns 39% support. Five percent (5%) prefer some other candidate, and 11% are not sure.

5. The Washington Times: Editorial: Democrats party while nation suffers

It’s striking how little empathy Democrats seem to have for the economic troubles facing ordinary Americans. While unemployment and underemployment rates remain sky-high, economic growth falters. During the last quarter of 2009, gross domestic product grew 1.4 percent, but that figure fell to 0.9 percent in the first quarter of this year and just 0.4 percent in the second. “Now the fun stuff starts!” Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. said in a bubbly interview with Time magazine last week regarding the administration’s stimulus plan. “This is a chance to do something big, man!”

The team at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. has more interest in redecorating the Oval Office than in feeling your pain. In fact, it is downright excited to take advantage of the economic downturn to push the stuff that otherwise could never be done.

PA GOP News Brief 8.30.10

1. PA GOP: Liberal Joe Sestak Earmark Issues Continue

2. PA GOP: Did Pennsylvania’s Other Elected Officials Know About Kanjo’s Plans To Bomb The 11th Congressional District

3. The Patriot-News: Candidates for governor heat up race

4. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Beck’s D.C. rally draws 500,000 to honor heroes

5. Lancaster New Era: Sarah Palin’s speech is a hit in Hershey

6. The Hill: GOP chances of winning House are rising as midterm election nears

7. Lancaster New Era: Don’t hike license fees to fix roads

8. Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Help me (less), says Danny O – Must Read

1.    PA GOP: Liberal Joe Sestak Earmark Issues Continue

Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason released the following statement criticizing Joe Sestak for funneling taxpayer dollars through a nonprofit organization to a for-profit company.  Sestak’s latest scandal appeared in an article in The Morning Call on Saturday.

“Joe Sestak talks a lot about how he is different from the typical Washington, D.C. politician, but his actions speak much louder than words ever could,” Gleason said. “It appears that the further we dig into Joe’s record, the more it becomes clear just how entrenched he is in the Washington, D.C. way of doing business.

“In this case, Sestak either knowingly diverted money to a for-profit company or he does not do the proper research necessary before earmarking funds. Either way, Joe Sestak’s actions raise some serious questions about his ability to serve as a Congressman and certainly don’t warrant a promotion to the U.S. Senate.”

2. PA GOP: Did Pennsylvania’s Other Elected Officials Know About Kanjo’s Plans To Bomb The 11th Congressional District

Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason released the following statement regarding Congressman Paul Kanjorski’s announcement that Luzerne County may be the new home of a military-style training camp that would result in the detonation of 500 bombs each year in the 11^th Congressional District.  Gleason also questioned whether or not U.S. Senators Casey and Specter, Governor Ed Rendell, members of the state legislature or the Pennsylvania State Police were aware of the project.

“Congressman Paul Kanjorski will do absolutely anything to get re-elected, even if it means blowing up part of his district,” Gleason said. “With so many explosives involved and the possibility of public backlash against the project, one can’t help but wonder if Congressman Kanjorski discussed his plans to bring this facility to Luzerne County with U.S. Senators Casey or Specter, Governor Ed Rendell, local members of the state legislature or the Pennsylvania State Police.  One can only imagine how many complaints the Pennsylvania State Police will receive as bombs are detonated more than once a day, nine or ten times a week.

“Kanjorski’s announcement last week was a desperate move by a desperate candidate who sees his long career as a Washington, D.C. bureaucrat coming to an end.”

3.The Patriot-News: Candidates for governor heat up race

Some observers say Labor Day weekend serves as the unofficial kickoff to the fall political campaigns, but the state’s gubernatorial candidates aren’t waiting that long.

Republican Tom Corbett and Democrat Dan Onorato began ratcheting up their political attacks on each other last week.

Onorato, who is behind in most polls, has been aggressively hammering Corbett. While Corbett had been less visible earlier in the summer, he has made more campaign stops in recent days, including an appearance in Palmyra.

4. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Beck’s D.C. rally draws 500,000 to honor heroes

Glenn Beck fans, drawn by the conservative TV and radio talk show host’s promise of an American revival, streamed to the National Mall on Saturday from the four points of the compass.

Beck’s organizers had told the National Park Service that they expected as many as 300,000 people at the rally. Attendance might have exceeded that mark, with a crowd estimate of as many as 500,000 from rally organizers.

