Posts Tagged ‘Jobs’

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 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 8.12.10

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.

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PA GOP News Brief – 8.4.10

1. The Morning Call: Dent visits Gulf Coast

2. The Pubilus Foundation: Onorato Reveals Plan to Illegally Extort Jobs from Marcellus Drillers

3. Redstate: Corbett steady as Toomey and Sestak joust

4. The Hill: GOP could dominate state redistricting

5. The Washington Times: Our sputtering economic engine

1. The Morning Call: Dent visits Gulf Coast

After nearly two days spent in the Gulf Coast to survey the region’s post- oil spill conditions, U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent said Tuesday he’s returning even more convinced that a moratorium on offshore drilling needs to be lifted.

Dent, a high-ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, visited with Homeland Security and Coast Guard officials as well as local government and business leaders. The latter, Dent said, are worried about their economy in the aftermath of April’s BP oil rig explosion that has pumped up to 184.3 million gallons of oil into the Gulf, according to federal estimates.

“They do not want this environmental disaster to become an economic catastrophe,” the Lehigh Valley congressman said in a phone interview. “People down here are very anxious and panicked. You get a real, palpable sense down here.”

2. The Pubilus Foundation: Onorato Reveals Plan to Illegally Extort Jobs from Marcellus Drillers

In a stunning development in the debate over Marcellus Shale exploration, Allegheny County Executive and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato suggested “he’d pressure natural gas drilling companies to hire Pennsylvania residents by threatening to withhold state drilling permits,” Scott Detrow of State House Sound Bites reported.

Elaborating on this strategy, Onorato said, “I think all governors apply pressure on every industry. The whole idea of being governor is you try to bring jobs and improve the economy of your state. We have a golden opportunity here, with the Marcellus Shale find. But we get one chance to get it right.”

Onorato’s approach to the handling of drilling permits is, simply put, a plan to extort jobs from natural gas drilling companies and his explanation of the Governor’s role in the economy reveals that he would, apparently, approach all businesses in this way if he is given the chance to do so. This approach is also, importantly, not legal and Governor Ed Rendell pointed this out when he said, “It’s not what we do. And you might be able to do that, but you’d probably have to change some regulations or get some legislation.”

3. Redstate: Corbett steady as Toomey and Sestak joust

While the Pennsylvania Senate race has lived up to my expectations of volatility (Rasmussen has swing from Pat Toomey +8 to Joe Sestak +4 back to Toomey +6 most recently), the race for Governor has been pretty boring.

No matter how many times this race gets polled, Republican Tom Corbett defies the recent partisan trend of Pennsylvania and consistently leads Democrat Dan Onorato, most recently by 11.

4. The Hill: GOP could dominate state redistricting

Republicans could hold complete control over the redistricting process in several key states after the 2010 elections.

If the party’s gubernatorial candidates were to emerge with wins in Texas, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan — all states where Republicans either lead or are tied in recent polls — and the GOP holds or wins control of legislative chambers in those same states, Republicans could monopolize the post-2010 redraw.

“If Republicans do really well on Election Day, they could swing a lot more seats that they would have control over,” said analyst Kimball Brace, who heads Election Data Services, a bipartisan firm that specializes in the census and redistricting. “A shift of 10 to 15 [state legislative] chambers is enough to swing [the process] dramatically toward the Republicans.”

5. The Washington Times: Our sputtering economic engine

As the nation’s economic engine continues to sputter, Americans are wondering when the administration’s promised “recovery summer” is going to start. From a peak annual growth rate of 5 percent last autumn, the measure of gross domestic product slid to 3.7 percent in the first quarter of 2010 and was down to 2.4 percent by the end of June. With 561 days as president under his belt, Barack Obama no longer has the luxury of passing blame for the situation to his predecessor, George W. Bush.

That’s a troubling thought for congressional Democrats who, in just three months, face midterm elections at the hands of a public dissatisfied with the state of affairs. According to an Angus Reid survey released last week, 86 percent of Americans rated the economic conditions as “poor” or “very poor,” while a mere 11 percent found the conditions to be “good” or “very good.” The positive responses are down from 15 percent in April. As if that weren’t bad enough, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner told ABC’s “Good Morning America” yesterday that things are likely to grow worse in the short term. Mr. Geithner predicted that unemployment would rise, which is an obvious consequence of the lack of growth in the private sector.

PA GOP News Brief – 7.28.10

1. Philadelphia Daily News: Sestak’s tone-deaf when it comes to earmarks

2. The Hill: Voters can’t shake deficit worries

3. Delaware County Times: Corbett: Businesses need help from state

4. Delaware County Times: Public health insurance divides 7^th district candidates

5. The Hill: Obama flubs on creating new jobs

1. Philadelphia Daily News: Sestak’s tone-deaf when it comes to earmarks

Joe Sestak readily admits he has trouble answering questions succinctly.

He says that much of what he’s asked about is so complicated that he needs time to explain things. He also says this is a drawback in his profession and tells me that he works on it “constantly.”

The Democratic congressman and Senate candidate should work a little harder to reconcile taking campaign contributions from those benefiting from federal “earmarks” (which direct money to be spent on specific projects) while claiming “a personal policy” against doing so.

2. The Hill: Voters can’t shake deficit worries

The federal budget deficit will matter more to voters this year than it has in the past decade, according to polls.

While it continues to trail the near-double-digit unemployment rates and overall state of the economy as a leading concern for voters, it is proving central to the 2010 election.

“It used to be that people had vague concerns about the deficit. They knew there was one, but it didn’t seem to really matter,” said Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a likely candidate in the 2012 presidential race. “Now average people outside of politics are zoomed in on it. You go to the grocery store or the dry cleaners or some place and average people, they make comments about the debt, the deficit and spending.”

The rise in deficit worries is exposing the political risk in a key plank of the Democratic agenda: pumping taxpayer money into the economy in the short term, while attempting to keep deficits and debt in check in the long term.

After barely registering for at least a decade, deficits began rising rapidly among voter concerns in 2009. Massive Tea Party protests around the country since early last year helped stir up public attention and unrest.

By February of this year, 11 percent of those polled by Gallup said the federal deficit was the most important issue facing the nation.

3. Delaware County Times: Corbett: Businesses need help from state

The next governor needs to reduce spending and remove any barriers for small businesses to flourish, said Pennsylvania Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett during a visit to Archway Press Inc. in Sharon Hill Tuesday.

Corbett called the family-owned Archway a success story in Pennsylvania for weathering the economic storm; though owner Tom Gaffney said the business has taken its lumps too, with a full-time workforce reduced from 20 percent to nine employees and productivity down about 20 or 25 percent in the last two years.

Corbett said such small businesses need government to be on their side. He has proposed cutting business taxes and holding the line on new taxes, streamlining tax paperwork, aligning state and federal investment expenses, and eliminating the inheritance tax.

4. Delaware County Times: Public health insurance divides 7^th district candidates

While the Democratic candidate for the 7th Congressional District kicked off an economic tour Tuesday, the Republican candidate denounced a public health insurance option.

State Rep. Bryan Lentz, D-161, of Swarthmore, is running against Republican Pat Meehan, a former U.S. attorney, for the seat currently occupied by U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, who is running for U.S. Senate.

…

Meehan kicked off his business tour back in May with a stop at the Ridley Park Business District. Since then, Meehan has hosted a roundtable discussion, forums and other events with small-business owners and executives.

Meehan on Tuesday said he was concerned about U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) call for a public health insurance option. He said it “will cost the taxpayers billions of dollars and over time crowd out private insurance companies, leaving consumers with no choice but to sign up for a government plan.”

5. The Hill: Obama flubs on creating new jobs

The Obama administration has been focused on the wrong jobs numbers. Instead of obsessing over the president’s sagging job approval ratings, the focus should have been on a job-creation initiative.

We finally have a genuine “most important issue or problem” according to every poll out there, yet the president doesn’t seem to be responding, except to try and keep people on unemployment benefits. Even a public jobs initiative would be welcomed at this juncture, but things won’t really get better in this economy until consumer confidence rises in response to the availability of more jobs in the private sector.

