Democrats won in spite of themselves

The midterm election of 2006 is one for the history books. Democrats, the perennial bridesmaids of American politics, managed to win the whole thing.

They hit the jackpot, winning not only both houses of Congress, but the majority of governorships and many state legislatures. Could this be a seismic shift that will bring the Democrats out of the political wilderness or is it an anomaly? I'm leaning toward an aberration.

The 2006 election will go down as a footnote in U.S. history. It was a no-confidence vote on a president who led us into an unpopular war. The clock is already ticking on the Democratic Party.

Nancy Pelosi, the soon-to-be Speaker of the House, has already made a major blunder. She was rebuffed by her own members when they rejected John Murtha, Pelosi's hand-picked choice for majority leader. And Pelosi is having a difficult time controlling the oddballs in her party.

Take New York Congressman Charlie Rengel. He wants to re-institute a military draft, a move that would be political suicide for the party in power.

And how long will the far left fringe element of the party remain silent? The liberals control the party leadership and the money. They want to steer the country toward their own extreme agenda and expect Pelosi to start catering to them. Will she risk alienating her coalition of conservative Democrats from the South and West to appease the liberals from the East Coast and California?

Just before the election, I finished a book by Joe Klein, a well-known Democratic Party cheerleader. Even with the success the Democrats enjoyed Nov. 7, I suspect Klein would still say that the Democratic Party is headed nowhere.

A political columnist for Time magazine, Klein has written five books, the best known of which is “Primary Colors,” an inside look at how Bill Clinton won the White House in 1992.

Klein's latest, “Politics Lost: How American Democracy Was Trivialized by People Who Think You're Stupid,” takes a look at how both major political parties have veered off the deep end in the past decade.

Klein pulls no punches in describing the sad state of American politics.

“The Republican Party, once the home of a prudent conservatism, has gone foolishly radical — fiscally irresponsible at home intemperate and bullying abroad, purveyors of an intrusive religiosity that is shockingly intolerant of science or reason,” Klein writes.

Klein saves the harshest criticism for Democrats.

“The Democratic Party, once the home of democracy's more gracious impulses, has become a reactionary bastion — its signature issues of health, education and welfare held hostage by teaching and social-work bureaucracies that are utterly resistant to change; its spiritual vigor sapped by vehement secularism and an overdependence on the judicial system, symbolized by the fanatic defense of abortion rights; its soggy internationalism spineless in the face of a dangerous world,” Klein writes.

Klein sees both parties on the edge of precipice, with extremists on both sides ready to push the party faithful into the abyss.

“Both parties swan toward their extremes, since the extremists are the most adept at raising money and crowds, using direct mail, negative advertising, and the other dark arts of political consultancy,” Klein writes. “And individual politicians, ever mindful of the dangers on all sides, terrified that the next thing they say will become fodder for a thermonuclear negative ad, grow ever more cautious. We are drifting, I fear, toward a flaccid, hollowed-out democracy where honest debate is impossible — a democracy without citizenship.”

Much of the book is an insider's look at every presidential campaign from 1976 to 2004. Stuff only a political addict would be interested in reading. There are occasional gems, such as Klein's explanation of why Al Gore lost a presidential race he should have won in 2000: “He lost the election — actually, it was a dead heat — because he did not seem a credible human being.”

The next two years will be fascinating to watch for anyone who has even a mild interest in politics. It's the first time in 12 years that the Republicans have had to share power with the Democrats, who have steadily veered to the left.

Can the parties work together in a spirit of bipartisanship? That's what most of us hope for. But don't hold your breath.

Klein's book is a bit anti-climactic. He poses a lot of questions, but doesn't have many answers to the problems facing American politics. His advice to politicians is to get rid of the pollsters, consultants, focus groups and just “be themselves.” Not very profound.

I do find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with this observation in Klein's book: “Politics is no longer about governing. The political parties are the same in one regard. Politics today is about how to gain and keep power.

The Pennsylvania Taxman Cometh

Gov. Ed Rendell's Minister of Propaganda was bragging earlier this week that Rendell received a mandate to do whatever he wants over the next four years because he received 60 percent of the vote on Election Day.

That may include raising the gasoline tax (already the second highest in the nation), the sales tax (one of the highest in the nation) and the income tax (raised 10 percent by Rendell in 2003).

In case you need a reminder of how much taxes Pennsylvania residents pay, here's the monthly recap from the Department of Revenue:

The state collected $1.6 billion in General Fund revenue in November, $56.4 million or 3.6 percent more than anticipated, according to Revenue Secretary Gregory C. Fajt.

Fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $9.2 billion, which is $8.7 million or 0.1 percent above estimate, Fajt reports.

Sales Tax receipts totaled $669.4 million for November, which was $16.2 million below estimate. Sales Tax collections year-to-date total $3.6 billion, which is $26.7 million below estimate or 0.7 percent less than anticipated.

Personal Income Tax (PIT) revenue in November was $625.1 million, which was $8.8 million above estimate. This brings year-to-date PIT collections to $3.5 billion, which is $17.6 million or 0.5 percent above estimate.

November Corporation Tax revenue of $106.2 million was $48.7 million above estimate. Year-to-date Corporation Tax collections total $996.7 million, which is $32.6 million or 3.4 percent above estimate.

Other General Fund revenue figures for the month included $60 million in Inheritance Tax, which was $500,000 above estimate, bringing the year-to-date total to $296.9 million, which is $24.1 million below estimate.

Realty Transfer Tax was $39.9 million for November, bringing the total to $252.5 million for the year, which is $18.7 million less than anticipated.

Other General Fund revenue including the Cigarette, Malt Beverage and Liquor Tax totaled $126.4 million for the month, $25.3 million above estimate, bringing the year-to-date total to $574.7 million, which is $28 million above estimate.

In addition to the General Fund collections, the Motor License Fund received $171.3 million for the month, $11.7 million below estimate. Fiscal year-to-date collections for the fund total $1 billion, which is $11.5 million or 1.1 percent below estimate.

The Gaming Fund received $52.8 million in unrestricted revenues for November. Fiscal year-to-date collections for the fund total $102.8 million. Gaming Fund receipts include taxes, fees and interest. Of the total for the month, $2.8 million was collected in state taxes for property tax relief.

Other gaming-related revenues collected for November included $325,000 for the Local Share Assessment; $406,000 for the Economic Development and Tourism Fund; and $1 million for the Race Horse Development Fund.

Let's review. In the past four years, property taxes have risen by $2 billion for every Pennsylvania homeowner despite Rendell'’s promise to lower them. And thanks to Act 1, signed into law by Rendell, your school board will most like raise the Earned Income Tax or Personal Income Tax in 2007 AND also raise your property taxes. That's what Rendell has done for you in the past four years and you went ahead and gave him another four years in office.

Now that the Democrats apparently control the state House, it will make it that much easier for Rendell to get his way with raising taxes, so get ready to fork over more of your hard-earned dollars to Uncle Eddie.

Don't say I didn't warn you about re-electing Rendell. And now with Bill DeWeese will get his hands on the state budget, start packing. You won't be able to afford to live in this state much longer.

Every vote does count

Who says your vote doesn't count?

In a stunning reversal of fortunes, Shannon Royer, the Republican candidate for Chester County's 156th House seat, lost the 19-vote lead he's been clinging to since Election Day.

Chester County officials today declared Democrat Barbara McIlvaine Smith the winner by 23 votes. Those 23 voters will have a dramatic impact on Pennsylvania's future.

Not only is Shannon Royer not going to Harrisburg as a state representative, but his loss caused a seismic political shift felt across Pennsylvania.

For the first time in 12 years, Democrats take control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives by a 102-101 margin. Before the voters went to the polls on Nov. 7, Republicans enjoyed a comfortable 109-seat majority in the 203-member House, but the GOP lost eight seats.

The most devastating loss was in the 156th District, a seat held by Republican Elinor Z. Taylor for the past 30 years. Royer was hand-picked by the Republican bigwigs in Harrisburg to hold the seat for the GOP. Not only did he fail, but he cost his boss, John Perzel, another two year-term as Speaker of the House.

Prince John Perzel was nowhere to be found Tuesday as other politicians (mostly of the Democratic persuasion) were popping champagne corks. What's that Shakespeare said about Prince John? Something along the lines of "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown."

Perzel will be lucky to keep his head when the new Legislature convenes in January. Since the July 2005 pay raise fiasco, Perzel has led the Republican Caucus from one minefield into another. Prince John Perzel and his sidekick, Sam Smith, are responsible for the GOP debacle throughout the 2006 election cycle. Dozens of Republican legislators were led over a cliff by Perzel and Smith.

As much as I don't mind seeing Perzel and Smith lose leadership of the House, I can't help but think that a Democratic speaker, Bill DeWeese, will be just as bad for Pennsylvania. (And let's not forget that DeWeese was one of the architects of the July 2005 pay raise).

At least we won't have to put up with the charade of Republicans helping to push through Rendell's agenda anymore. Rendell got his wish, a Democratic House, and he'll get all the lemmings in the Democratic Caucus to back his proposals for higher taxes, expanded gambling and more corporate welfare.

The only hope for Pennsylvania residents is the state Senate, where Republicans hold a 29-21 majority. It's the last line of defense against Rendell's tax-and-spend brand of liberalism that will lead Pennsylvania to financial ruin.