…

“Look past the monuments,” Beck implored the crowd. “Where are the heroes of today?”

Beck and Palin pointed to the military, fighting the nation’s longest war.

5. Lancaster New Era: Sarah Palin’s speech is a hit in Hershey

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin urged conservatives to continue fighting for a “culture of life, a pro-family agenda that will strengthen our country” and a drastically limited government in Washington.

She called the growing national debt a burden on families and “the greatest national security threat we face.”

“We need to demand that Washington start putting our kids first and stop racking up the debt and mortgaging our futures,” Palin told a sold-out crowd of some 1,100 people Friday night at Pennsylvania Family Institute’s annual fundraiser at the Hershey Lodge.

6. The Hill: GOP chances of winning House are rising as midterm election nears

The playing field of competitive House races has expanded substantially over the past two months, increasing the chances that Republicans will control the lower chamber next year.

The news is good for Republicans, as many open seats are trending to the GOP while dozens of Democratic incumbents are scrambling to keep their jobs.

Democratic leaders are on the defensive, making the case they can still retain the majority in November while playing defense in districts they weren’t expecting to be concerned about earlier in the cycle.

7. Lancaster New Era: Don’t hike license fees to fix roads

As his term comes to an end in uncertain economic times, Gov. Ed Rendell is casting about for any and all tax revenue he can find.

He wants to tax companies extracting gas from Marcellus Shale. He wants to tax oil companies that sell gasoline. And he wants to increase fees for every Pennsylvanian who drives.

Whether taxes on gas and oil should be raised is one thing. Whether fees should be raised for drivers is quite another.

Unequivocally, fees should not be increased for drivers. They are suffering enough.

8. Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Help me (less), says Danny O

The Trib has obtained an exclusive copy of a letter from Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, the Democrats’ nominee for governor, to fellow Democrat Gov. Ed Rendell, who is entering the final four months of his second term. Onorato faces Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett in the November general election.

Dear Ed:

I can’t thank you enough for all your help. Having your people assist my fundraising, along with the right word from you here or there, helped me raise millions of dollars.

It was a stroke of genius in July 2009, while declaring your neutrality in the Democrat primary, that you stated I would “probably be our next governor.”

Wow! Did the money roll in after that. Having a couple of your people on staff has been an enormous help, too. I owe my primary victory to you and I haven’t forgotten my promise to continue sending legal work to the Ballard Spahr law firm in Philadelphia, keep Donna Cooper on as director of policy, do whatever Comcast needs and wear a Philadelphia Eagles shirt during Monday night games (as long as the Steelers aren’t playing). I’ll even do the Eagles post-game analysis on Comcast.

I’ll keep Aramark on to run the Capitol cafeteria. It’s been months since they’ve found any rodent droppings.

But I really need your help again — in a big way. Please don’t be offended. But I really need you to back off a bit, stop talking about raising taxes and curtail the endless news conferences.

Look, I know it is against your nature but you’ve seen the poll numbers showing the Rendell “fatigue” among voters. You’ve heard the talk about legislators who can’t wait for you to leave town.

On two occasions recently you stated that lawmakers should pass state gas taxes and fees now because a major candidate for governor, Corbett, has signed an anti-tax pledge.

It sounded, Ed, like you were saying Corbett is going to win. You didn’t say Corbett would win but, hey, some people got that impression.

The tax talk in the first place creates problems for me. You know I won’t sign that idiotic anti-tax pledge from Americans for Tax Reform. You and I both believe it’s foolish to lock yourself in.

Corbett keeps harping on my refusal to sign that thing and I won’t.

He’s Mr. Flip-Flop for saying his anti-tax pledge doesn’t include transportation fees and tolls.

User fees are a tax and, before it’s said and done, a gas tax hike will be on the table as well. I came out against any tax hike after Corbett’s statement and I said I’d be hard-pressed to consider any fee increase. Those nagging reporters kept trying to get me to say I would never raise taxes or fees during my term and that would be like signing the stupid pledge.

Corbett claims user fees, like driver’s license fees and tolls on high-occupancy-vehicle lanes, are things people choose to pay.

I can’t say too much because the Port Authority of Allegheny County might run out of money next year and I can’t allow that to happen on my turf.

Corbett is hitting me on a litany of tax increases in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.

Can you believe it?