The president isn’t the only one who seems confused about this matter. Last week a Quinnipiac University poll announced that Americans believe jobs are more important than deficit reduction. “American voters say 64-30 percent that reducing unemployment is more important than reducing the federal budget deficit,” said the pollsters’ release. It went on, “Even Republicans say 58-38 percent that reducing unemployment is more important.”

Mike Barley
Director of the Communications and Technology Departments

Republican Party of Pennsylvania
717-234-4901, ext. 115
mbarley@pagop.org

PA GOP News Brief – 7.21.2010

1. PA GOP: Return The Money, Joe!

2. The Philadelphia Inquirer: Corbett speaks out on jobs, jobless

3. Lancaster New Era: Rendell tax plan running on empty

4. The Hill: New poll shows GOP lead in generic ballot

5. Delaware County Daily Times: Spencer: Stimulus spending not so stimulating

6. Town Hall: 2010 Race of the Day: Taking Back a Longtime GOP Seat in Pennsylvania

7. The Washington Times: Obama’s bogus pro-business credentials

1. PA GOP: Return The Money, Joe!

Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason released the following statement regarding Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Joe “Says Tax” Sestak’s failure to honor his pledge to refuse any campaign contributions from recipients of his earmark requests.

“Apparently, the Joe Sestak way of doing business is ‘do as I say, not as I do,’” Gleason said. “For months, Joe Sestak has tried to portray himself as a man of principle, only to flip-flop on one of his highly-touted ethical pledges at the first sign of political inconvenience. If he refuses to hold himself accountable to his constituents as a Congressman, how can we trust him to be an ethical U.S. Senator?”

“Joe Sestak continues to strike out with Pennsylvanians who are sick and tired of the ‘business-as-usual’ style of politics. It’s time for Joe Sestak to stop this taxpayer-funded charade and return any and all campaign contributions from recipients of his earmarks!”

2. The Philadelphia Inquirer: Corbett speaks out on jobs, jobless

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett, outlining his plan to lift Pennsylvania out of the recession, addressed the issue of jobs and the jobless Tuesday for the first time in a public forum since his controversial comments about unemployed people 11 days earlier.

Corbett, who is state attorney general, said that as governor he would work to foster a better business climate by reducing the state’s corporate taxes and developing job-training programs tailored to employers’ current needs.

“We need to align education with opportunity,” he said, just as the Senate was voting in Washington to extend unemployment benefits.

3. Lancaster New Era: Rendell tax plan running on empty

Gov. Ed Rendell seemingly is relentless when it comes to adding to the financial burden of Pennsylvania taxpayers.

Now the governor wants to raise the gasoline tax by 3.25 cents per gallon, which he says would generate $200 million toward the $472 million needed to fund road improvements, bridge replacements and various transit projects.

Rendell would raise another $265 million by increasing fees for various licensing and registration documents, driver’s license, car registration, inspection sticker, driver-history report.

The remaining $7 million of the $472 million could be raised by cracking down on uninsured drivers. (One way to do this, Rendell says, would be to install surveillance cameras at toll plazas and highway ramps, snap pictures of licenses plates, and compare license plate numbers with insurance records).

4. The Hill: New poll shows GOP lead in generic ballot

Republicans have a five-point lead over Democrats in a generic congressional ballot, the latest Qunnipiac poll shows.

The survey, which was released Monday, showed that registered voters prefer Republicans 43-38 percent. Republicans have a strong lead among independent voters, 44 percent said they would vote for a Republican for their district in the midterm elections if they were held today, opposed to 29 percent who said they would vote for a Democrat.

5. Delaware County Daily Times: Spencer: Stimulus spending not so stimulating

Who creates jobs in this country? Big and small businessmen. Why aren’t they hiring people? Because they aren’t convinced that hiring them will help them make more money.

We live in a country with the highest corporate tax rate in the free world (35 percent). We live in one of the most litigious societies on the planet, under a government that regulates business as strongly as any in civilization. All these things combine to kill jobs and send them overseas.

6. Town Hall: 2010 Race of the Day: Taking Back a Longtime GOP Seat in Pennsylvania

Sprawling across Northeastern Pennsylvania, the 10th Congressional District, which includes more than a dozen counties, covers the towns of Shamokin, Williamsport and Carbondale and extends into the corner of the Keystone State touching the New York State border.

Although two-term Democrat Chris Carney currently represents the 10th District, it is historically conservative and is rated R+8 by the Cook Partisan Voter Index. This November he faces former United States Attorney Tom Marino, who emerged from a contested primary with a double-digit victory on May 18.

Before Chris Carney won in 2006, Republicans held this seat for more than four decades with McCain winning 54 percent of the vote in 2008 and George W. Bush winning with 60 percent in 2004. Although Chris Carney claims to be a prominent member of the Blue Dog Caucus, his record of voting with Nancy Pelosi nearly 91 percent of the time proves otherwise.

7. The Washington Times: Obama’s bogus pro-business credentials

The Obama administration wants Americans to think it is pro-business. Top aides to the president have made the case on television and elsewhere that major corporations are better off now because Obama policies saved the economy from a complete meltdown and that pro-trade policies going forward will keep things afloat.

No one can doubt that the combined policies of Presidents George W. Bush and Obama saved the day over the past couple of years. But any notion that Mr. Obama is a corporate advocate beyond that is ludicrous. Even the Business Roundtable – the most mild-mannered of Washington’s corporate lobbies – recently wrote a letter that made clear at great length that the president is no friend of business.

The impact of new federal regulations on the economy “is enormous, and often harmful,” the Roundtable wrote. In addition, it said, Obama proposals to increase taxes on multinational corporations would kill thousands of jobs here at home.

PA GOP News Brief – 7.20.2010

1)  Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Donations Pit Senate Hopefuls

2) Centre Daily Times: Toomey, Sestak spar on earmarks, jobless benefits

3)  The Morning Call: Giuliani stumps for Dent, Barletta

4) Bucks County Courier-Times: Specter Asks White House For Job

5)  Lancaster New Era: Editorial: Obama policies lacking promise

6) Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Editorial Fatal conceit

1)      Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Donations Pit Senate Hopefuls

Sniping in the Pennsylvania Senate race continued Monday with Republican Pat Toomey calling on Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak to return thousands of dollars in donations and Sestak blaming Toomey, a former congressman, for the recession.

Sestak, of Delaware County, said he wouldn’t give back donations from top executives of companies to which he’d steered federal money…

“If you make a pledge and you don’t keep it, isn’t that being unaccountable?” said Toomey spokeswoman Nachama Soloveichik.

2)       Centre Daily Times: Toomey, Sestak spar on earmarks, jobless benefits

The candidates running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania are sparring over earmarks and unemployment benefits.

Republican Pat Toomey on Monday called on Democrat Joe Sestak to return more than $100,000 in campaign donations from people who work for companies that received federal earmarks that he steered.

Sestak says he routinely returns money from the senior officers of those companies, but it’s hard to track donations from lower-level employees.

3)       The Morning Call: Giuliani stumps for Dent, Barletta

Republican Rudy Giuliani on Monday brought his message of fiscal conservatism and national security to fundraisers for Congressman Charlie Dent and U.S. House hopeful Lou Barletta, picking up criticism along the way.

The former New York City mayor highlighted his reaction to the terrorist attacks that launched his national profile and made his 2008 presidential primary bid possible.

“On Sept. 11, that evening, I asked the people of New York City not to take out their aggression against people who are Arab or Islamic,” he told reporters at Hotel Bethlehem. “And they didn’t. And that was the right thing to do. That doesn’t mean we have to close our eyes to what’s going on because a country that closes its eyes is a country that’s in danger.”

4)        Courier Times: Specter Asks White House For Job

An ABC News report citing unnamed sources that Sen. Arlen Specter might be discussing a government job with the White House inflamed the chairman of Pennsylvania’s Republican Party on Friday.

The report by the network’s senior White House correspondent, Jake Tapper, said Specter, D-Philadelphia, “informed the White House that he would like to consider remaining in public service after his Senate terms ends at the end of this session, and White House officials are keeping an open mind about possible job openings for him.”