This is a perfect time for the Republican Party to purge people like Perzel and Smith and begin the rebuilding process with an eye toward 2008.

(In the second close Chester County race, Republican Duane Milne beat Democrat Anne Crowley by 144 votes to win the 167th District seat, according to Tuesday's count. Milne had been ahead since Election Day, but this was another Republican district that should never have been this close. The final numbers show Milne with 13,556 votes and Crowley with 13,412 votes.)

Hanging chads over Chester County

It's déjà vu all over again.

Shades of Florida in 2000 when the fate of the presidency hung on paper ballots with hanging chads. Fast-forward to Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 2006, and we apparently still don't know how to conduct an election.

Three weeks after voters had their say, Chester County elections' officials still haven't finished counting the ballots in two crucial legislative races.

County officials gathered again Monday for more counting, but still have not declared a winner in two tight legislative races. The Republican candidates are ahead in both races, but those are unofficial numbers. Also on Monday, lawyers for the Democratic candidates filed the necessary paperwork contesting the election -- just in case their clients finish second in the final tally.

The results are not only of interest to the four candidates on the ballot, but will determine which party controls the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. There are 203 state representatives and Republicans lost most, if not all, of the majority they held before Nov. 7. The party breakdown as of today is 101 Democrats and 100 Republicans, with the two Chester County races still to be determined.

In the 156th District, Republican Shannon E. Royer finished ahead of Democrat Barbara McIlvaine Smith by a scant 19 votes in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Elinor Z. Taylor, according to the vote total released Nov. 7.

In the 167th district, Republican Duane Milne held a preliminary lead of 136 votes over Democrat Anne R. Crowley, according to the unofficial vote total.

Those numbers could be reversed by uncounted absentee and provisional ballots. Why the counting of those ballots hasn’t been completed in the past three weeks is one of those great mysteries in life.

Republicans went into the Nov. 7 election with a safe majority of 109 House seats. Under the leadership of House Speaker John "Custer" Perzel and Majority Leader Sam "Waterloo" Smith, the GOP lost at least seven seats and Republicans are still holding their breath over the two races in Chester County.

Both seats were held by longtime Republicans and should have been won by Republicans, who enjoy a large voter registration advantage in each district. But with Perzel and Smith running the party, the 2006 election was more like the maiden voyage of the Titanic.

So what is going on in Chester County? On Monday, elections' officials concluded an unofficial review of some ballots cast by military and overseas voters, but were not expected to begin sifting through about 600 uncounted absentee ballots until today at the earliest, according to The Associated Press.

The best-case scenario for Republicans is to hold the leads in both Chester County contests and return to Harrisburg in January with a 102-101 majority. If the Republicans lose one of the disputed seats, say goodbye to 12 years of Republican control of the state legislature.

Regardless of the outcome, can any rational person explain why the Republican Caucus re-elected Perzel and Smith to leadership posts for the next two years after what these two buffoons did the party over the last two years?

Perzel and Smith rounded up enough Republican votes to pass Gov. Ed Rendell's massive income tax hike in 2003, the casino gambling bill in 2004 and the pay raise in 2005. With RINOs (Republican In Name Only) like Perzel and Smith, who needs Democrats in Harrisburg?

Perzel and Smith should have been run out of the state Capitol on a rail by their fellow Republicans instead of being rewarded again to leadership posts.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out

Sore losers? Sour grapes? Ingrates? You better believe it.

Some of Pennsylvania's imperial lawmakers who were tossed out of office by voters this year took a few parting shots at constituents and the news media as they cleaned out their desks and prepared to leave the royal surroundings of the state Capitol.

This is what happens when a class of political elite is allowed to propagate unchecked in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C. These career politicians expect to stay in office for decades, and the longer they hold on to the trappings of power, the less interested they become in representing the folks back home.

Regardless of your party affiliation, one of the bright spots of 2006 was the fact that dozens of career politicians at the state and national level were fired by the voters of Pennsylvania.

The sour grapes began shortly after the May 2006 primary elections, when 17 incumbent Pennsylvania legislators were booted from office. Another 31 chose to "retire" rather than face the voters.

Dennis Leh, a 20-year veteran of the Harrisburg scene, had this to say when he lost to a no-name opponent who spent about $1,200 of his own money for signs and a few newspaper ads but did little else in the way of campaigning:

Challenger Billy Reed didn't beat me, Leh said. "The papers did. We deserved some of it, but the papers just crucified us." That remark was followed by a letter to the editor by Leh's wife questioning the intellect of the voters who ousted her hubby.

The Harrisburg housecleaning continued in November when several more entrenched career politicians, most notably Mike Veon (the No. 2 Democrat in the state House) were fired.

As the Legislature ended its session this week, some of the bums who were kicked out of office had a few choice words for the people they were elected to serve and for the reporters who cover Harrisburg.

According to veteran statehouse reporter Alison Hawkes, Chester County Republican Rep. Robert J. Flick lashed out at the media for intense coverage of the pay raise and at voters for taking the bait.

To the news media who "suckle at the bosom of disgruntled lawmakers — get a life, get a real job," Flick said last week, according to the Hawkes' article, "Lawmakers bitter over defeat."

Flick's comment was met with some applause on the House, Hawkes reported.

Rep. Roy Baldwin, a Lancaster County Republican who lost in the primary, said the pay raise "taught me how the media can take control of an issue and blow it out of proportion" to sell more newspapers. "In my opinion, the media is influencing the direction of this House much more than it should."

Again applause, according to Hawkes.

Yeah, Roy, I can see how that media can blow a 54-percent pay raise approved at 2 a.m. out of proportion.

The comments were unusual in that farewell speeches are normally used to praise fellow members and staff, speak of accomplishments, tell inside jokes and offer departing wisdom, Hawkes wrote.

Hawkes also spoke to Tim Potts, coordinator for Democracy Rising PA, who said the angry comments, particularly against the media, show lawmakers are unable to recognize that their wounds are self-inflicted.

"The media can't report on the pay raise if they didn't do the pay raise. The media can't report on secrecy if they are not secretive," Potts said. "The only thing delusional about what's in the media is the attitude of the members themselves."

Another veteran Harrisburg observer, Michael Race, also wrote about the departing legislators in an article headlined, "Political sour grapes," for the Times-Shamrock Newspapers.

While most have been reflective, a few have opted to toss bombs on their way out the door, Race reported.

Rep. Stephen Maitland, R-Adams, whose constituents ousted him in the May primary, unleashed a bitter rant last week, essentially telling the voters of his district they were closed-minded fools for ending his political career.

"I don’t regret my pay-raise vote one bit," Maitland said. "I just wish the voters had listened with open minds about it. In a very short period of time, I’ll be making two to three times what a state representative makes," Maitland added, a reference to his budding career as a lawyer. "You passed up a bargain."

Race also highlighted Rep. Robert Flick's bizarre comments about the media who "suckle at the breast of disgruntled lawmakers."

"Get a life," Flick told members of the journalism community. "Get a real job. You couldn’t accomplish half of what the good men and women in this chamber do for the public and for the commonwealth."

It's hard to feel sorry for any of the legislators who were tossed out on their keisters by the voters. They're set for life. They've made tons of money by feeding from the public trough for decades. They took a lot more in cash and gifts from lobbyists that we'll never know about. They will get taxpayer-paid pensions (many in the $50,000 to $100,000 a year range) and free medical care for themselves and their families for the rest of their lives.

Good riddance.

Act 1, an exercise in futility

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king who offended the gods. As punishment, he was forced to roll a giant boulder up a hill but before he reached the top, the rock would roll back down. Sisyphus would have to repeat his task for eternity.

The legend of Sisyphus speaks about the futility and hopelessness of some tasks.

If Sisyphus lived in modern-day Pennsylvania, he probably would have been appointed to a tax study commission by his local school board.

All across Pennsylvania, hundreds of volunteers have been meeting to make recommendations to their respective school boards on the best way to levy taxes to fund school budgets.

The tax commissions are a requirement of Act 1, the so-called property tax relief bill the state Legislature came up with after an eight-month special session. Act 1 was promptly signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell, who went on to proclaim he delivered on his promise to cut property taxes, although his plan delivers rebates to 20 percent of Pennsylvania residents.

As the tax commissions make recommendations to school boards over the next few weeks, it will become apparent to all Pennsylvania taxpayers that Act 1 is one of the biggest scams ever perpetuated on an unsuspecting public by politicians.

Most Pennsylvania residents will end up paying more in taxes under Act 1. One area school district calculated that 73 percent of its homeowners will pay more in taxes under this "property tax relief" plan.

Frequently heard comments about Act 1 at tax commission meetings include: "an exercise in futility," "a sick joke," "a no-win situation," "a dead end" and "two steps up, three steps back."

One area tax study commission reviewed a dozen scenarios for tinkering with the school district's tax rate and concluded that the majority of its taxpayers would be worse off under all 12 scenarios.

Some say Act 1 was a deliberate slap in the face to school districts by Gov. Rendell and the Legislature because more than 80 percent of the state's 501 school districts rejected an earlier "tax relief" plan known as Act 72. Remember last year when Rendell questioned the intelligence of school board members who voted against Act 72?

Could Act 1 be payback by Rendell and the Legislature because Pennsylvania's political aristocracy was forced to confront the property tax issue for most of its last session?