So you clearly see my dilemma and whatever you can do to go out a little more quietly would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely, your humble servant, Dan (or “Rendell lite,” as some call me).

PA GOP News Brief – 8.27.10

1. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Political poll shows Toomey, Corbett ahead

2. Erie Times-News: Toomey campaigns in Erie, Crawford counties

3. Centre Daily Times: GOP candidates stump at Grange Fair

4. The Hill: New ad slams Sestak’s votes on the economy

5. Scranton Times-Tribune: Kanjorski’s projects don’t always pan out

1. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Political poll shows Toomey, Corbett ahead

A new poll shows Republican Pat Toomey ahead of Democrat Joe Sestak in their U.S. Senate race.

The Franklin & Marshall College poll shows Mr. Toomey with the support of 40 percent of likely voters to Mr. Sestak’s 31 percent. About a quarter remain undecided with about 9 weeks left until the Nov. 2 general election.

Mr. Toomey and Mr. Sestak are vying for the seat currently held by Arlen Specter, who was knocked off by Mr. Sestak in the primary.

2. Erie Times-News: Toomey campaigns in Erie, Crawford counties

U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey brought his RV tour of Pennsylvania communities to a mostly friendly audience in Erie but encountered a few speed bumps.

Toomey, the GOP candidate in one of the most closely watched Senate races in the nation, spoke Thursday morning to about 50 people at the Manufacturer & Business Association.

Toomey, a former Lehigh County congressman, told the group that he wants to create job growth and restore what he called balance and fiscal sanity to Washington, D.C.

Toomey, who is running against Democrat Joe Sestak, made Erie and the Crawford County Fair two stops on the final day of his 23-county, four-day “more jobs, less government” recreational-vehicle tour.

3. Centre Daily Times: GOP candidates stump at Grange Fair

Fairgoers saw a lot of Republican red Thursday while the Centre County Democratic Committee’s booth, two tents away, stood empty.

Pennsylvania lieutenant governor candidate Jim Cawley joked about the absence of his opponent, Rep. Scott Conklin, who is also seeking reelection to the state’s 77th House District.

“Maybe he can’t figure out which sign he has to put up: the lieutenant governor sign or the state representative sign,” Cawley said as he waited for U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey’s bus to arrive.

The Centre County Republican Committee tent buzzed with activity as Toomey dropped in for about 30 minutes and got a quick tour of the grounds with Joyce Haas, the Republican who’s running against Conklin for the 77th district seat.

4. The Hill: New ad slams Sestak’s votes on the economy

The Club for Growth on Friday announced a new ad that criticizes Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Penn.) for supporting mortgage and energy reform, and the stimulus bill, saying the votes were too liberal and too expensive for Pennsylvania voters.

“We can’t afford Joe Sestak’s liberal schemes,” the ad states.

The ad is the group’s first against Sestak as he and Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) vie for the seat currently held by Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn.).

5. Scranton Times-Tribune: Kanjorski’s projects don’t always pan out

As unemployment remains high and polls show voters nervous about the economy, U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, facing re-election, is doing everything he can to focus on bringing jobs to the area.

Last week, Mr. Kanjorski casually dropped word that a hybrid automobile manufacturer is considering Northeast Pennsylvania for a national headquarters and factory that could eventually employ 4,000 people.

“They came to us,” Mr. Kanjorski said.

On Thursday, Mr. Kanjorski took officials of the U.S. Department of State and the General Services Administration on a tour of Earth Conservancy land because they are looking for a place to build a center to train about 10,000 people a year in diplomatic security. If built here, it could mean 1,000 jobs, Mr. Kanjorski said.

The common thread to the two developments is this: Mr. Kanjorski is getting attention as he runs for election, but neither is guaranteed.

PA GOP News Brief – 8.26.10

1. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Toomey defends financial positions during campaign stop

2. Indiana Gazette: Gubernatorial hopeful Corbett tours IRMC

3. The Morning Call: Dent takes aim at Callahan

4. The Patriot News: Republican candidates in Pennsylvania senate, governor’s races lead among likely voters, poll shows

5. The Wall Street Journal: Karl Rove: Honey, I Shrunk My Approval Ratings

1. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Toomey defends financial positions during campaign stop

Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey yesterday accused Democrats of “demagoguery” for criticizing his positions on Social Security and deregulating the financial instruments some blame for deepening the recession.