The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Specter’s office declined to comment.

But state GOP Chairman Bob Gleason criticized the White House for helping political allies with jobs while failing to create jobs for average Americans or a business-friendly climate.

“After all the scrutiny the White House took over the job offer they presented to Joe Sestak and the dozens of unanswered questions still hanging out there, one has to wonder what they are thinking, considering Arlen Specter for a job,” Gleason said.

5)       Lancaster New Era: Editorial: Obama policies lacking promise

If it sounds too good to be true …

The American public would be wise to keep that familiar adage in mind when listening to the Obama administration’s upbeat assessment of last year’s $862 billion stimulus law.

A new White House report claims the stimulus has “saved or created” between 2.5 million and 3.6 million jobs.

That’s up from a previous report, when the figure was between 2.2 million and 2.8 million.

The number grows, it seems, with each passing quarter in a manner similar to Pinocchio’s nose.

Christina Romer, head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, says the law “appears to be stimulating private investment and job creation at a time when the economy needs it most.”

Really? Where are all these jobs?

6)        Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Editorial Fatal conceit

Consider it a metaphor for Obamanomics.

The special inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program says the Obama administration’s auto task force acted prematurely in forcing General Motors and Chrysler to close scores of dealerships.

IG Neil Barofsky says the companies didn’t adequately consider the jobs that would be lost in related businesses and how that would affect the recession. He also says the task force did not have a firm idea of the supposed cost savings.

PA GOP News Brief 7.19.2010

1) PA GOP: PA GOP Launches PuntPelosi.com As Biden and Pelosi Stump for Congressional Democrats in Philadelphia

2) PA GOP: Who Says The White House Can’t Create Jobs… For Their Political Allies? Specter Seeking White House Gig

3) Rasmussen: Toomey 45%, Sestak 38%

4) Morning Call: Contol of Pa. House up for grabs in fall election

5)     Wall Street Journal: GOP Sees Path to Control of Senate

6) Associated Press: Democrats can’t win without Independent voters

7) Detroit News: Obama should listen to Business Leaders

Politico: Reality Gap: U.S. struggles, D.C. booms

---

1) PA GOP: PA GOP Launches PuntPelosi.com As Biden and Pelosi Stump for Congressional Democrats in Philadelphia

Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason released the following statement regarding Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s fundraiser in Philadelphia on behalf of Pennsylvania Congressional Democrats:

“Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi know that the fate of the Democratic majority in the House rests in the hands of Pennsylvania voters who will be casting ballots in ten contested Congressional contests,” Gleason said.  “While San Francisco liberals will certainly re-elect Speaker Pelosi this November, Pennsylvania voters have the chance to strip the gavel out of her hands by voting to elect Republican candidates who will form a fiscally responsible majority.  That is why our Party is excited to launch PuntPelosi.com, a site that allows visitors to support our efforts to win Pennsylvania Congressional races and punt Pelosi out of the Speaker’s chair.”

2) PA GOP: Who Says The White House Can’t Create Jobs… For Their Political Allies? Specter Seeking White House Gig

Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason released the following statement regarding news that the White House may try to bail out their political ally Arlen Specter with a job:

“While the White House has failed miserably to create jobs for or a friendly business climate, they have been successful in creating jobs if that means helping their political allies,” Gleason said.  “After all the scrutiny the White House took over the job offer they presented to Joe Sestak and the dozens of unanswered questions still hanging out there, one has to wonder what they are thinking considering Arlen Specter for a job.  Clearly, the White House’s political arrogance knows no bounds.  Don’t believe me, just ask Nancy Pelosi – The Speaker has been complaining that her Democratic members will be losing their jobs in November.

3) Rasmussen: Toomey 45%, Sestak 38%

The numbers remain little changed this month in Pennsylvania’s race for the U.S. Senate, with Republican Pat Toomey continuing to maintain a slight lead over Democrat Joe Sestak.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state shows Toomey with 45% support, while Sestak earns 38% of the vote. Six percent (6%) prefer some other candidate in the race, and 12% are undecided.

Last month, Toomey held a near-identical 45% to 39% lead.

In fact, except for a brief surge after his mid-May victory over incumbent Arlen Specter in the state’s Democratic Senate Primary, support for Sestak has remained in the 36% to 40% range in matchups with Toomey back to February. In those same surveys, Toomey has received 42% to 47% of the vote.

With this latest result, the race is shifting from Toss-Up to Leans Republican in the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power rankings,

4)     Morning Call: Contol of Pa. House up for grabs in fall election

If Republicans pick up just three seats in the 203-member Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the November election, it could bring sweeping policy changes to a state that can’t seem to make up its mind whether it wants to be blue or red.

There will be plenty to talk about on the campaign trail, from the dysfunctional budget process and state spending to the “bonusgate” corruption cases and lingering resentment over the 2005 pay raise and the 2001 pension grab.

The campaign news this summer has focused on the two high-profile races for governor and U.S. Senate, but the outcome of legislative races could largely determine what the state does about its multibillion-dollar budget shortfall, the funding crisis for public-sector pensions and redistricting — not to mention the thousands of bills lawmakers will introduce over the coming two-year session.

The House is currently controlled by Democrats, 104-99, and Republicans are salivating at the chance to parlay a favorable national political climate into a return after four years to majority status.

5)       Wall Street Journal: GOP Sees Path to Control of Senate

Democrats for the first time are acknowledging that Republicans could retake the Senate this November if everything falls into place for the GOP, less than two years after Democrats held a daunting 60-seat majority.

Leaders of both parties have believed for months that Republicans could win the House, where every lawmaker faces re-election. But a change of party control in the Senate, where only a third of the members are running and Republicans must capture 10 seats, seemed out of the question.

That’s no longer the case. The emergence of competitive Republican candidates in Wisconsin, Washington and California—Democratic-leaning states where polls now show tight races—bring the number of seats that Republicans could seize from the Democrats to 11.

6)      Associated Press: Democrats can’t win without Independent voters

Democrat Joe Sestak — a son of the Philadelphia suburbs — needs the independent voters in his backyard as he campaigns for a Senate seat in a swing state that may tilt Republican this year.

Independents have been turning away from President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, frustrated with the economic downturn and administration initiatives, even in Pennsylvania where Obama won by double-digits two years ago. Sestak, a two-term congressman, has his work cut out for him.

“To vote for any of them right now, I’m not really sure I could. It’s too early to say,” says Tori Fisher, 45, an artist selling handmade jewelry at a picnic table down the street from Sestak’s bustling campaign headquarters.

7) Detroit News: Obama should listen to Business Leaders

President Barack Obama asked business leaders last week exactly what it is about his policies that has them so fretful. He asked for specifics, and that’s what he got. If he bothers to read the concerns and act to ease them, he may at last find some traction for his faltering drive to revive the economy.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce responded to the president’s request with a detailed letter outlining what his administration has done to hurt business, and suggested some remedies.

As you might imagine, taxes topped the chamber’s list of grievances. Noting that Congress has passed $700 billion in tax increases, the business group asked that all of the tax cuts adopted in 2001 be extended. Congress and the White House aren’t sure which of the cuts they’ll allow to expire at the end of the year, and that has contributed to an increasingly uncertain environment for investors.

Politico: Reality Gap: U.S. struggles, D.C. booms

America is struggling with a sputtering economy and high unemployment — but times are booming for Washington’s governing class.

The massive expansion of government under President Barack Obama has basically guaranteed a robust job market for policy professionals, regulators and contractors for years to come. The housing market, boosted by the large number of high-income earners in the area, many working in politics and government, is easily outpacing the markets in most of the country. And there are few signs of economic distress in hotels, restaurants or stores in the D.C. metro area.

As a result, there is a yawning gap between the American people and D.C.’s powerful when it comes to their economic reality — and their economic perceptions.

A new POLITICO poll, conducted by market research and consulting firm Penn Schoen Berland, underscores the big divide: Roughly 45 percent of “Washington elites” said the country and the economy are headed in the right direction, while roughly 25 percent of the general population said they felt that way.