Many school districts are holding out hope that the Legislature will come to its senses and repeal Act 1 once 55 new legislators are sworn into office in January. But the recent election of the same party leaders who pushed through the pay raise of 2005 and Act 72 and Act 1 makes you wonder if anyone in Harrisburg has any clue at all.

If Act 1 is not repealed, taxpayers will have to learn phrases like "back-end referendum" and "front-end referendum." Act 1 will pit elderly homeowners against younger wage earners to see who pays more in school taxes. Act 1 gives voters a chance to say "yes" or "no" to a tax shift from property taxes to an earned-income tax (EIT) or a personal-income tax (PIT). Who is going to vote "yes" to raising their own taxes?

Back to Sisyphus. If voters turn down a recommendation to switch to an EIT or PIT when they go to the polls in May 2007, school districts fall back on the property tax. And even if an EIT or PIT is approved, school districts can still raise property taxes each year. Also keep in mind that renters will never receive a tax break under Act 1. Any reduction in the property tax goes only to low-income homeowners who file the necessary paperwork.

Why are Rendell and the Legislature making property owners jump through rings of fire to get a few hundred dollars in property tax relief? That's a question voters should have asked themselves before re-electing Rendell and so many incumbents to the Legislature.

The only viable answer to the property tax quandary is the total elimination of property taxes under the Plan for Pennsylvania's Future, commonly known as the Commonwealth Caucus Plan. But Rendell and every single Democrat in the state Legislature oppose the plan. The most votes the Caucus Plan received in the last session was 74, all Republicans. A majority of 102 is needed to pass the House.

Gov. Rendell and the Legislature shirked their responsibility by punting the property tax question back to voters. We elect these people to represent us and we reward them handsomely to make decisions. Rendell and the Legislature should not have forced residents to pick their poison with Act 1.

Contact your legislator today and demand they repeal Act 1 and support the Commonwealth Caucus Plan to eliminate property taxes. No more excuses. If your legislator wants to keep his or her job, they have to start doing their job.

Remind them that 2008 will be here in no time and you have a long memory. The job of cleaning up Harrisburg has just begun.

Legislators off to a bad start

Pennsylvania politicians delivered a one-two punch to the gut of their contituents this week.

The first body blow came when Democrats and Republicans in the state House each re-elected the same leadership team that orchestrated the July 2005 legislative pay raise.

Despite all the talk of reform and promises by incumbents to mend their evil ways, little has changed in Harrisburg. One in five legislators were forced into retirement or voted out in the May primary and November general election, but the remaining members of Pennsylvania's political aristocracy decided to maintain the status quo.

Another blow to taxpayers came Friday when officials announced that the Legislature, the governor and most other statewide officials would get an automatic 2 percent pay raise. The legislators will see more money in their paychecks starting Dec. 1. The governor, his cabinet and state judges will get theirs come Jan. 1.

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Ralph Cappy, one of the architects of the July 2005 pay raise, will be the highest paid elected officials in Pennsylvania in 2007 with an annual salary of $180,336. The other six members of the state Supreme Court will earn $175,236 a year.

Gov. Ed Rendell, another prime mover behind the pay raise, will be paid $164,396. (This would be the very same Ed Rendell who vetoed a bill to allow communities to spread out collection of the $52 local services tax. Workers will see the entire amount removed from their first paycheck of 2007. When you’re making $164,000 a year, $52 means nothing, but when you work for a living, a $52 hit in your paycheck is significant.

House Speaker John Perzel, R-Philadelphia, another originator of the July 2005 pay raise, will pocket $114,916 a year.

The Senate president pro tempore will also get $114,916, but we won't find out who that is until next week when the Senate picks its leadership slate. The last pro tempore, Robert Jubelirer, was voted out of office in the May 2006 primary.

The starting salary for a Pennsylvania legislator will rise to $73,614 on Dec. 1, keeping the Pennsylvania's House of Lords among the highest paid lawmakers in the country, behind only California, Michigan and New York. Because Pennsylvania has the largest full-time Legislature in the country, it keeps its ranking as the most expensive in the land.

Pennsylvania politicians get an automatic pay raise every year unless they vote to turn it down. That hasn’t happened in the past 10 years. This year’s 2 percent increase is the lowest cost-of-living adjustment for state officials since 2002. In other years, the pay increase has exceeded 5 percent.

Although the base salary for legislators is $73,614, many of the 253 legislators will make much more because they hold various caucus leadership positions or serve as committee chairmen.

Salaries for 28 elected caucus leaders will range from $106,657 for majority and minority leaders, to $83,940 for caucus secretaries, administrators and policy committee chairs, according to the Harrisburg Patriot-News.

And the salary is just the beginning.

Lawmakers receive a lifetime pension (an average of $50,000 a year), full medical, dental and vision plans for themselves and family members, taxpayer-funded life insurance, long-term care insurance, free use of a state car or $650 a month to lease a car of their choice, gasoline reimbursement and $141 per diem for showing up for work in Harrisburg.

The per diem system is ripe with abuse. One legislator who lost re-election this year was known to drive to Harrisburg daily, sign in to collect his $141 per diem and then take the rest of the day off to play golf. Legislators can collect tens of thousands of dollars each year in per diems on top of their salary.

Taxpayers end up paying about $2.7 million a year in per diem reimbursements to legislators. The average legislator who was eligible claimed about $24,000 in per diems last year, according to The Associated Press. And some did a lot better. Rep. Gaynor Cawley, D-Scranton, collected a total of $39,998 in per diems from Jan. 1, 2005, through June 30, 2006, according to The Citizens Voice newspaper in Wilkes-Barre.

And this is just the perks taxpayers pay for.

Legislators also receive free meals, free trips, free lodging, free tickets to sporting events and concerts and all sorts of other gifts from lobbyists trying to influence legislation.

Pennsylvania voters sent a message in 2006. They want reform. Instead, the legislators who went back to Harrisburg this week betrayed the voters and returned the same self-serving leaders who gave us the July 2005 pay raise and repeatedly blocked efforts to eliminate property taxes. Putting Republicans John Perzel and Sam Smith and Democrat Bill DeWeese back into power is a travesty.

The ouster of 55 legislators was a start, but it's painfully obvious that hundreds more, both Democrats and Republicans, must be removed from office.

Who will control the Pennsylvania House?

Control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives could be determined Tuesday.

As of Friday, Republicans and Democrats each hold 101 seats in the 203 House. Republicans claim they won the final contest, the race for Chester County’s 156th Dist., but the counting continues. Another close race, in Chester County's 167th Dist., is also being reviewed by elections officials.

Republican Shannon Royer apparently won the 157th seat on Election Day by 19 votes over Democrat McIlvaine Smith. Unofficial results have Royer with 11,500 to McIlvaine Smith’s 11, 481 votes.

But the results are not yet officials, leaving some doubt over which party will control the state House in 2007 and who gets to be Speaker of the House.

Chester County officials issued the following statement Friday afternoon:

"The Provisional Board has finished reviewing all voters’ registration issues for the 156th District. The determination is that, of the 38 provisional ballots cast on Election Day, only 20 were validated for inclusion in the final vote count. The Provisional Board validation process began today for the 167th, in which 64 provisional voters will be reviewed. The Board of Elections will meet Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006, at 10:30 am to hear challenges concerning the provisional and absentee ballots cast in the 156th and 167th Legislative Districts. The meeting will be held in room 171 of the Government Services Center, located at 601 Westtown Road in West Chester, PA.The Computation Board has completed the process for all precincts in Chester County, except for those precincts within the 156th and 167th districts. Until all challenges have been heard and decided upon, the districts cannot be certified."

In the 167th Dist., unofficial results show Republican Duane Milne received 13,309 votes, and Democrat Anne R. Crowley had 13,173 votes. Democrats have challenged the results.

Before the Nov. 7 election, Republicans held 109 seats in the House. The GOP's best-case scenario is a loss of 7 seats. And this is why the Republican caucus re-elected John Perzel as speaker and Sam Smith as majority leader? These two men presided over the loss of those 7 seats.

Perzel and Smith were also behind the July 20005 pay raise fiasco that started the whole anti-incumbent movement. Perzel and Smith also blocked all reforms and oppose efforts to eliminate property taxes.

If Republicans are wondering why they're no longer in control in Pennsylvania, look no further than Perzel and Smith (and the dimwitted Republicans who re-elected them as their caucus leaders).

Final thoughts on the 2006 election

I've waited an entire week to comment on the results of the Nov. 7 election. Now that the dust has settled, here are some random thoughts.

While I was disappointed that Ed Rendell and his young ward, Bobby Casey Jr., won their respective races — both are bad for Pennsylvania — I can't say that I was surprised Republicans lost control of Congress.

The GOP majority over the past few years has betrayed the Republican cause and acted just like Democrats. They got lazy and greedy — just like Democrats. And there's no arguing that the Bush administration has botched the Iraq War. Republicans deserved what they got.

Having said that, my biggest worry over the next two years is that President Bush won't be able to appoint a solid conservative to the Supreme Court should one of the aging liberals on the court kick the bucket. Instead of a John Roberts or a Samuel Alito, we'll probably end up with another Anthony Kennedy or David Souter. That's the biggest downside to a Democratic majority in the Senate.

Otherwise, I had a pretty good Election Day.