Toomey, a former Lehigh County congressman, said he still supports a law that exempted derivatives from some of the laws governing securities. He noted the law — the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 — passed the House by a vote of 377 to 4, passed the Senate unanimously and was signed by Democratic President Bill Clinton.

“That bill did absolutely nothing to cause the financial crisis, and no credible person has tried to make that argument,” Toomey said between campaign stops in Butler and McCandless. Asked whether he’d vote for it again, he said: “Yes. I think all 377 (House members) would vote for it again.”

2. Indiana Gazette: Gubernatorial hopeful Corbett tours IRMC

Gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett said while he hasn’t read all 2,000 pages of the health care reform bill, he’s heard from community hospitals such as Indiana Regional Medical Center that the impact is “going to be hard.”

As Pennsylvania’s attorney general, Corbett joined a lawsuit with a number of other states challenging the constitutionality of the bill, which was signed into law by the president in March.

“It is such a challenging issue for the next governor,” he told administrators and staff at IRMC Tuesday afternoon. “We’re not counting on Washington; we’re doing everything we can.”

3. The Morning Call: Dent takes aim at Callahan

Gearing up for perhaps his toughest re-election fight, three-term Congressman Charlie Dent cast an opponent Wednesday as a tax-and-spend Democrat who had been “deceptive” about his own record and is ducking major issues like national security.

In slam after slam, Dent used his first major news conference of the campaign to summarize three months of press releases. He tried to tie Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan to President Barack Obama and to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose priorities Dent describes as leaving “economic chaos and uncertainty.”

Meanwhile, Republican Dent described himself as serving as a “check and balance against reckless spending and job-killing legislation.”

4. The Patriot News: Republican candidates in Pennsylvania senate, governor’s races lead among likely voters, poll shows

With voter anxiety over the shaky economy and faltering recovery, Republican candidates at the top of Pennsylvania’s ballot are riding high.

Democrats find themselves on the wrong side of an enthusiasm gap with 10 weeks to go before Election Day, according to the Franklin & Marshall College poll released today.

“Democrats are at a decided disadvantage when it comes to voter motivation,” said F&M pollster G. Terry Madonna.

The poll points to ominous signs for Democrats. Voters are pessimistic about the state’s direction, the economy, and the performance of President Barack Obama, Madonna said. And Democratic voters say they are less likely to vote than Republicans.

5. The Wall Street Journal: Karl Rove: Honey, I Shrunk My Approval Ratings

In what will rank as one of the all-time presidential PR disasters, we’re now well over half way through what the White House called “the summer of recovery.” And what a recovery it’s been.

Earlier this month, first-time claims for unemployment hit a nine-month high. The unemployment rate remains at 9.5% and 18.4% of workers are out of a job, can only get part-time work, or have given up looking for a job altogether. Sales of existing homes dropped 27% from June to July, hitting the lowest point since data were first collected in 1999. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell to 50.4 in July, continuing a slide that started in February. And the stock market is down 11% from its peak in April.

All of this has helped shatter public confidence in the president. In early May, Mr. Obama’s approval on the economy in the YouGov/Polimetrix poll was 42%. By mid-August, it was 35%—a frightening number for Democrats less than 70 days from a midterm election.

PA GOP News Brief – 8.25.10

1. Philadelphia Daily News: Toomey’s window has a view of DC

2. PA GOP: Time For DRPA Chairman John Estey To Go! Does Onorato agree?

3. The Hill: Boehner dials up attack on Obama; calls for firing of White House economic team

4. PA 2010: Rothfus says Altmire’s mosque opposition just posturing

5. Altoona Mirror: Obama props lacking

1. Philadelphia Daily News: Toomey’s window has a view of DC

There’s no mystery behind what looks like a surge for Pat Toomey.

Elections turn on windows opening at various times on various issues. Toomey’s benefiting from an open window with a view of a sour economy.

And in the Senate race pitting Republican Toomey against Democrat Joe Sestak, at the moment little else matters: If that window stays open on the same view, you might want to get used to calling Toomey “Senator.”

Sestak, naturally, disagrees.

He tells me that he sees no Toomey surge and says that Pennsylvanians realize that economic damage didn’t just happen: “It happened on his watch [Toomey was in Congress from 1999 to 2005] and because of policies he supported.”

Still, there’s a wind at Toomey’s back.