Mike Barley
Director of the Communications and Technology Departments

Republican Party of Pennsylvania
717-234-4901, ext. 115
mbarley@pagop.org

Come join us for our annual
fundraiser dinner!
This year’s dinner will be held on Saturday
May 8, from 5-8 pm at the Springettsbury Fire
Hall. All you can eat steak and shrimp
dinner. Yep, that’s right…ALL YOU CAN EAT
STEAK and SHRIMP!
We are honored to have as our guest speaker
Congressman Pat Toomey!
Tickets are just $35 for adults…$60 if you want
a professional photo with Pat. Ages 12 and
under is $15, and 3 and below are free.
So why not come out, enjoy some of the best
bluegrass music around (featuring Chairman
Peck and the Boys), meet the candidates and
our current elected officials, and enjoy ALL
YOU CAN EAT STEAK and SHRIMP!
Please contact Chris Reed for additional details
and tickets at 683-7456.

PA GOP News Brief 4.16 2010

1) Indiana Gazette: Go back to basics on budget, Corbett tells town hall meeting

2) Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Toomey: Welfare state plan shocking

3) DelCo Times: Senate candidate Toomey talks small business

4) Politico: Specter haul dwarfed by Toomey

5) Politico: A tale of two Obamas: Up in D.C., down in U.S.

1) Indiana Gazette: Go back to basics on budget, Corbett tells town hall meeting

The Indiana Gazette has an update on Tom Corbett’s campaign for Governor.

ELDERTON – The budget is the most important issue facing Pennsylvania, Attorney General and governor-hopeful Tom Corbett said. And if he is elected, he would rebuild it from the ground up.

“Let’s take a look at how we’re spending money,” he told a crowd of about 60 people at a town hall meeting Wednesday afternoon in Elderton. “We need to go back to the beginning.”

Corbett spent the day in Indiana and Armstrong counties, touring Diamond Drugs in White Township to tout his support of small businesses and answering questions at the Indiana-Armstrong Patriots’ town hall meeting in the Smith Complex.

Corbett is one of the Republicans running for governor in the primary election and has received the Republican endorsement. A Philadelphia native but nearly lifelong Pittsburgh resident, he has served as attorney general since 2004.

“You have to be able to connect with people, you have to understand all regions of the state are important,” he said. “Our current governor knows one region is important.”

Sabrina Balister, of Elderton, started the long line of voters with their questions written on pieces of notebook paper: Does Corbett intend to follow through with the lawsuit he joined against the health care bill?

“If I filed it, why would I not stick it out?” he replied. “This is not about health care, it’s about the Constitution of the United States. … And it’s about whether the federal government can tell you what to buy. ”With nearly all the questions, Corbett took a small-government approach with his answers.

See Also: The Progress: Governor candidate Corbett speaks at Lincoln Day dinner

See Also: Talking Points Memo: Justice Breyer: Health Care Reform Could Appear Before Supreme Court

2) Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Toomey: Welfare state plan shocking

The Pittsburgh Tribune Review reports on the Tax Day rally with Pat Toomey, Tom Corbett and Tim Burns.

Ignoring his primary opponent altogether and making only passing references to the senator he wants to unseat in November, Republican Pat Toomey lambasted Democrats in control of Washington by declaring Thursday night in Latrobe that “it is staggering what they want to do.”

Invoking the names of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Obama, Toomey said, “These guys are trying to turn us into a European-style welfare state.”

…Burns pledged “never” to vote for higher taxes as a member of Congress.

“I believe the country is in a fight for its very life,” said Burns, who decried Pelosi’s ringing endorsement of the recently passed health care reform bill with a bit of political embroidering of his own.

“Pelosi got and said now we (in Congress) can join those who established Medicare and Social Security. That is wonderful. Medicare and Social Security are bankrupt.”

In what otherwise was a low-key address, Corbett received a hearty cheer when he mentioned the action he took as state attorney general to oppose the health care law with a legal suit challenging the bill’s constitutionality.

Corbett said as governor he would cut the state budget, although he did not pinpoint how or by what amount. Dwelling somewhat on the intricacies of state tax policies, Corbett went on to extol the virtues of the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania as an economic generator. The industry needs a tax environment that would enable it to flourish, he suggested.

3) DelCo Times: Senate candidate Toomey talks small business

Delaware County Times reports on a roundtable discussion held by Pat Toomey.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate and former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey held a roundtable discussion on economic and health-care issues with local business people Thursday morning at the Country Squire Diner in Broomall.

Toomey said he is in tune with the concerns of small business owners, having been one himself. Toomey and his brothers launched a successful restaurant business in 1990 with two locations in Allentown and Lancaster.

“We had a couple hundred employees and we did OK,” he said. “It was a pretty good business, but it was tough and I learned what it takes to create jobs, what it means to have to make a payroll on Friday, what it means to have your life savings invested in a building and wondering whether anyone’s going to walk through that door and help you to pay your bills and recover any of that.”

Toomey said Congress might be better served if it had more business people in it, a sentiment shared by Lucien Calhoun, president of financial consulting firm Calhoun, Baker Inc., which he founded in 1989.

Toomey claimed President Barack Obama’s legislative agenda is already having a “chilling effect” on economic growth and job creation, referring to proposed cap-and-trade carbon emissions legislation, unprecedented deficits, the proposed Employee Free Choice Act and the recently passed health-care reform bill.

“It’s really hard to overstate the problem we have with spending, in my mind,” he said. “For 60 years, the federal government averaged spending of about 20 percent of (gross domestic product) with remarkably little variation, regardless of who was in control. In one year, this administration took that to 25 percent of GDP. That is a 25 percent increase in the size of government overnight.”

4) Politico: Specter haul dwarfed by Toomey

Politico reports on the Pat Toomey’s stellar fundraising during the 2010 first quarter.

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter was outraised by a more than two-to-one margin last quarter by his Republican challenger, former Rep. Pat Toomey. Specter reported Thursday that he’d brought in $1.1 million in the first three months of the year, compared with $2.3 million for Toomey.

The incumbent Democrat still maintains a considerable cash-on-hand advantage: he has $9.06 million in his account, while Toomey reported banking over $4 million. And Specter easily outdistanced his primary challenger, Rep. Joe Sestak, who only raised $442,000 for the quarter, banking $5.3 million.

Specter’s quarterly fundraising totals have gradually declined since he switched parties a year ago. He brought in $1.92 million in the third quarter of 2009 and $1.15 million in the fourth quarter, before posting his latest, $1.1 million take.

See Also: The Hill: GOP candidates outraising Dems

5) Politico: A tale of two Obamas: Up in D.C., down in U.S.

Politico reports on the disconnect between President Obama’s Washington Insider image and his image he tries to project to the American voter.

The cover of The Atlantic this month shows a shirt-sleeved President Barack Obama and the headline, “WHY HE’S RIGHT.” It reflects the Washington conventional wisdom that Obama is on a roll, bolstered by his long-delayed victory on health reform.

Someone should tell the rest of the country.

While Washington talks about Obama’s new mojo, polls show voters outside the Beltway are sulking — soured on the president, his party and his program. The Gallup Poll has Obama’s approval rating at an ominous 49 percent, after hitting a record low of 47 percent last weekend. A new poll in Pennsylvania, a bellwether industrial state, shows his numbers sinking, as did recent polls in Ohio and Florida.

So there are two Obamas: Rising in D.C., struggling in the U.S...

“Everyone in the pressure cooker in Washington got all excited like the millennium had arrived [when health care reform passed], but I don’t think most reasonable people read it that way,” Democratic Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said. Bredesen said people are worried about the cost and “appalled at the process in the Congress that produced it.”…

In Pennsylvania, Obama’s personal approval rating is at 42 percent, compared to 49 percent who disapprove of his job performance, Susquehanna Polling and Research said this week. And a Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll earlier this month in Ohio showed Obama eking out a 46 percent to 45 percent approval-to-disapproval rating, with only 42 percent of independent voters approving of his job performance.