My favorite candidate, Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-6th Dist.), won his race against the heavily favored Lois Murphy. It was a close contest, decided by just 3,000 votes. Gerlach beat the Democratic wave that sank so many other incumbent Republicans because of two reasons. First, he's a good Congressman who has done a good job representing his district. Second, Gerlach's campaign used excerpts from my columns in their newspaper and television advertising and also in direct mailings. I can't tell you how many Democrats, Libertarians and independents approached me to say they saw the commercials and had second thoughts about Gerlach's far left opponent. I'm convinced my endorsement put Gerlach over the top.

One of my favorite political sites, www.politicspa.com, compiled a list of the Best and Worst Political Campaigns of 2006. At the top of the list is Jim Gerlach for Congress.

Here's what the folks at www.politicspa.com had to say: "Let's be honest ... Congressman Jim Gerlach ran abysmal campaigns in the last two cycles. This time, Gerlach imported Mark Campbell. Campbell ran an aggressive, mean campaign — the only kind of campaign that might have given Gerlach a shot to avoid the strong Democratic tide this year. He is responsible for driving up opponent Lois Murphy's negatives to the point where some in the press even believed she was a lobbyist and plagiarizer. Campbell is the kind of guy you want running your race when everyone thinks you are going to lose. A week before the election, Chuck Todd (National Journal's Hotline editor) said of PA-6, "I'm picking Gerlach. He's run the best race of the cycle."

In some other races, 7 of the 10 legislators I endorsed in Berks County won their races. That's a pretty good batting average. Also, 11 of the 14 legislators running in Chester and Montgomery counties who I supported won their races.

This was a difficult year to be a Republican, but 2008 is right around the corner. George W. Bush will be leaving office and the Democrats won't be able to run against an incumbent president in 2008.

Democrats will also have two years of Congressional votes to defend. I can see the campaign ads already: "Democrat John Doe voted to give himself a pay raise in the past two years. Congresswoman Jane Doe voted with Nancy Pelosi 98 percent of the time."

What goes around comes around in politics and the Democrats will be on the defensive in 2008. They have to defend the most seats. The Democrats sat on their hands over the past two years and offered no solutions to any of the country's problems. Now that they're in the majority, they have to lead.

The GOP will make a strong comeback in 2008, winning back both house of Congress by large majorities and keeping the White House in Republican hands. It doesn't matter who the Republican presidential candidate is. Anybody running against Hillary Clinton will win.

One crisis after another

Get used to seeing the word "crisis" frequently during the next four years of an Ed Rendell administration.

Rendell's Ministry of Propaganda and his allies in the news media worked hard in the months leading up to the Nov. 7 election to persuade millions of Pennsylvania voters that things couldn't be any better in Pennsylvania. Now that the election is over, and Rendell gets another four years in the governor’s mansion, it's time for the truth to come out about the sorry state of the Commonwealth.

You didn't really believe those Rendell campaign commercials did you?

The first crisis that Pennsylvania has to deal with involves transportation. It will be followed by many more. Look for the pension crisis, the school funding crisis, the budget crisis, the healthcare crisis, etc.

Every one of those neglected areas will need billions of dollars to fix. And guess who will be paying the bill?

The chickens are coming home to roost for Rendell's first four years of runaway spending and irresponsible borrowing, corporate welfare and the diversion of funds to prop up poorly managed mass transit systems in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

One week after the election, the Pennsylvania Transportation Funding and Reform Commission, appointed by Rendell to study the state’s transportation infrastructure, has come back with some bad news.

In a 150-page report, the commission says Pennsylvania needs $1.7 billion to fix the state's highways and bridges and bankroll the perpetually failing SEPTA system. And where will this money come from? The commission would like Pennsylvania residents to cough up more to obtain a driver's license, register their vehicles and fill up a tank of gas.

The specifics will have to be ironed out by Rendell and the state Legislature, but the commission wants to see the 19-cents-per-gallon oil franchise tax raised by 11.5 cents per gallon. The higher gas tax, coupled with increased motor vehicle registration and license fees, would generate about $900 million for highway and bridge projects, the commission says.

The tax hikes won't stop there. The report also calls for raising $65 million for bridges and highways owned by counties and municipalities through an additional 1-cent increase in the oil franchise tax. The commission is also recommending a combination of state and local taxes to raise another $760 million for mass transit. The Rendell administration would raise its $576 million share by raising the 1 percent realty transfer tax by less than one percentage point; counties and municipalities would raise their shares by imposing local sales, earned-income, or realty-transfer taxes.

(Keep in mind that this new round of tax hikes is separate from the tax increases being considered by your local school board under Act 1, which Rendell signed into law earlier this year. Many school districts will be imposing earned-income tax hikes or increases in the personal income tax in a hair-brained scheme to lower property taxes. But in some school districts, up to 70 percent of taxpayers will end up paying more in taxes under Act 1. That's what Rendell and the state Legislature came up with as "tax relief" after months of negotiations. Also, Act 1 does not prevent school districts from raising property taxes every year.)

Rendell formed the transportation commission in early 2005 when the Republican-controlled Legislature refused to bail out the state's mismanaged transit agencies. Rendell siphoned more than $400 million in federal highway funds to keep SEPTA afloat until 2007. Guess what? SEPTA is running out of money again. SEPTA and the Port Authority of Allegheny County expect to run up an $80 million deficit in the first six months of 2007.

Don't you feel like a jerk right about now for re-electing Rendell? This is the thanks you get? He is going to raise the gas tax and make you pay a higher mortgage. The Associated Press calculates the typical driver will pay $84 more a year to cover the higher gas tax and fee increases. The proposed realty transfer tax increase would add about $60 a year to a 30-year, $150,000 mortgage for homeowners, according to The Associated Press.

And this is just the beginning. By re-electing Rendell, Pennsylvania voters guaranteed four more years of higher taxes to pay for the massive expansion of state spending — $6 billion so far — under Rendell. And don't forget about that $4 billion in borrowing during Rendell’s first four years in office. You and your children and your grandchildren will be paying off those loans long after Ed Rendell has moved on to bigger and better things.

Rendell develops amnesia on property taxes

I warned you about Ed Rendell. In fact, I gave you 33 reasons why he did not deserve re-election. But did you listen? Nooooo! More than 2.4 million of you decided it was a good idea to give Rendell another four years to tax and spend Pennsylvania into the poor house.

Are you having second thoughts yet? If not, consider this.

The day after the Rendell landslide, the governor held a press conference to discuss his second-term agenda. What hot issues will Rendell tackle in 2007? He mentioned education, economic development, mass transit funding, the environment, health coverage, term limits for the state Legislature and campaign finance reform.

Conspicuously absent from the governor's list of priorities was property tax relief.

That's right. The No. 1 issue that voters want addressed escaped the governor's mind.

This is the very same governor who promised four years ago to cut everyone's property tax bill by 30 percent while standing on his head. The very same governor who called for a special session of the Legislature last September to deal with property tax relief.

The very same governor who has tried all kinds of parlor tricks (Act 72, Act 1, Slot Machines) to distract Pennsylvania taxpayers from the fact that he has failed to deal with property taxes.

Now that he's been re-elected, Rendell doesn't even want to discuss property taxes. Feeling duped?

Get ready for four more years of tax hikes. Rendell will push for an increase in the sales tax, the income tax and the gas tax in 2007. Get set for more spending. And brace yourself for more borrowing.

Right before the election, a report came out that Pennsylvania's debt has risen to $10 BILLION. It went up by $4 BILLION under Gov. Rendell. This is on top of record spending by Rendell, which has brought the state budget to $26.1 BILLION.

Pennsylvania is spending a twice the rate of inflation. And we're deeper in debt. That is Rendell’s legacy. We are going to be paying for Rendell's spending for generations to come.

And this Monday, the long-awaited report on the state of Pennsylvania's transportation infrastructure comes out. Interesting how the report is being released a week after the election.

The report will say that Pennsylvania needs to find billions more each year to fix its roads and bridges. And if you've been listening closely to Rendell, the state needs to find a "dedicated source of revenue" to subsidize mass transit in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Translation: Get ready to pay more at the pump. Pennsylvania's gas tax will be going up!!!

Don't say I didn't warn you.

In the meantime, get in touch with Rendell and remind him that he still works for you. Here's where to call or write: Gov. Edward G. Rendell's Office, 225 Main Capitol Building, Harrisburg, PA 17120. Call 717-787-2500. E-mail at this Web site: www.governor.state.pa.us

A few bright spots for Republicans

George W. Bush lost his first national election Tuesday.

The president wasn't on the ballot anywhere in the United States, but clearly Tuesday's vote was a repudiation of Bush's handling of the Iraq War.

Bush still has two years left in the White House, but voters punished the Republican Party for the Bush administration's failures in Iraq by turning control of the House of Representatives over to the Democrats for the first time in 12 years. The Senate could end up tied 50-50 or in Democratic hands depending on the outcome of one race that is still too close to call.

The resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld Wednesday was another casualty of Tuesday's vote. What if Rumsfeld had quit a week ago? Would the Republicans have held onto Congress?

While Nancy Pelosi is busy picking out curtains for her new office as Speaker of the House, was this really a mandate for the Democrats? Eighteen of the House seats that went to the Democrats Tuesday were won by 5,000 or fewer votes. They could easily swing back to the Republicans in 2008. And many of the Democrats who won Tuesday are moderates or conservative. How far are they willing to follow Pelosi, a San Francisco liberal?