All polling shows dissatisfaction with incumbents on voters’ top priorities – jobs and the economy. Toomey plays to this, asking, “Where is this recovery?”

2. PA GOP: Time For DRPA Chairman John Estey To Go! Does Onorato agree?

Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason released the following statement regarding the ongoing corruption scandals at the Delaware River Port Authority and called on DRPA Chairman John Estey to resign today.

“With an audit detailing excessive salaries, obscene car allowances and abuses of EZ Pass, I think many would agree that the way the DRPA is doing business under the leadership of John Estey is not in the best interests of the taxpayers,” Gleason said.  “Why wait to resign Mr. Estey?  Resign today!  I believe that every day that John Estey is allowed to stay in this position is another day that we allow mismanagement and a lack of leadership to continue at the DRPA.  In order for real reforms to take place and to help begin the long process of gaining back the public’s trust in the DRPA, Estey should resign now.”

…

“DRPA has put forth some reform measures only after getting caught; however, keeping Estey is akin to allowing a serial bank robber to guard the bank vault.”

3. The Hill: Boehner dials up attack on Obama; calls for firing of White House economic team

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) blasted the Obama administration’s economic policies in a speech Tuesday and called on the president to fire his top two economic lieutenants.

Boehner wants President Obama to ask for and accept the resignations of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Larry Summers, head of the National Economic Council. Firing his economic team is one of five actions Boehner argues the president should take to right the economy.

The White House fired back from the highest level. Speaking at a stimulus act event at the White House Tuesday, Vice President Biden ripped Boehner’s call to fire Geithner and Summers.

4. PA 2010: Rothfus says Altmire’s mosque opposition just posturing

If there’s one thing on which Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) and Republican opponent Keith Rothfus agree, it’s that an Islamic community center shouldn’t be built two blocks from ground zero in New York.

But their agreement ends there, and Rothfus says Altmire is just playing politics—albeit with a subject that has become a political rallying cry for candidates across the ideological spectrum.

“He saw this as an opportunity to step away from the president, rather than defend his record on unemployment and job creation,” Rothfus told pa2010.com recently.

5. Altoona Mirror: Obama props lacking

President Barack Obama has taken use of human beings as props to a whole new level.

When the president wants Congress to approve one of his bills, he trots out some “real people” to build public opinion in his favor.

Too bad White House aides don’t “vet” the props very well.

In July, seeking to pressure Congress over a bill to extend unemployment benefits, Obama held a press conference with three people whose benefits had run out.

Unfortunately, one of them, Leslie Macko of Charlottesville, Va., lost her job because she had been arrested for prescription drug fraud.

PA GOP News Brief 8.24.10

1. PA GOP: Blago: My Scandal And ‘Job-gate’ Are The “Same”

2. Philadelphia Inquirer: Toomey Stresses Economy As He Begins Tour Of Pennsylvania

3. Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice: Toomey: Bailout Not Fair To Taxpayers

4. Chambersburg Public Opinion: Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Corbett Campaigns In Chambersburg

5. The Hill: House GOP Leader To Call On Obama To Fire Geithner, Summers

1. PA GOP: Blago: My Scandal And ‘Job-gate’ Are The “Same”

Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason was not surprised to learn that impeached former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is equating his attempts to sell a U.S. Senate seat in Illinois with the White House’s attempts to bribe Joe Sestak out of the U.S. Senate race.

“You know it’s a bad time to be Joe Sestak when Rod Blagojevich is one of your biggest ‘Job-gate’ defenders,” Gleason said. “For months, Joe Sestak has refused to ‘spill the beans’ regarding the White House’s attempts to bribe him out of the U.S. Senate race, providing a series of confusing statements that have led to more questions than answers. It’s been seven months since ‘Job-gate’ first broke, and it looks like the only one who understands what happened is Rod Blagojevich.

2. Philadelphia Inquirer: Toomey Stresses Economy As He Begins Tour Of Pennsylvania

Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey rolled into town in an RV wallpapered with his campaign posters, on the first day of a four-day tour through 21 counties to argue that wrongheaded Democratic economic policies have failed to lift Main Street out of recession.

“I definitely want to see some changes, some new people in office,” Todd Miller, owner of M&S True Value Hardware on Broad Street, said when Toomey asked him how business was.