Recommended Reading:

Wall Street Journal: Showdown Looms on Finance Rules

PA GOP News Brief 4.15.2010

1) Erie Times: Pa. GOP visits Erie

2) Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Attorney General Corbett touts toughness in bid for governor

3) Wall Street Journal: Karl Rove: Why Republicans Are Winning on the Tax Issue

4) The Hill: Gregg: GOP locking down against financial reform bill

5) TPM: Poll: Public Split On Whether They Would Prefer Obama Or George W. Bush

1) Erie Times: Pa. GOP visits Erie

The Erie Times reports on the PA GOP’s PelosiCare Accountability Tour stop in the 3^rd Congressional District on Wednesday.

The Republican Party of Pennsylvania’s PelosiCare Accountability Tour rolled into the 3^rd Congressional District, where party officials and local leaders spoke out about Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper’s decision to support government-run health care.

“The fact that Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper has told her constituents that ‘there is nothing to be afraid of’ when it comes to government-run health care demonstrates how out-of-touch she is with the people of the 3^rd Congressional District,” PA GOP Spokesman Mike Barley said. “While Kathy Dahlkemper doesn’t mind standing side-by-side with liberal leaders like Nancy Pelosi, her support for a government-run health care plan that raises taxes, kills jobs and drives a government-sized wedge between patients and their doctors will have a devastating effect on the 3^rd Congressional District for years to come.

Today’s visit to the 3^rd Congressional District and Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper marked the third stop in the PA GOP’s PelosiCare Accountability Tour in the 3^rd Congressional District.  Also attending today’s press conference were Erie County Republican Committee Chairman Verel Salmons, Republican Party of Pennsylvania Spokesman Mike Barley, Dr. Dennis Michalak, small business owner Donna Reese of General Exterminating, Derek Dye of Allegheny College and a group of local college students.

See Also: ABC WJET – Speaking Out Against Health Care Reform

2) Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Attorney General Corbett touts toughness in bid for governor

The Pittsburgh Tribune Review reports on Tom Corbett’s campaign to be our state’s next governor.

Tom Corbett fielded questions for 45 minutes about jobs, the economy, state spending, taxes, energy and health care reform as a Republican candidate for governor during a town hall meeting held by the Indiana-Armstrong Patriots group Wednesday afternoon at the Smith Complex.

Then the state’s attorney general took a few minutes to tell the 60 people attending why he was the best choice to be the next governor.

“Prosecutors are leaders and executives,” said Corbett. “We have to make the tough decisions. I’ve also been in the corporate sector and I understand how business works.

“People want somebody who’s going to deal with the budget crisis we have in the state,” he said. “They want somebody who is going to lead the way in reducing the budget and reducing the taxes that allow businesses to grow. I think it is very important to have that executive who is willing to do the tough job.”

Corbett told the group his motto is, “Do your job. Do what you promised.”

See Also: Attorney General Tom Corbett: Health Care Reform Law is unconstitutional

See Also: SP&R Poll: GOP: Corbett 50% Rohrer 7%, DEM: Onorato 32%, Hoeffel 13%, Wagner 6%, Williams 4%…

3) Wall Street Journal: Karl Rove: Why Republicans Are Winning on the Tax Issue

Karl Rove latest column in The Wall Street Journal highlights the Republican Party’s commitment to lower taxes and limited government.

Today’s last-minute trip to the post office to mail in your return is a reminder of one of life’s unpleasant realities: paying taxes. Always important in politics, the tax issue is likely to play a larger role this year than in any midterm election since 1994.

A recent Rasmussen survey reported that 66% of Americans believe the nation is over-taxed. There’s a reason. Under President Barack Obama taxes are going up—a lot.

House Ways and Means Committee Republicans have issued a summary of the 25 tax increases signed into law by Mr. Obama so far. They total $670 billion over the next 10 years, including 14 tax hikes (including an annual tax on every insurance policy and an annual tax on brand-name drugs) that break Mr. Obama’s solemn 2008 campaign pledge never to raise taxes on families making less than $250,000 a year.

Many of these taxes are part of the ObamaCare monstrosity. New levies on investment, drugs, medical devices and insurance policies eventually will hit ordinary Americans, and the public knows it. A late March Fox News poll asked, “If major health care reform legislation is passed, do you think your taxes will increase, decrease or stay about the same?” Seventy-five percent think their taxes will increase.

Tax concerns will hurt congressional Democrats. In rural areas, their opposition to repeal of the death tax antagonizes farmers and ranchers. Then there are America’s 32 million small-business owners, who feel put upon by the administration’s tax everyone-and-everything philosophy.

See Also: Wall Street Journal: Europe’s VAT Lessons

See Also: LAT: Deficit reduction through tax reform

See Also: CNN: Poll: Most Tax Dollars Wasted

4) The Hill: Gregg: GOP locking down against financial reform bill

The Hill reports on Republican strategy to stop the Democrats from passing wreckless financial reform legislation.

Senate Republicans are holding a caucus meeting late Wednesday afternoon on the Democratic banking reform bill, which one senior Republican said the party will unanimously oppose.

Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.), ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, said senators are

being urged by GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) to oppose the bill.

“We want to be back at the negotiating table, and the way we get there is by making it clear that they’re not going to be able to pass it,” Gregg said. “We’re not going to let it off the floor unless they come back and negotiate with us.”

See Also: The Hill: Scott Brown blasts Democratic Wall Street reform bill

See Also: Wall Street Journal: GOP Fights to Unify Opposition to Bill

5) TPM: Poll: Public Split On Whether They Would Prefer Obama Or George W. Bush

Talking Points Memo discusses a recent poll showing that the nation is divided on who they would rather have in office, President Bush or President Obama.

In yet another sign of political polarization, a new national survey from Public Policy Polling (D) finds that Americans are almost evenly divided on whether they would want to stick with President Obama — or go back to George W. Bush.

The poll asked: “Would you rather have Barack Obama or George W. Bush as President right now?” The answer was Obama 48%, Bush 46%, within the ±3.9% margin of error. Consider what a close result this is, compared to Bush’s amazingly low ratings at the end of his administration.

“George W. Bush’s approval ratings were horrid his final few years in office because even a decent number of Republicans and conservative leaning independents were unhappy with him,” writes PPP president Dean Debnam. “Now those folks wish they could have him back over Obama.”

See Also: AP-GfK Poll: Obama slips, other Dems slide, too

See Also: Hill: Poll: 46% want Bush back

See Also: The Hill: Healthcare history lessons

Recommended Reading:

New York Times: Poll Finds Tea Party Backers Wealthier and More Educated

Politico: Another liberal judge? No thanks

Washington Times: Health care battle sinks Obama in polls

PA GOP News Brief .14.2010

1) Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Burns up 4 in polling last month

2) Rasmussen Polling: Virtual Tie: Specter v. Sestak 44-42. Toomey Gains: Toomey v. Specter 50-40

3) The Hill: Warning of higher taxes

4) New York Times: G.O.P. Takes Aim at Plans to Curb Finance Industry

5) Politico: Dems: Ignore GOP in court choice

1) Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Burns up 4 in polling last month

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports on a recently released poll showing Tim Burns beating Mark Critz in the 12^th Congressional District Special Election.

We already knew there was going to be lots of national attention on the special election to fill Jack Murtha’s congressional seat, and that Democrats were starting to sweat a loss. Time to throw some more (bituminous) coal on the sauna — polling done last month in the 12th District showed Republican Tim Burns with a 4-point lead over Democrat Mark Critz, despite the 2:1 Democratic registration edge.

The results from the poll of 400 likely voters by GOP strategist Gene Ulm — given to us in memorandum form by a Republican source — are from a full month ago, but still point out some troubling things for John Murtha’s former district director. It was done more than two weeks before either candidate started advertising in the district, and pointed out the negativity over health care reform that the National Republican Congressional Committee has tried to exploit lately with its own ads.

A previous poll done around the same time had Critz up by 4 points. The pair is also running head-to-head in first quarter fundraising. According to the Pa Dept of State, the district is 62 percent registered Democrat; 29 percent Republican; and 9 percent other. (Any registered voter can cast a ballot in the special election.)