Now that Democrats are in the majority, they no longer can sit on the sidelines and just complain. They actually have to get off their duffs and do their jobs, something they haven't done since 2004. Saying "no" to every initiative offered by President Bush offers won't cut it anymore. Democrats will actually have to lead, something they're not very good at doing.

My prediction is that Pelosi and her liberals will fall flat on their faces over the next two years, clearing the way for an even bigger GOP majority in 2008. Remember that Bush won't be a factor in 2008. When your entire strategy is to run against the president and he's done with his term, you have no strategy at all.

For Pennsylvania Republicans looking for a glimmer of hope following Tuesday's Election Day drubbing, here's a few points to consider:

* Incumbent Republican Congressman Jim Gerlach won re-election against heavily favored Lois Murphy. Gerlach was the No. 1 target of Democrats in this year's House races. Despite millions of dollars poured into the Murphy campaign and visits from Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, Lois Murphy was rejected by voters in the 6th Congressional District. This is a race Democrats wanted to win badly, but they blew it.

* Seven other incumbent Republican congressmen from Pennsylvania won re-election Tuesday: Charlie Dent, Joe Pitts, Phil English, John Peterson, Bill Shuster, Tim Murphy and Todd Platts.

* U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick finally conceded the 8th District seat Wednesday afternoon to his Democratic challenger, Patrick Murphy, who isn't old enough to shave. I predict Murphy will serve one term. Republicans will get the seat back in 2008. When the dust settled, Pennsylvania's 19-member Congressional delegation ended up with 11 Democrats and 8 Republicans. Not exactly a Democratic wave.

More bright spots for the Republicans:

* Mike Veon, the No. 2 Democrat in the state House and one of the architects of the July 2005 legislative payjacking, lost to a GOP reformer in western Pennsylvania. Veon was the only legislator voting against the pay raise repeal in November 2005.

* Seven of the 10 Republicans running for state Legislative seats in my neck of the woods, Berks County, won their races. The group of 10 ran as a reform coalition and promises to stir things up in Harrisburg.

* It doesn't appear Democrats will win control of the state House despite Gov. Ed Rendell's coattails and the $3 million Rendell tossed into Legislative races to help get a Democratic majority.

* Republicans hold a solid majority in the state Senate and with Rendell cronies Bob Jubilirer and Chip Brightbill gone, don't expect cooperation from the Senate leadership when it comes to pushing Rendell's tax-and-spend agenda.

* Three candidates endorsed by the Pennsylvania Club for Growth PAC, Mike Folmer (48th Senate District), Jim Cox (128th House District) and Todd Rock (90th House District) won their respective races Tuesday, showing the growing influence of GOP conservatives in Pennsylvania.

GOP signs vandalized

Campaign signs for three Republican candidates were vandalized overnight in Berks County.

Someone spray-painted over the names of U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach and state Rep. Sam Rohrer -- all Republicans -- on campaign signs along a two-mile stretch of Route 422 in Exeter.

Interestingly, campaign signs for Democratic candidates Bob Casey Jr., Lois Murphy and Russ Hummel -- placed right next to the vandalized GOP signs -- were not touched.

Gerlach was the victim of two other sign-related attacks in recent days. An elderly man ripped down dozens of Gerlach signs along Route 100 in Chester County. (The man is facing charges after a passing motorist called police).

Gerlach signs were also removed from a grassy area by the entrance to the Route 422 bypass in Douglassville. (Give the Gerlach camp credit. New Gerlach signs were back on Election Day in this area).

In Delaware County, someone painted a negative comment about U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon on the side of an overpass at a busy highway.

Are Democrats so desperate that they have to resort to vandalism because they're not getting out the vote they expected? Stay tuned.

Lois Murphy in my neighborhood?

Democrat Lois Murphy, challenging incumbent Jim Gerlach in the 6th Congressional District, stopped by the polling site in my hometown today. I can't figure out how she found the place since it's a long way from her swanky Main Line neighborhood that I wrote about in a column called "Lois Murphy is not my neighbor."

I heard that Mrs. Murphy was not too happy with the column or the Gerlach campaign's use of quotes from the column in campaign literature and television commercials attacking Murphy and her liberal supporters. For the record, I have no dealings with the Gerlach campaign.

A colleague at The Mercury was watching TV today and heard a promo from the anchorman about an "altercation" involving Murphy at a polling site. He naturally assumed it was me, but I was nowhere near the polling site when Mrs. Murphy pulled into town.

The incident happened in Murphy's real neighborhood, where an elderly Jim Gerlach supporter stood outside the poll with a campaign sign. The TV cameras showed Murphy's husband pushing the Gerlach supporter aside.

What's with all this aggression on the part of liberals these days?

Hidden voices must be heard

More than 165,000 Pennsylvania residents signed nominating petitions this year to place third-party and independent candidates on the Nov. 7 ballot. But you won't find most of those candidates on the ballot.

This is Pennsylvania, where Democrats and Republicans don't want voters to have a choice other than one of their hand-picked candidates.

Russ Diamond, the founder of PaCleanSweep, is one of the names you won't find on the ballot Tuesday. Diamond gathered 38,000 signatures to run as an independent for governor. That's 20 times more signatures than those required by Ed Rendell or Lynn Swann. But Diamond failed to make the ballot because he could not meet the 67,000-signature requirement set by an archaic formula in the state constitution.

Even when a third-party candidate gathers enough signatures, Democrat and Republican party bosses have ways to knock them off the ballot. A perfect example of this is Carl Romanelli, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania. Romanelli collected 99,802 nominating signatures to have his name put on the ballot next to Sen. Rick Santorum and Bob Casey Jr., but the Casey campaign and the Democratic Party took Romanelli to court.

A state judge ruled that Romanelli did not have enough valid signatures on his petitions so he kicked Romanelli off the ballot. Our Founding Fathers must be rolling in their graves. This is what passes for Democracy in modern-day Pennsylvania. Two political parties control elections and can disenfranchise thousands of their fellow citizens, with the blessing of the courts.

The state Constitution guarantees that "Elections shall be free and equal; and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage."

Where is that Constitutional protection for Russ Diamond, Carl Romanelli and hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania voters who don't want to register as Republican or Democrat?

The Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition held a press conference on the steps of the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg last week to bring attention to the denial of constitutional rights to so many Pennsylvanians.

Each of the speakers was introduced as a "hidden voice" by Ken Krawchuk, a perennial Libertarian Party candidate and an officer in the Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition.

Because of restrictive ballot access laws, Pennsylvania is one of only four states where third-party candidates will not be allowed to run for statewide office this year.

In addition to Diamond and Romanelli, several other candidates denied access to the 2006 ballot attended the press conference: Ronald W. Satz, Libertarian Party candidate for governor; Hagan Smith, Constitution Party candidate for governor; Tom Martin, Libertarian Party candidate for U.S. Senate) and Carl C. Edwards, Constitution Party candidate for U.S. Senate.

While some third-party candidates will be on the ballot for state legislative races, including Libertarian James Babb in Montgomery County's 157th state House District and Jeff Brindle, Socialist Party candidate for Chester County's 26th state House District, there are no candidates for governor, lieutenant governor or U.S. senator on Tuesday’s ballot.

While the Democratic Party and Bob Casey are to blame for keeping Romanelli off the ballot, the Republican Party also wants to restrict ballot access. The only reason the two dominant parties have offered to deny third-party candidates access to elections is something they're calling "ballot clutter."

In other words, Republicans and Democrats think Pennsylvania voters are too dumb to choose a governor or a senator from a list of five candidates. They can only handle two: Rendell or Swann.

Never mind that in 2002, Democratic primary voters picked from nine candidates for lieutenant governor or in 2004, Democratic Party voters had 11 presidential candidates on the primary ballot. And in some legislative races this May, up to five Democrats or Republicans were on the ballot.

Pennsylvania's two-party monopoly (or should that be duopoly?) is a disgrace. The two major political parties and the courts have schemed for too long to deny Pennsylvania voters their most basic of rights.

If you are a member of the Libertarian Party, Green Party, Constitution Party, America First Party, Reform Party, Prohibition Party, Socialist Party or Unified Independent Party, you are a second class citizen.

If you're looking for another reason to vote out incumbents on Tuesday, keep in mind that most of the Democrats and Republicans on the ballot don't want you to have a choice.

The only recourse is to elect new candidates to the state Legislature and make sure they support the Voters' Choice Act. So far, only a handful of incumbent legislators have shown the courage to publicly support the bill. That list, along with more background about free and equal elections, is posted on the coalition's Web site, www.paballotaccess.org

In the meantime, there is something you can do Tuesday if you don't want to give Gov. Ed Rendell four more years as governor but you can't bring yourself to elect Lynn Swann. Same goes for the Santorum-Casey race. As a protest to the limits the major parties place on your right to choose, you can write in the names of third-party candidates.

'Better than nothing'

I have a suggestion for a new state motto for Pennsylvania: "Better than nothing."

A coalition of reform groups gathered on the steps of the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg Tuesday to announce its report card for the governor and Legislature on a variety of reform issues.

Here's how it went: On election reform — F. On lame duck sessions — F. On redistricting — F. On legislative voting records — F. On campaign financing — F. On ballot access — F. You get the picture.

Gov. Ed Rendell and most of the incumbents in Harrisburg still don't get it. Everyone is calling themselves “reformers” these days, but talk is cheap. The incumbent politicians are telling voters what they want to hear to fool them into re-electing the usual suspects on Nov. 7. Then, it's back to business as usual.