Earlier, in a speech to the Pennsylvania Press Club in Harrisburg, Toomey noted that the state had lost 71,700 jobs since the $787 billion federal stimulus was approved in early 2009. That bill was supposed to reduce the national unemployment rate to below 8 percent, he said.

“Where is the recovery?” Toomey asked.

3. Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice: Toomey: Bailout Not Fair To Taxpayers

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey accused Democratic candidate Joe Sestak of supporting Democratic policies designed to turn the country into “a European-style welfare state.”

Citing the Wall Street and the automobile industry bailouts, the $787 billion economic stimulus package and the $940 billion health-care reform bill, Toomey said they have led to “deficits and debt that are completely unaffordable” and a tepid economic recovery.

4. Chambersburg Public Opinion: Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Corbett Campaigns In Chambersburg

Local businessman William Gindlesperger on Monday pitched his Chambersburg company’s procurement technology to Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania attorney general.

Corbett and his “More Jobs, Less Taxes” bus stopped Monday at e-LYNXX in Chambersburg as part of the his statewide campaign tour of innovative businesses.

Corbett and his wife, Susan, toured the e-LYNXX offices at 1051 Sheffler Drive for about 45 minutes.

“We enjoyed the learning experience,” Corbett told Gindlesperger and a small audience. “You’re going to allow small business to compete with large business. We need every savings we can get. You just presented me an option (on how to save money).”

5. The Hill: House GOP Leader To Call On Obama To Fire Geithner, Summers

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is blasting the Obama administration’s economic policies in a speech Tuesday and calling on the president to fire his top two economic lieutenants.

Boehner, in prepared remarks, wants President Obama to ask for and accept the resignations of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Larry Summers, head of the National Economic Council. Firing his economic team is one of five actions Boehner argues the president should take to right the economy.

Boehner criticized the administration’s economic team for lacking private sector experience, saying employers and small businesses are “rightly frustrated” by the administration. “The lack of real-world, hands-on experience shows in the policies of this administration,” Boehner plans to say.

PA GOP News Brief 8.23.10

1. Allentown Morning Call: So Far, Sestak Back On His Heels

2. Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Republican Candidate Visits Area Airport

3. Sunbury Daily Item: Corbett Praises Valley Firm

4. Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Republican Candidate Takes Tour Of Jersey Shore Steel

5. Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: GOP Ahead In Area Congress Tilts

1. Allentown Morning Call: So Far, Sestak Back On His Heels

More than midway through the political calendar, Sestak seems endlessly on the defensive. It’s partly of his own doing, but largely because Toomey, with a sharper message and flush finances, has been the aggressor.

So far, Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate battle has been fought on Toomey’s terms.

2. Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Republican Candidate Visits Area Airport

“Our campaign is in a great position,” he said, adding that the Democratic administration and Congress is “making it easier” to win.

“This is a dangerous agenda,” Toomey said of the Democrats’ continuous spending. “It is staggering in scope, breadth and the departure of everything that made this country great.”

Of his Democratic opponent, Joe Sestak, Toomey said that “the contrast between what we stand for couldn’t be more clear.”

“I would never support the job-killing agenda these guys are pushing on us,” he said. “Joe Sestak is for all of it. In fact, he doesn’t think it goes far enough.”

Toomey was speaking of the multi-billion dollar stimulus package recently pushed through by the Obama administration.

3. Sunbury Daily Item: Corbett Praises Valley Firm

State government must reduce taxes and become fiscally responsible to help keep businesses like L/B Water Service in Selinsgrove thriving, says Tom Corbett, state attorney general and Republican gubernatorial candidate.

Pennsylvania has the resources and the people to be No. 1 in the nation in job creation, Corbett said, but that starts with good government leaders.

During a tour Friday, Corbett praised the Selinsgrove company for its business practices, including buying many products manufactured in Pennsylvania.

4. Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Republican Candidate Takes Tour Of Jersey Shore Steel

Corbett called for fiscal discipline, limited government and free enterprise.

“A tax increase does not help the economy,” he said.

The Rendell Administration has brought the state increased debt, higher taxes and a budget that in eight years rose from $22 billion to $28 billion, Corbett noted.

He said as attorney general he’s done more to clean up corruption in state government than any one else who’s held the office.

If elected governor, he’ll seek to reduce the state’s corporate net income tax to 6.9 percent and phase out the death tax. The corporate net tax stands at 9.99 percent.

5. Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: GOP Ahead In Area Congress Tilts

In the 11th District, polling of 400 likely voters shows U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, with a 96-93 percent lead over Barletta in name recognition. The slim difference may be because Barletta has run for the seat two times previously.

But poll results show Barletta receiving 52 percent of the vote, compared to just 41 percent for Kanjorski, a 13-term congressman. Seven percent were undecided. Sixty-three percent said it’s time for someone else to represent the district, while 31 percent said Kanjorski deserves re-election.

PA GOP News Brief 8.19.10

1. Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Toomey op-ed: Tax On Energy Would Only Hike Costs, Hurt Taxpayers

2. NRSC: Web video: “Extreme” featuring the PA-SEN Race

3. pa2010.com: Toomey: Economy Would Have ‘Bounced Back’ Better Without Stimulus

4. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Polls Show Corbett With Big Lead in Governor’s Race

5. Delaware County Daily Times: GOP Targets Election in 7^th District as a Big One (with video)

6. Wall Street Journal: Rove: Deconstructing Harry

1. Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Toomey op-ed: Tax On Energy Would Only Hike Costs, Hurt Taxpayers

We can and must support common-sense policies that protect our environment; but that goal can be achieved without abandoning 70,000 or more Pennsylvania jobs and imposing higher gas and electricity prices on all Pennsylvanians.

A focus on renewable energy, conservation, low-carbon energy such as natural gas, nuclear energy and cleaner-coal technology are all part of the solution. But as unemployment hovers above 9 percent, protecting our hardworking families must be our first priority.

2. NRSC: Web video: “Extreme” featuring the PA-SEN Race

As Politico’s “Morning Score” notes today:

BUZZING ON TWITTER: A new NRSC ad has Republicans atwitter on Twitter. Titled ‘Extreme,’ the slickly produced web spot slams Democratic messaging about the GOP being a party of extremists by pointing to poll results in various Senate races and popular support for various Republican positions.

3. pa2010.com: Toomey: Economy Would Have ‘Bounced Back’ Better Without Stimulus

Pat Toomey says that not only did the 2009 economic stimulus package not work, but it probably made things worse.

The GOP Senate nominee said Wednesday that the economy would “probably have bounced back much more strongly” without the stimulus, “because borrowing and spending doesn’t get you to prosperity.”

“We were promised that unemployment wouldn’t reach eight percent, it went over 10 percent,” Toomey said on Fox29.

4. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Polls Show Corbett With Big Lead in Governor’s Race

Susquehanna Polling & Research shows Mr. Corbett leading 43 to 33 percent over Mr. Onorato, with support that is “wide and deep” across the state. The GOP candidate is benefitting — and Mr. Onorato is hurting — from extraordinarily poor approval ratings for Democratic incumbent Ed Rendell, as well as worries statewide about the economy.

“Simply put, this animosity is not a Republican or Democrat thing. Rather, its very foundation is more driven by a lousy economic climate, a sentiment shared by most that our state is on the wrong track, and eight years of bad Rendell publicity piled high from continued late budgets, high taxes and record state spending,” said a release from Harrisburg-based Susquehanna.

5. Delaware County Daily Times: GOP Targets Election in 7^th District as a Big One (with video)

The National Republican Congressional Committee recently announced that it has plans to reserve television advertisement time in 41 districts, including the local 7th Congressional District.

“I’m very grateful for their support,” said Republican candidate Pat Meehan in an interview Wednesday following his stop at the Sterling Health Care and Rehab Center in Media. “I appreciate the competitive environment and I appreciate the additional support.”

6. Wall Street Journal: Rove: Deconstructing Harry

Democrats are in a terrible bind. Having pursued policies that have made our fiscal situation unsustainable, they are now reverting to old habits, trying to raise taxes to pay for their profligacy.

Mr. Reid is drawing attention to some of his party’s very worst impressions. Already facing the prospect of huge election losses in November, many Democratic candidates may find themselves victims of their majority leader’s extraordinarily bad judgment if he follows through on his decision to schedule a tax debate next month.