See Also: CQ: GOP Poll Shows Burns Up By Four in Murtha Special

See Also: Washington Post: National Republicans hammer on health care in PA-12

See Also: PA2010: Cap-and-trade battle rattles the 12th

2) Rasmussen Polling: Virtual Tie: Specter v. Sestak 44-42. Toomey Gains: Toomey v. Specter 50-40

Rasmussen reports that Sestak is now dead even with Specter. Toomey maintains his lead and is up 10 points against Specter.

…Support for Sestak has remained in the narrow range of 35% to 38% in surveys since last October. But he’s gained ground among likely Democratic Primary voters and now trails Specter by a negligible 44% to 42% in the race for the party’s Senate nomination. Democratic voters pick their nominee in a May 18 primary…

Republican hopeful Pat Toomey for the first time registers 50% support in his race against incumbent Democrat Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania’s contest for the U.S. Senate.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state shows Specter earning 40% of the vote, a level he’s held steady at since the first of the year. Four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate, and six percent (6%) are undecided.

Toomey this month also makes his strongest showing to date against Specter’s Democratic Primary challenger, Congressman Joe Sestak. Toomey picks up 47% support to Sestak’s 36%. Given this match-up, five percent (5%) like another candidate, and 12% are undecided.

See Also: Washington Post: Can Sestak Win?

3) The Hill: Warning of higher taxes

After expanding entitlement programs via government-run health care, the Obama Administration warns that the budget deficit will have to be countered by… higher taxes. The Hill reports:

Higher taxes must be considered to rein in the country’s mounting debt, a member of President Barack Obama’s fiscal reform commission told The Hill on Monday.

Alice Rivlin, who headed the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget, said that the highest priority is to reduce healthcare spending but that reforms to entitlement programs and higher taxes should also be considered.

A day after Volcker spoke, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Americans could only avoid unsustainable budget deficits by choosing from “higher taxes, modifications to entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, less spending on everything else from education to defense, or some combination of the above.”

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) last month also floated higher taxes as part of the mix. He said a “balanced approach” of spending cuts — including fewer entitlement benefits for the rich — and new revenues should be considered.

Domenici described the battle to rein in the debt as a war.

“It’s like we are having a war on our doorstep that is gigantic, and somebody has to lead this parade pretty soon,” said Domenici.

See Also: Wall Street Journal: Spreading the Wealth Isn’t Fair

4) New York Times: G.O.P. Takes Aim at Plans to Curb Finance Industry

The New York Times reports on the Republican objections to the Democrats Wall Street legislation.

WASHINGTON — Drawing the lines for a fierce election-year battle over regulating the nation’s financial system, Senate Republicans on Tuesday insisted that legislation proposed by Democrats and the White House would only encourage future taxpayer bailouts of big banks.

The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, criticized the Democrats’ plans to regulate Wall Street as arrogant and partisan, echoing the recent health care fight in which he accused Democrats of carrying out a government takeover.

“We cannot allow endless taxpayer-funded bailouts,” Mr. McConnell said in a floor speech. “That’s why we must not pass the financial reform bill that’s about to hit the floor. The fact is this bill wouldn’t solve the problems that led to the financial crisis. It would make them worse.”

See Also: AP: GOP spells out objections to financial regulations

See Also: Politico: Lincoln Wall Street bill tacks left

5) Politico: Dems: Ignore GOP in court choice

Politico reports on the upcoming nomination test for SCOTUS after Supreme Court Justice Stevens retires.

Democratic senators are urging President Barack Obama to abandon any hope of winning broad Republican support for his upcoming Supreme Court pick — and to nominate, instead, a dominant liberal voice who will counteract the current conservative majority.

…But National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn of Texas warned that going that route could backfire on Democrats at the polls.

“Folks that vote Republican and independents that lean Republican — they understand this debate and the importance of nominating and confirming judges who are impartial ideologically,” said Cornyn, who also serves on the Judiciary Committee. “I think there’s one way the president can guarantee a big fight … nominate an ideologue.”

Of course, a strong liberal nominee could alienate some moderate Democrats as well. Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, the conservative Democrat who has seen his poll numbers tank amid the health care debate, said he doesn’t foresee joining a GOP filibuster if Obama nominates a liberal judge, but he also said it’s “premature” to rule out that possibility.

Nelson said “of course” he’s concerned about liberals pushing for a liberal nominee, just as conservatives pushed for conservative justices.

“I want to see someone who doesn’t bring an ideology to the bench,” Nelson said.

Recommended Reading:

Wall Street Journal: Crony Contracts

PA GOP News Brief 4.13.2010

1) Patriot News: Attorney general has right to sue over insurance law

2) The Daily Item: Toomey pushes for job creation, strong economy

3) NYT: Baffled by Health Plan? So Are Some Lawmakers

4) Roll Call: McConnell Says GOP to Get Tough on Deficit Spending

5) Politico: GOP looks toward 2010 in court fight

1) Patriot News: Attorney general has right to sue over insurance law

State Rep. Doug Reichley penned an op-ed for The Patriot News on the obligation of Attorney General Tom Corbett to challenge the health care legislation.

For the last few weeks, Attorney General Tom Corbett has been under fire for his decision to challenge the constitutionality of the federal health care law. Interestingly, supporters of the law who are the most vocal against Corbett’s challenge are not claiming the lawsuit is frivolous. They simply don’t seem to understand how anyone could question the majority party’s “mandate” to pass the bill.

Instead of watching the law’s supporters act flabbergasted because numerous bipartisan attorneys general across the nation are challenging the law, we should be asking: Why shouldn’t Pennsylvania’s chief law enforcement official rely on sound legal analysis to challenge the most far-reaching legislation enacted in the past 40 years?

The outcry against Corbett’s decision reveals a disconcerting unwillingness by liberals to subject the health care act to the same constitutional scrutiny that other policies have endured. For many years, our courts have been the forum in which liberals have challenged many statutes, executive branch policies and judicial precedents. Now that one of the liberal holy grails — health insurance reform — is being challenged, why all this moralistic hand-wringing from left-leaning editorialists and politicians?

Instead of huffing and puffing about the supposed unfairness of the federal lawsuit, supporters of the health care law need only to read the two cases the attorney general cites as the legal grounds for intervention in the lawsuit.

See Also: Roll Call: Health Care Takes Lead Role in GOP Strategy

See Also: Rasmussen: Support for Repeal of Health Care Plan Up To 58%

2) The Daily Item: Toomey pushes for job creation, strong economy

The Sunbury Daily Item reports on a recent visit from Pat Toomey and his ideas to put America back on track.

Supporting and encouraging small businesses is what U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey said needs to be done to create jobs in today’s economy.

“A strong, growing economy is great for all communities if we get back economic growth and job creation,” he said Monday during a meet-and-greet in Sunbury.

The Republican is vying for the Senate seat held by Arlen Specter, a Democrat.

In addition to Sunbury, he stopped at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove and in Danville before heading up to Williamsport.

About 25 people came out to the brief meeting in the city’s Edison Hotel, where Toomey gave an introduction, highlighting his main campaign focuses — including jobs, the economy and health care — before holding a question-and-answer session.

“I recognize the only sustainable jobs are private sector,” he told the group. “We need to help launch entrepreneurs.”

See Also: Williamsport Sun Gazette: Toomey Brings Campaign to City

3) NYT: Baffled by Health Plan? So Are Some Lawmakers

WASHINGTON — It is often said that the new health care law will affect almost every American in some way. And, perhaps fittingly if unintentionally, no one may be more affected than members of Congress themselves.

In a new report, the Congressional Research Service says the law may have significant unintended consequences for the “personal health insurance coverage” of senators, representatives and their staff members.

For example, it says, the law may “remove members of Congress and Congressional staff” from their current coverage, in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, before any alternatives are available.

The confusion raises the inevitable question: If they did not know exactly what they were doing to themselves, did lawmakers who wrote and passed the bill fully grasp the details of how it would influence the lives of other Americans?