The only way things will change in Harrisburg is for Rendell and most of the incumbent legislators on the ballot to lose. There are no Republicans or Democrats on the ballot this year. It's the status quo party versus citizen soldiers who want to change the system. It's a battle between the political aristocracy and the people.

So far this year, 31 incumbents have decided to retire rather than face the voters. Another 17 legislators, including the top two Republican leaders in the state Senate, were defeated in the May primary. That means up to 48 reformers will be going to Harrisburg next year. That may not be enough. They need reinforcements. More incumbents have to pay the price on Election Day for the pay raise vote and their overall lack of accomplishment in Harrisburg.

Back to the reform coalition for a minute. The group gave the governor and Legislature failing grades in every reform category except one, the recently enacted lobbyist disclosure bill that awaits Gov. Ed Rendell's signature. Until the bill is signed, Pennsylvania has the distinction of being the only state in the nation without rules to regulate lobbyists, who spend tens of millions of dollars every year to influence politicians and the laws they pass.

Barry Kauffman of Common Cause/PA gave the Legislature a “B minus” for the bill, but when pressed by reporters to justify such a high grade for what is widely seen as weak legislation, Kauffman said it was “better than nothing.”

Better than nothing. Where have we heard these words before?

In televised debates with Republican challenger Lynn Swann, Rendell said his attempt at tax reform (the rebates for low-income seniors) was “better than nothing.”

That seems to be the favorite phrase of incumbent politicians as we head to Nov. 7. It may not be property tax reform, but it's better than nothing. It may not really curb abuses by lobbyists and greedy politicians, but it's better than nothing.

Why should Pennsylvania always have to settle for less? Why can't we have real reform? Why do we have to tolerate so much mediocrity in our politicians?

It's not that we don't pay them well. Even after the July 2005 pay raise was repealed, Pennsylvania legislators are still the second highest paid in the nation. (And on Dec. 1, they will get a cost-of-living increase of at least 3.5 percent, raising the starting salary for a Pennsylvania legislator to around $74,000 a year. The pay raise is automatic unless the legislators vote not to accept it. Don’t hold your breath.)

The “better than nothing” attitude has also engulfed the race for governor and Pennsylvania senator. The state's liberal newspapers are falling all over themselves to endorse Democrats Ed Rendell and Bob Casey, but none of them have made a convincing case that either man is actually a good candidate for the office they're seeking. Rendell is “better than nothing” as governor. Casey is “better than nothing” as senator.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, one of the state's largest newspapers and one of the few conservative voices in Pennsylvania, may have gotten it right. In an endorsement editorial published Sunday, the newspaper said it cannot endorse either Rendell or Swann for governor. Neither man is up to the job, according to the newspaper.

Rendell has failed on numerous fronts during his first four years and doesn't deserve another term, the newspaper argues. Swann is faulted because too many of his campaign officials were also involved with the architects of the July 2005 pay raise, the newspaper contends.

On a lighter note, the state reform coalition couldn't resist using the occasion of Halloween to announce its list of Top 10 Reform Tricks or Treats. OK, it was all tricks. Ten politicians were singled out for various shenanigans in 2006.

At the top of the list is none other than Gov. Rendell, who was awarded the title of “Biggest Phony Reformer.” Rendell was also described by the reform group as a “political acrobat” and an expert at “political juggling.” Way to go, Ed.

Catch me on the radio

I will be a guest on the Lowman Henry Show this Saturday to discuss the upcoming election. The program is broadcast live from 8 to 10 a.m. on WHYL-AM 960 Carlisle and WCDL-AM 1440 Scranton. You can also listen to live streaming audio of the Lowman Henry Show at www.whylradio.com. And you can download a recording of the broadcast to your computer from The Lincoln Institute’s Web site at www.lincolninstitute.org

I'll be analyzing the results of the election on the Nick Lawrence Show on WPAZ 1370 AM Pottstown on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 4 p.m. You can also listen to live streaming audio of the Nick Lawrence Show at www.1370wpaz.com.

33 reasons to vote out Ed Rendell

With a week to go until Election Day, the polls and pundits are saying that millions of Pennsylvania voters will walk into the voting booth Nov. 7 to re-elect Gov. Ed Rendell.

This will mean four more years of rising taxes, runaway spending and an overall decline in the standard of living for most Pennsylvanians. Are you better off today than you were four years ago when Rendell took office?

If you're still thinking of voting for Rendell, consider the following 33 reasons why Rendell does not deserve re-election:

1) Rendell signed the scandalous July 2005 pay raise bill into law and praised it as "good legislation." That breach of public trust alone is reason enough to deny Rendell another term.

2) While running for governor in 2002, Rendell promised to cut property taxes for every Pennsylvania homeowner by 30 percent. He failed to keep his promise for four consecutive years.

3) In 2003, Rendell signed the biggest income tax increase in the state's history, taking away $1 billion from the paychecks of working Pennsylvanians.

4) Rendell signed the worst gambling bill in the nation into law in July 2004, clearing the way for 61,000 slot machines to be brought into Pennsylvania, along with crime, corruption and gambling addiction.

5) State spending has increased at twice the rate of inflation under Rendell to a staggering $26.1 billion in a state where population growth is stagnant. People familiar with state finances predict that Rendell will propose another massive tax hike in 2007 to pay for his exorbitant spending.

6) Under Rendell, Pennsylvania ranks at the bottom of the list of states when it comes to forcing people off welfare rolls and into jobs.

7) Rendell siphoned $412 million in federal highway money in 2005 to keep SEPTA afloat so Philadelphia transit workers will continue to get paid and keep voting for Rendell. Meanwhile, the state’s highways and bridges are crumbling.

8) Instead of property tax reform, Rendell signed Act 72 in 2005 and Act 1 in 2006, two terrible bills that failed to address runaway spending by the state’s 501 school districts.

9) Rendell raided the state Lottery fund to come up with the $200 million for rebate scheme to bribe low-income seniors into voting for him this November instead of working for real property tax reform.

10) Rendell killed the Schuylkill Valley Metro rail plan by failing to support the project or making the case for the state to come up with its share of the funding needed to build it.

11) Rendell imposed the $52-a-year emergency services tax on most of the state's workers. In almost every case, the money did not go to fund "emergency services," but was spent elsewhere by local governments. It's a typical shell game Rendell plays with taxes.

12) Nearly 1 million working Pennsylvanians do not have health insurance coverage and Rendell refuses to support legislation that would level the playing field for the huge "for-profit" insurance companies operating in Pennsylvania.

13) Pennsylvania continues to be the No. 1 importer of garbage in the country. Rendell believes that taking in garbage from New York City, New Jersey and Puerto Rico is a good use of Pennsylvania land.

14) In each of Rendell's first four years in office, truckers have ranked Pennsylvania roads and highways as the worst in the nation.

15) According to FBI statistics, Pennsylvania has become a more dangerous place to live in the years Rendell has been governor. The murder rates in Philadelphia, Allentown, Reading and most other cities have reached historic highs and the governor continues to ignore the rise in violent crime.

16) College-educated young people are fleeing the state in record numbers to find good jobs as Pennsylvania fails to address the "brain drain" under Rendell.

17) Pennsylvania leads the nation in teacher strikes, another sorry achievement for the so-called "education governor."

18) A task force formed by Rendell reports that Pennsylvania is experiencing a transportation crisis. The state's infrastructure has been neglected to the point where roads can no longer handle the volume of traffic. The state’s transit systems have failed. Pennsylvania needs to come up with an additional $2.2 billion a year to deal with the problem.

19) Corporate welfare is Rendell's idea of stimulating the economy, with millions of taxpayer dollars going to build sports stadiums and support corporations that contribute to Rendell's campaign.

20) Rendell vetoed the Voter Protection Act of 2006, a bill that would prevent voter fraud in Pennsylvania in general and in Philadelphia in particular.

21) Rendell broke his promise to sign a tort reform bill that would control outrageous awards by juries and help keep doctors in Pennsylvania. Less than 10 percent of doctors educated in Pennsylvania stay in the state because of skyrocketing malpractice premiums.

22) Rendell gave political crony Joe Hoeffel a cushy $104,000-a-year state job as payback for Hoeffel dropping out of the race for lieutenant governor in 2006.

23) Pennsylvania is among the biggest spenders for public education, but test scores consistently rank among the lowest in the country. And what about the revolving door in the Education Department? Rendell went through three education secretaries in three years.

24) Rendell brought the "pay to play" system he nurtured in Philadelphia to Harrisburg, turning the governor's office into a Turkish bazaar, with the highest bidder having access to government. How else do you explain the $30 million in campaign contributions to Rendell?

25) Pennsylvania consistently ranks in the bottom rung of states when it comes to a business-friendly business environment. Rendell vetoed a Republican-backed measure to lower the state's corporate net income tax, which is the second highest in the nation.

26) Rendell has pardoned more convicted criminals in his first three years in office than any other Pennsylvania governor has done over the same time frame in the past 25 years.

27) Despite amassing a $1 billion budget surplus this year because of the 2003 income tax hike, Rendell refused to consider returning any of the money to taxpayers.

28) Rendell wants to impose California emissions standards in Pennsylvania, forcing motorists to pay higher inspection fees. More than 40 states have rejected the California rules.

29) In four years, Rendell has missed the constitutional deadline to sign the state budget four times.