PA GOP News Brief 8.12.10

1. PA GOP: Joe Sestak vs. Bill Clinton: Who’s Telling The Truth On ‘Job-gate’?

2. Hot Air: Clinton backing away from Sestak story?

3. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: The race for governor: Onorato’s ploy

4. The Wall Street Journal: Karl Rove: The Blame Bush Strategy Won’t Work

5. The Delaware County Times: America must get to work creating jobs

1. PA GOP: Joe Sestak vs. Bill Clinton: Who’s Telling The Truth On ‘Job-gate’?

Republican Party of Pennsylvania Spokesman Mike Barley was shocked to hear former President Bill Clinton deny his role in attempting to bribe Joe Sestak out of the U.S. Senate race and demanded that all parties involved come together and tell Pennsylvanians the truth about the botched backroom deal.

“Why is it so difficult for Democrats like Joe Sestak to just come forward and tell the truth about the White House’s attempt to bribe Congressman Sestak out of the U.S. Senate race?,” Barley said. “First, Joe Sestak says that the White House offered him a job to get out of the Senate race. Then he says that Bill Clinton offered him an ‘unpaid advisory position’. Now, Bill Clinton is denying that anything happened at all. So who’s telling the truth about Job-gate, Joe Sestak or former President Bill Clinton?”

Click here to watch the video of Clinton’s denial.

2. Hot Air: Clinton backing away from Sestak story?

According to the Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, Bill Clinton has now denied that he acted as a go-between with Joe Sestak and the White House on a job offer to get out of the primary for the US Senate seat in Pennsylvania. Sestak had claimed to have received an offer of an administration job in exchange for his withdrawal, which prompted demands for a probe into potential violations of the law.

The issue died down when Sestak claimed, but which Clinton never addressed publicly, that the offer was a trial balloon that came from the former President and got somehow misinterpreted.  White House counsel Robert Bauer included it in the Obama administration’s report to the committee on the controversy:

“The White House Chief of Staff enlisted the support of former President Clinton who agreed to raise with Congressman Sestak options of service on a Presidential or other Senior Executive Branch Advisory Board. Congressman Sestak declined the suggested alternatives, remaining committed to his Senate candidacy.”

3. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: The race for governor: Onorato’s ploy

Dan Onorato must think Pennsylvania voters were born last night. Why else would his failing gubernatorial campaign deny culpability in a political stunt as old as the hills?

Mr. Onorato, the Allegheny County chief executive, is the Democrats’ nominee for governor in the Nov. 2 election. He faces Republican nominee Tom Corbett, the state’s attorney general. Onorato is trailing badly in the polls.

But surprise, surprise, there’s now a third-party candidate on the fall ballot. John Krupa of Clinton County, a member of the Constitution Party who’s aligned with the tea party movement. His candidacy could siphon votes from Mr. Corbett.

And a review of Mr. Krupa’s nominating petitions, filed last week, shows that it’s members of labor unions that have endorsed Onorato — and even one of Onorato’s campaign workers — behind the petitions.

Smell a political rat? Or should we say an OnoRATo?

4. The Wall Street Journal: Karl Rove: The Blame Bush Strategy Won’t Work

To save themselves in the midterm elections, Democrats are counting on selling two themes: The state of the economy is all George W. Bush’s fault, and Republican policies will take us backwards. President Obama relished going to Texas this week to blame his predecessor for the current bad economy.

Nice try, but it won’t work. Don’t take my word. This is what Mr. Obama’s pollster, Joel Benenson, has found. The Benenson Strategy Group wasn’t exactly quite this blunt in its report for the “Third Way,” a centrist Democratic organization. But its data was.

In its poll released in July, Benenson asked, “Generally speaking, who is more responsible for the recent economic recession—President Barack Obama or President George W. Bush?” The answer was Mr. Bush 53%, Mr. Obama 26%, and “Don’t know” 21%.

But answers to important issues like who’s responsible for the recession are rarely binary. Buried in the “Third Way” data was a different answer that went unmentioned in its covering memo. The question of who’s responsible for the recession was asked a second way, with more possible culprits.

5. The Delaware County Times: America must get to work creating jobs

We are in the midst of what can best be described as a “jobless recovery.”

If you’re one of the more than 25,000 people in Delaware County out there pounding the pavement looking for work, this does not come as news to you.

Sure, there have been some upticks. This week we learned that the arrival of table games in Pennsylvania has created a bit of a job boom on its own, adding 4,460 jobs in less than a month of operation.

But that was quickly tempered by the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

…

The Delaware County number is up from the 7.8 percent for the same month the year before.