The law promises that people can keep coverage they like, largely unchanged. For members of Congress and their aides, the federal employees health program offers much to like. But, the report says, the men and women who wrote the law may find that the guarantee of stability does not apply to them.

See Also: The Hill: Healthcare law socks middle class with a $3.9 billion tax increase

4) Roll Call: McConnell Says GOP to Get Tough on Deficit Spending

Roll Call reports on the comments from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell regarding GOP focus in Washington over the next few weeks.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Monday that Republicans will focus on deficit spending over the course of the next several weeks as Democrats prepare to take on Wall Street and push their jobs agenda.

“Americans worry that we’re on the cusp or maybe even past the cusp of a debt crisis,” McConnell said on the floor after the two-week spring recess. “We must get a handle on the deficit and the debt. This is the issue that will focus our attention in the weeks and months ahead.”

McConnell’s comments came just hours before Senators were scheduled to cast a procedural vote to extend unemployment insurance benefits. Republicans blocked the extension before the recess in part because the measure wasn’t paid for. According to McConnell’s floor remarks Monday, that message will continue during the seven-week work period leading up to Memorial Day.

“And over the coming weeks, I assure you, Republicans will continue to give our colleagues across the aisle and our president the opportunity to live up to the president’s commitment on Feb. 13: ‘Now, Congress will have to pay for what it spends, just like everybody else.’” McConnell said. “Americans will not tolerate another crisis of Washington’s making.”

See Also: Washington Times: Hill Republicans vow to fight for cuts

5) Politico: GOP looks toward 2010 in court fight

Politico reports on the upcoming SCOTUS nomination battle after the announced retirement of Justice Stevens.

Republicans are enthusiastic about the prospect of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens’s departure, not because it signals an end to his liberal jurisprudence but rather for its rich political value.

Many in the party expect the nomination battle to succeed him will be a major asset to GOP House and Senate candidates, serendipitously timed to coincide with the homestretch of the midterm election campaign.

In their view, Supreme Court confirmation hearings will serve to stoke an already fired-up GOP base, particularly if President Barack Obama nominates a liberal jurist, and could potentially put Democratic candidates in conservative-minded states on the defensive.

“The GOP and conservative base has one more reason to stay excited, interested and activated. This is now reaching a perfect-storm level of conservative and GOP activation enthusiasm,” said Republican media consultant Rick Wilson. “For liberals, this is a no-win.”

Recommended Reading:

Talking Points Memo:  GOP Ad Goes After Health Care Bill In PA-12 Special Election

Hill: Gallup: GOP leads by four in generic congressional ballot

PA GOP News Brief 4.8.2010

1) CNN: Republicans have advantage in Pennsylvania

2) Hill: White House adviser suggests raising taxes, possibly adding a value-added tax

3) Big Government: GOP Will Win House and Senate

4) Washington Times’ Water Cooler: Steele: Republicans and the tea party movement

5) Politico: RNC keeps eyes on the prize

1) CNN: Republicans have advantage in Pennsylvania

CNN reports on the latest polling number showing U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey and PA Gubernatorial Tom Corbett in the lead.

Republicans have the advantage in this year’s battle for Pennsylvania governor and for one of the state’s U.S. Senate seats, according to a new poll.

A Quinnipiac University survey of Pennsylvania voters released Thursday indicates that the leading GOP candidate, Attorney General Tom Corbett, remains ahead of each of the three top Democratic contenders by double digits in hypothetical general election matchups. The incumbent governor, Democrat Ed Rendell, is term limited and prevented from running for re-election this year.

According to the poll, in the Senate campaign Republican challenger Pat Toomey leads Sen. Arlen Specter 46 percent to 41 percent, with 12 percent undecided. The advantage for Toomey is just inside the poll’s sampling error. Toomey trailed Specter in a Quinnipiac poll released a month ago. The two men have exchanged small leads since last autumn.

Toomey is a former congressman and former head of the Club for Growth, a limited-government and anti-tax organization. Specter, a five-term senator, switched parties from Republican to Democrat last spring. At the time of the party flip, he cited the difficulty in winning the Republican primary against Toomey as a factor.

See Also: The Hill: Toomey pulls ahead of Specter in new poll

See Also: Politico: Specter’s slip of the tongue

See Also: CQ Politics: Pennsylvania Gov. Field Still Under the Radar

2) Hill: White House adviser suggests raising taxes, possibly adding a value-added tax

The Hill reports on the White House’s statements that rasing taxes on the middle class will be needed to fight the deficit and out of control spending…

A top White House adviser on economics is suggesting a new tax might be needed to address rising deficits.

White House adviser Paul Volcker said taxes should be raised to help control deficits and the United States may need to consider a European-style value-added tax, according to a Reuters report.

The former chairman of the Federal Reserve said the value-added tax, “was not as toxic an idea” has it has been in the past, he told a group at a New York Historical Society event Tuesday night. Volcker also suggested that a carbon or energy-related tax may become necessary to bring the budget back into check.

Volcker acknowledged that the ideas weren’t popular but that the outlook on entitlement spending and budget deficits were grim without some changes.

“If at the end of the day we need to raise taxes, we should raise taxes,” he said.

Republicans went on the attack against the possible tax quickly on Wednesday, with the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) releasing a litany of instances in which President Barack Obama has pledged not to raise taxes on the middle class.

See Also: WSJ: Volcker on the VAT

See Also: LA Times: Tax burden mounting for high earners

3) Big Government: GOP Will Win House and Senate

Big Government comments on the possibility of the GOP winning the House and Senate in 2010.

…Each time the Republican activists battle, they become stronger. Their cyber and grass roots grow deeper. The negatives that attach to so-called “moderate” Democratic incumbents increase. And each time Obama, Reid and Pelosi defy public opinion and use their majorities to ram through unpopular legislation, frustration and anger rise.

Were Obama’s ambitions to slacken, perhaps a cooling-off might eventuate. But soon the socialist financial takeover bill will come on the agenda, followed by amnesty for illegal immigrants, cap-and-trade and card-check unionization. Each bill will trigger its own mobilization of public opposition and add to the swelling coalition of opposition to Obama and his radical agenda.

And, all the while, the deficit will increase, interest rates will rise and unemployment will remain high.

..

Finally, Obama is now responsible for healthcare in America. When premiums rise, it will be his fault. When coverage is denied, it will be on his watch.

When Medicare cuts kick in, it will be Obama who gets the blame.

Carville’s last book touted “40 more years of Democrats.” Now he dreams of a loss of “only” 25 seats in the House and “six or seven” senators. But these are pipe dreams. Republicans will gain more than 50 House seats and at least 10 in the Senate, enough to take control in both chambers. That’s reality.

See Also: WSJ: Karl Rove: Obama Has Overpromised and Underdelivered

4) Washington Times’ Water Cooler: Steele: Republicans and the tea party movement

The Washington Times has the latest from RNC Chairman Michael Steele regarding the Tea Party movement.

Tea Partiers and other Americans – of all political stripes – are tired of the failed logic that government-knows-best.  They’re tired of being taxed too much for a government that spends too much, delivers too little, and charges the bill on the backs of our children and grandchildren. They’re sick of political leaders in Washington ignoring their will on issues like health care, at the expense of problems that are hitting them the hardest at home: jobs and a sluggish economy.  And, perhaps most of all, they’re sick of those in power attempting to dismiss and ascribe nefarious motives to their legitimate and democratic opposition to the Obama-Pelosi-Reid leftist agenda.

These activists adhere to the Founding Fathers’ vision of a limited government that preserves individual liberty and promotes economic prosperity, then gets out of their way.  They believe in the power of America’s entrepreneurial spirit, a competitive free market, and local communities working together of their own free will to solve our country’s problems.  They know that America can remain that shining city on a hill, the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world, and believe that our best days are ahead of us.

Today, America is better off for having the Tea Party protesters fight for these American values and help us get back to our roots. My friends, the Republican Party shares these same principles and stands ready and willing to partner with the growing number of concerned citizens involved in the Tea Party movement and others.  Together, we have the power to take back our country from Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in the 2010 mid-term elections, then from President Obama in 2012.