30) It's unseemly for the governor to moonlight as a football analyst after Eagles games. If Rendell wants a career in broadcasting, he should give up the governor's job.

31) Rendell has used a state plane to shuttle from his shore home in Ocean City, N.J., to campaign events back in Pennsylvania at least a half-dozen times.

32) If Rendell wins re-election and decides to leave office in 2008 to take a post in Washington under a Democratic administration, Pennsylvania is left with Catherine Baker Knoll as governor.

33) Rendell insulted millions of Pennsylvania seniors by saying their lives are drab without casinos. Seniors should make Rendell pay for his insensitive remarks.

Why should Pa. settle for mediocrity?

"Governors who have cut taxes and spending the most receive the highest grades. Those who have raised taxes and spending receive the lowest grades."

That conclusion is from the 40-page executive summary of a new report grading the nation's governors on fiscal policy.

The eighth annual survey was prepared by the Cato Institute, a non-profit policy research foundation in Washington, D.C. The institute is named for Cato's Letters, a series of libertarian pamphlets that helped lay the philosophical foundation for the American Revolution, according to the group's Web site.

Inexplicably, Gov. Ed Rendell received a C in the fiscal report card. Those of us living in Pennsylvania know firsthand that Rendell has tried everything in his power to destroy the state's economy over the past four years.

That includes raising taxes, increasing state spending to record levels, imposing burdensome regulations on businesses and borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars. That's a surefire recipe for fiscal disaster.

But the folks at the Cato Institute saw fit to give Rendell a C for his first term in office. That's an improvement over the F grade the Cato Institute gave Rendell for his first two years.

I'm not so sure the folks at Cato have been following Rendell's tenure closely because nearly every independent account of Pennsylvania's business climate has ranked the state near the bottom of the barrel. Rendell is also a master of propaganda. He could sell a snow cone to an Eskimo. He has a lot of voters believing he's going to cut their taxes even though he's raised taxes repeatedly since taking office in 2003.

Independent observers closer to home, such as the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives, a free-market think tank in Harrisburg, have been far less kind to Rendell, giving the governor an F minus for his economic policies in a survey released earlier this year. Rendell also earned an F minus in the Commonwealth Foundation’s "Liberty Index" two years ago.

Back to the Cato rankings. While C is somewhere between average and mediocre, it beats the Ds and Fs earned by other governors.

Only one governor of the 46 reviewed earned an A this year — Republican Matt Blunt of Missouri. The next two highest-scoring Republicans are Rick Perry of Texas and Mark Sanford of South Carolina. The highest-scoring Democratic governors are John Lynch of New Hampshire and Phil Bredesen of Tennessee.

Blunt earned the gold star for cutting his state's budget, eliminating hundreds of government jobs and restraining Medicaid spending, according to the Cato Institute.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who topped the 2004 governors report card with an A, drops to a D this year due to an overall increase in his state's budget.

The "Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2006," by Cato director of budget studies Stephen Slivinski, emphasizes the importance of tax cuts and provides evidence showing that "states that reduce taxes improve their prospects for economic growth," the institute states on its Web site.

The report card grades the governors on 23 objective measures, awarding the highest grades to those who have reined in spending and cut taxes.

Nine governors receive Fs. They are Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana, Michael Easley of North Carolina, Kenny Guinn of Nevada, Christine Gregoire of Washington, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware, Janet Napolitano of Arizona, Bob Riley of Alabama, and Brian Schweitzer of Montana.

Governors who received good grades in previous editions of the report card but have lower grades this year include Schwarzenegger (current grade, D); Jeb Bush of Florida (current grade, C); Bill Owens of Colorado (current grade, D); George Pataki of New York (current grade, D); and Bill Richardson of New Mexico (current grade, C).

The complete report can be viewed at the Cato Institute's Web site, www.cato.org

Pennsylvania voters will go to the polls Nov. 7 to decide if they want four more years of mediocrity with Ed Rendell or give Lynn Swann a chance to turn Pennsylvania around.

Rep. Dante Santoni is a phony

Most people don't know this, but I began my career as a political columnist with an article about my do-nothing state representative.

His name is Dante Santoni Jr. and the column, published in March 2004, asked the question, "What have you done for me lately, Dante?" I now have the answer to that question.

Thanks to Dante Santoni, I am now one of the most widely read political commentators in Pennsylvania. Three hundred columns after my initial "Dante" offering, my articles are not only published in The Mercury, but are linked to more than a dozen political Web sites and blogs.

I've been a guest on 17 radio shows and a panelist on the "Journalists Roundtable" program on the Pennsylvania Cable Network three times in the past six months. I've received e-mails about my columns from readers in 18 different states and six foreign countries. I've also been invited to speak to community groups about state and national politics.

For all that exposure, I'd like to publicly thank Dante Santoni for getting me started. It turns out Dante has done something for me after all. But he still hasn't done anything for the residents of the 126th House District, which is why Santoni is in the political fight of his life as the Nov. 7 election approaches.

Santoni barely survived the May primary, receiving just 45 percent of the vote. Unfortunately, two challengers split the other 55 percent, giving Santoni the Democratic nomination. It doesn't change the fact that the majority of voters in his own party rejected Santoni at the polls.

As we get closer to Election Day, Santoni appears to be self-destructing. A mailing on behalf of Santoni accusing his Republican opponent, Hal Baker, of questionable conduct while Baker worked as personnel director and acting county administrator for Berks County is pure fiction.

Santoni, who voted for the July 2005 pay raise for himself, concocted a wild story that Baker gave himself a pay raise while working for county government. A Berks County commissioner who sat on the board at the time of Baker's promotion issued a public statement saying that Baker's salary was set by the commissioners and it was based on merit and the fact that Baker was taking on addition responsibilities.

When Baker challenged Santoni about the political smear job during a debate on local cable television, Santoni blew a gasket. Like his good friend, Ed Rendell, Santoni got caught telling another fib.

Keep in mind that my March 2004 column criticizing Santoni for never sponsoring a bill, chairing a committee or delivering any substantial funding for projects in his district was written a full 16 months before Santoni voted himself a pay raise and took the money as unvouchered expenses, a practice ruled illegal by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

In other words, the last two years haven't been a picnic for Santoni. In 14 years as a state legislator, Santoni has voted repeatedly to increase taxes, has raised his own pay twice and doubled his taxpayer-funded pension.

For the $1 million taxpayers have paid Santoni in salary and perks over the past 14 years, their state lawmaker has sponsored a grand total of one bill to rename a section of a highway in honor of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq.

While the sentiment honoring a fallen soldier is a nice gesture, that's not why voters in the 126th District are sending Santoni to Harrisburg.

Santoni has promised for 14 consecutive years to deliver property tax relief to the residents of Berks County. He has broken that promise 14 years in a row. How many more chances are voters willing to give him?

Santoni is the poster child for everything wrong with the culture of Harrisburg. He votes 100 percent of the time with the Democratic Party bosses. He is beholden to lobbyists and special interest groups. He hides from constituents until election season rolls around.

While he's popular with the political establishment because he's a Zombie Democrat (no mind of his own), Santoni has failed to show any concern for his constituents back home who are struggling to stay afloat.

Santoni supported Ed Rendell's massive hike in the state income tax in 2003. He supported Rendell's flawed gambling bill in 2004. He voted to raise his own pay in July 2005. Santoni voted for the $52-a-year tax on working Pennsylvanians. He has rubber-stamped $6 billion in new spending during Rendell's first four years in office.

For his loyalty to Rendell and the Democratic Party bosses, Santoni has been showered with tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations, which allows him to run television commercials, touting all sorts of "accomplishments." Unfortunately, none of it is true.

When Santoni calls himself a "reformer" on TV and says "Harrisburg is broke and I'm working to fix it," he's full of baloney. Santoni couldn't spell R-E-F-O-R-M if you spotted him four of the six letters.

Voters in the 126th House District have a clear choice. Hal Baker is a dedicated public servant who wants to bring genuine reform to Harrisburg. Baker has come out of retirement because the people of his district need to send a public servant to Harrisburg.

Santoni is a career politician who has failed his constituents. Santoni is part of the problem. Baker is part of the solution.

Pennsylvania by the numbers

253 --The total number of members in the Pennsylvania Legislature. That includes 203 members of the House and 50 state senators.

120 -- The total number of members in the California Legislature. That includes 120 members of the House and 40 state senators.

341,000,000 -- The number of dollars it costs Pennsylvania taxpayers each year to pay for the largest full-time legislature in the U.S.

77 -- The average number of days the Pennsylvania Legislature was in session each year over the past five years.

72,187 -- The number of dollars in the starting salary of a Pennsylvania legislator.

27 -- The number of state senators who voted in favor of the July 2005 pay raise of 16 percent to 54 percent. Twenty-three voted against it.

119 -- The number of House members who voted for the July 2005 pay raise. A total of 79 House members voted against the pay raise. (Five legislators missed the 2 a.m. vote)

1 -- The number of people who could have stopped the July 2005 pay raise. His name is Gov. Ed Rendell, who could have vetoed the pay raise bill, but instead signed it into law and praised it as good legislation.

17 -- The number of incumbent state legislators voted out of office in the May 2006 primary.

31 -- The number of incumbent state legislators who decided to retire in 2006 rather than face the voters.

141 -- The dollar amount each legislator can collect daily as a per diem payment for just showing up for work. This is on top of salary and other benefits.