5) Politico: RNC keeps eyes on the prize

Politico reports on role that the RNC plays in elections nationwide.

As chairman of the California Republican Party and chairman of the RNC’s State Chairmen’s Committee, I believe I’m in a good position to weigh in on the impact the RNC is having out in the field.

So let’s talk about the facts on the ground.

The Republican base is energized today, and candidate recruitment bolstered, in large part because of the stunning Republican victories in Virginia and New Jersey. Two Democratic governors had to turn the office keys over to Republican successors.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell both acknowledged that they would not have won without the $13 million the RNC pumped into their races. This was in addition to the logistical and other support.

What the RNC does is unique in U.S. politics. It builds infrastructure that enables efficient use of volunteers to contact voters, identify supporters and get out the vote.

In 2009, during the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, there were almost three times as many contacts with voters than during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Any good candidate will tell you, these volunteer voter contacts are essential to victory. The many volunteers whose contacts swayed undecided voters, and ensured that supporters of Republican candidates actually voted, were using RNC equipment, in offices paid for by the RNC. They were checking data from voter files enhanced by the RNC, and were coordinated by professional RNC staffers.

Come join us for our annual
fundraiser dinner!
This year’s dinner will be held on Saturday
May 8, from 5-8 pm at the Springettsbury Fire
Hall. All you can eat steak and shrimp
dinner. Yep, that’s right…ALL YOU CAN EAT
STEAK and SHRIMP!
We are honored to have as our guest speaker
Congressman Pat Toomey!
Tickets are just $35 for adults…$60 if you want
a professional photo with Pat. Ages 12 and
under is $15, and 3 and below are free.
So why not come out, enjoy some of the best
bluegrass music around (featuring Chairman
Peck and the Boys), meet the candidates and
our current elected officials, and enjoy ALL
YOU CAN EAT STEAK and SHRIMP!
Please contact Chris Reed for additional details
and tickets at 683-7456.

A GOP News Brief 4.16.2010

1) Politico: Dems scramble for May special elections

2) Morning Call: Toomey Would Not Have Voted for Jobs Bill

3) Pittsburgh-Post Gazette: Toomey best-funded challenger for Senate

4) Politico: Obama’s bait-and-switch campaign

5) Washington Times: Radicals to Rule Us All

1) Politico: Dems scramble for May special elections

Politico reports on the upcoming special elections, with a  focus on Tim Burns race in the 12th Congressional District.

The prospect of losing two House seats in back-to-back special elections next month has sparked a vigorous, behind-the-scenes Democratic effort, designed to avoid an outcome that could lead to panic among the rank-and-file and stall the momentum generated by the recent passage of landmark health care legislation.

The trajectories of the two elections, which will take place in Pennsylvania and Hawaii over a span of four days next month, have raised alarm bells among top party officials who fear that a pair of defeats in the Democratic-held seats could amount to a Massachusetts Senate sequel, overshadowing President Barack Obama’s health care reform plan and reinforcing a narrative that the Democratic Party is on track for severe losses in November.

…

The contest to replace the late Democratic Rep. John Murtha is still taking shape but Democrats in Pennsylvania and Washington are expressing worries is that the party nominee, former Murtha district director Mark Critz, is uniquely vulnerable to being painted as a political insider at time when that is no asset.

“Locally, there’s a lot of anger, people know things aren’t right. And it taps into the general anxiety out there that things are on the wrong track,” Barbara Hafer, Critz’s one-time primary opponent and a former state treasurer, told POLITICO. “That could lead into a throw-the-bums out attitude.”

One Democratic operative following the race, noting that public polling shows Critz with a narrow lead over Republican businessman Tim Burns in a district with a significant Democratic voter registration advantage, was blunter in his assessment: “It’s easy to make an argument that he’s part of the problem. He was a Hill staffer, he asked for questionable earmarks. There’s a lot to beat him up on.”

2) Morning Call: Toomey Would Not Have Voted for Jobs Bill

Morning Call reports on Pat Toomey’s statement that he would not have voted for the Democrats so-called ‘jobs bill.’

Republican Senate Candidate, Pat Toomey, said today for the first tim that he would have joined most of his Republican colleagues and voted against Congress’ recent jobs bill.

In a statement from his campaign, Toomey says the bill, which passed the Senate on Wednesday, does little to create any new jobs and then slammed Sen. Arlen Specter for supporting costly Democratic priorities.

“The so-called Hire Act contains a net tax increase, does not eliminate earmarks, and employes badly designed tax incentives that will do little to create new jobs,” the campaign says. “Pat would have opposed this bill and replaced it with one that actually creates jobs. If Senator specter and his new Democratic cronies are truly in interested in job creation, they should stop supporting the massive new taxes on businesses contained in the health care and cap-and-trade bills.”

3) Pittsburgh-Post Gazette: Toomey best-funded challenger for Senate

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports on Pat Toomey’s fundraising in the 2010 first quarter.

Republican Pat Toomey posted a banner first quarter of fundraising, continuing his pace as the best-funded Senate challenger in the country.

Mr. Toomey raised $2.3 million in the first three months of 2010, his campaign announced Monday, and he has more than $4 million in the bank.

Totals for Mr. Toomey’s principal Democratic rivals — five-term incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. Joe Sestak — were not yet available Monday.

Though Mr. Toomey has been raising money at a faster clip, he has less saved than the two Democrats did at the start of the year. Still, the heated Democratic primary race should sap much of Mr. Specter’s and Mr. Sestak’s war chests.

“It’s very clear that our campaign is very strong and the momentum is growing,” Mr. Toomey said in a phone interview.

See Also: CNN Pennsylvania Senate Hopeful Releases Fundraising Totals

4) Politico: Obama’s bait-and-switch campaign

Norm Coleman, former GOP Senator, comments in Politico about the differences between Obama’s campaign rhetoric and reality.

One telling moment in the 18-month health care debate was at the White House Summit. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) reminded President Barack Obama of his campaign promises to “bring us together” on health care.

“We’re not campaigning anymore,” the president said, “the election is over.” The next question should have been, “Does that mean your campaign promises are null and void?”

Enough time has passed, and enough actions seen, to conclude that Obama ran as one kind of president but is governing as a very different one.

What the American people want is the kind of president Obama sold them: a post-partisan consensus-builder.

They are justifiably angry at the massive bait-and-switch on health care reform, the most important public policy debate in our lifetime. Obama has violated their trust, especially devastating with the long list of challenges we need unity to tackle, like jobs, energy and the deficit.

5) Washington Times: Radicals to Rule Us All

The Washington Times delves into President Obama’s liberal recess appointments.

They’re the latest left-wing activists to gain public office in President Obama’s gallery of radical rulers, courtesy of recess appointments on March 27.

Mr. Becker is a labor lawyer who has pledged to force “card check” on the nation’s workplaces, which would end the right to work without being a union member. Instead of secret-ballot elections determining whether a workplace would be unionized, which preserves the employees’ freedom to disagree, card check would automatically unionize a workplace if a majority of employees signed a form or card. That would be done under the watchful eye of union goons, of course. No pressure there. Mr. Becker, who was counsel for Andy Stern’s radical, ACORN-linked Service Employees International Union (SEIU) as well as the AFL-CIO, is now on the five-member National Labor Relations Board. That’s the federal agency that serves as a neutral arbiter between employers and labor. Putting Mr. Becker on the board makes about as much sense as naming Yogi Berra as the plate umpire in a Yankees-Red Sox game – no offense to Yogi, a great American.

Ms. Feldblum, a lesbian activist at Georgetown Law Center who has said she cannot think of a single instance in which religious freedom would trump “gay rights,” is the newest commissioner on the five-member Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). That’s the agency that enforces federal civil rights laws in the workplace. Ms. Feldblum once said the culture war could be resolved in a simple manner: “Gays win, Christians lose.” She is an author of the proposed federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), another of Massachusetts Democrat Rep. Barney Frank’s nuclear gifts to the radical left.