26,400,000 -- The dollar amount of campaign contributions for Gov. Ed Rendell.

9,000,000 -- The dollar amount of Rendell campaign contributions that came from Pennsylvania. Makes you wonder why so much out-of-state money ($17.4 million) has poured into Rendell’s war chest and what those contributors expect for their donations.

8,100,000 -- The dollar amount of campaign contributions for GOP governor candidate Lynn Swann. So much for the Republicans being the party of the rich.

1 -- Philadelphia's rank on the list of most violent large cities in the United States, according to a new survey issued by the FBI. (Just to jog your memory, Ed Rendell was District Attorney for two terms and Mayor of Philadelphia for two terms.)

650 -- The amount of taxpayer dollars a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature can use each month to lease a vehicle.

38 -- The number of Pennsylvania counties on the list of the 750 most heavily taxed counties in the United states, according to the Tax Foundation.

74 -- The highest number of votes the Commonwealth Caucus plan received in the House in 2006. It takes 102 votes to pass a bill. Not a single Democrat in the House supported the plan to eliminate property taxes.

0 -- The amount of money Pennsylvania residents have received in property tax cuts during the first four years of Gov. Ed Rendell's tenure.

0 -- The amount of money Pennsylvania residents can expect to receive in the next four years of Gov. Ed Rendell's tenure.

18 -- The number of counties Ed Rendell won in the 2002 race for governor.

49 -- The number of counties Ed Rendell failed to win in the 2002 race for governor.

864,000,000 -- The amount of surplus dollars in the 2006 state budget that Gov. Rendell and the Legislature decided not to return to Pennsylvania taxpayers.

13 -- The number of teacher strikes in Pennsylvania in 2005.

8 -- The total number of teacher strikes in 2005 in all the rest of the states combined.

109 -- The number of Republicans in the 203-member Pennsylvania House. Democrats can take control of the House by a net gain of eight seats.

29 -- The number of Republicans in the 50-member state Senate. (Because only half the senators stand re-election every four years, it's nearly impossible for Democrats to capture a majority in 2006).

1,900,000 -- The number of Pennsylvania residents who receive welfare benefits from the state. That compares to 1,500,000 welfare recipients when Ed Rendell came into office in 2003.

5,700,000,000 -- The amount in dollars that state spending has increased under Gov. Ed Rendell's tenure.

4,742,000,000 -- The amount of dollars that Pennsylvania taxpayers will have to pay by 2015-16 to fund pension plans for retired teachers and politicians. That compares to $693 million in fiscal year 2005-06.

Berks GOP candidates push reform

Politics makes for strange bedfellows.

Ten Berks County candidates have combined forces to run as a reform coalition for the state Legislature. The group includes three incumbent legislators and an assortment of political newcomers. All have signed a formal statement titled "Promise to Berks."

The candidates have a few things in common besides their focus on reforming state government. They're all Republicans and their districts include portions of Berks County.

The group also has some differences. Three of the 10 either voted for the 2005 legislative pay raise or took the money as unvouchered expenses, a practice the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional. Several of the first-time candidates in the coalition condemned the pay raise vote and defeated heavily-favored Republican incumbents in the May primary.

The coalition candidates are willing to put their differences aside because keeping a Republican majority in the Berks County legislative delegation is important to them. Only three of the dozen seats in Berks are held by Democrats. Berks has been a key battleground in the people's revolt against incumbent politicians since the Legislature voted itself pay raises of up to 54 percent in July 2005.

Four of the five incumbents who voted for the pay raise and had opposition in the primary were defeated by voters. The only incumbent who survived the voters' wrath was Democrat Rep. Dante Santoni Jr., who won the nomination for the 126th District because he had two challengers and his opponents split the majority of the vote. Santoni attracted just 45 percent of the vote from his own party.

Santoni is vulnerable not just for voting himself a pay raise, but he's one of the biggest underachievers in Harrisburg, unwilling or unable to introduce a single bill in 13 years. Santoni's opponent in November is Republican Hal Baker, a respected former Berks County government administrator who defeated two other Republicans in the primary to win the GOP nomination.

The members of the reform coalition are incumbent state Reps. David Argall, Doug Reichley and Sam Rohrer, incumbent state Sen. John Rafferty (44th Dist.) and six political newcomers: Baker, Jim Cox (129th Dist.), Mike Folmer (48th Senate Dist.), Gary Hornberger (125th Dist.), Carl Mantz (187th Dist.) and Billy Reed (130th Dist.)

Argall, Reichley and Rohrer bring some political baggage to the new reform coalition. Argall and Rohrer voted for the pay raise. Reichley voted no on the pay raise, but took the money as unvouchered expenses. (Rafferty voted no on the pay raise and did not accept the raise.) Argall and Reichley have returned the money. Rohrer said he voted "yes" on the raise because that was the only way he could get a House vote on the Commonwealth Caucus plan to eliminate property taxes.

Rohrer said he never took the pay raise money but did manage to get the Caucus plan on the House floor for a vote, but it attracted only 74 of the 102 necessary votes. The plan was defeated because every Democratic member of the House voted against it. (This is why it's hard to swallow Gov. Ed Rendell's claims that the Republican majority failed to deliver property tax relief. It's the Democrats who vote as a block and take their marching orders from Rendell.)

The "Promise to Berks" reads: "We believe that every elected official is responsible to serve the people, not to be served. We believe that we are accountable not just to the voters but to the generations who will follow, as well as those who have gone before us. Our responsibility is to support and defend the founding principles of this great nation as noted in the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These are the foundations of our freedoms and adherence to them is the best hope of freedom for the generations to follow."

If elected, all 10 Berks Republicans promise to tackle the following their legislative priorities:

• Real tax reform by permanently eliminating school property taxes and opposing all new unfunded mandates to the counties, municipalities and school districts in Pennsylvania, which shifts tax increases to these bodies. It will also work to eliminate current unfunded mandates.

• Controlling spending by implementing the Taxpayers Bill of Rights to strictly limit increases in state spending to the concurrent rates of inflation and population growth and requiring a three-fifths majority to pass a tax increase.

• Reforming the Legislature by requiring an independent auditing firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of the General Assembly for fraud and mismanagement, enacting term limits on committee chairmanships and leadership, enact a five-year waiting period for former legislators and cabinet officials to become lobbyists and opposing passage of any legislation that has not met the procedural rigor detailed in Article III of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

Although the burden is still on the three Berks incumbents to show they've repented for their pay raise votes, Berks County has an opportunity to change the culture of Harrisburg by electing a block of reform candidates to the state Legislature.

Broken promises from Ed Rendell

Randy Bish, the talented editorial cartoonist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, recently drew a cartoon that cuts to the heart of the race for Pennsylvania governor. In the drawing, an elderly man is sitting at a table writing a letter to Gov. Ed Rendell. The letter goes like this: "Dear Governor — Is the property tax reform you are now promising us the same tax reform that you promised us in 2002?

Is there anything else that needs to be said about Rendell’s failed first term as governor? He promised to cut everyone's property taxes by 30 percent, but in four years, not a single Pennsylvania homeowner has received a penny in tax cuts. Why vote for someone who broke his No. 1 promise?

Rendell is backpedaling so fast on his tax cut promises that he's in danger of pulling a muscle. In the Oct. 4 debate in Pittsburgh, Rendell blamed the Republican-controlled Legislature for not helping him keep his word on the tax cuts. In the Oct. 10 debate in Philadelphia, Rendell changed his tune. "Five governors for 30 years promised property tax relief. I've delivered." Really, governor? Delivered what? Empty promises?

When one of the reporters on the panel asked Rendell to explain how a promise to use future gambling revenues amounts to delivering a tax cut, Rendell fumbled around a bit and came up with this brilliant response: "I wanted to do more. I wanted to raise the sales tax and use 100 percent of that money to deepen the property tax cut. We couldn't get it through the Legislature. We have to go back and keep at it."

Now I'm really confused. The governor says he "delivered" property tax relief, but he actually wanted to raise taxes so he could cut taxes. Are you with me so far? Rendell eventually admitted that only about 200,000 low-income senior citizens will get rebates under the "tax relief" bill he signed earlier this year. As for the other 12.3 million Pennsylvania residents, Rendell apparently wasn't counting us when he promised to cut taxes.

Leave it to GOP challenger Lynn Swann to step in to help translate what Rendell was trying to say when he borrowed money from the Lottery fund for his tax rebate scheme.

"He doesn't do anything to reform the structure of property taxes in the Commonwealth," Swann said of Rendell. "So if you get a little bit of money today, fine. But tomorrow, your property tax bill may go up $200 or $300, so it's meaningless."

If you didn't tune in to the Oct. 10 debate, you missed political newcomer Swann verbally pummeling a career politician whose rhetoric has grown tiresome. I'm not sure even Rendell believes the words coming out of his mouth anymore. He spews phrases like "One gun a month" and "Everyone gets property tax relief from the gaming funds" but his rhetoric doesn't match reality.

Rendell's lackeys in the liberal Philadelphia media dutifully reported that their man won the second debate. I'm not sure any of them watched the event. Swann was the clear winner in both recent debates. Swann was relaxed and confident. Rendell was fidgety and verbose.

Even on issues that you would think Rendell has the advantage, like crime, Swann prevailed. Rendell kept repeating "One gun a month" as the quick fix to violent crime, but bumper-sticker clichés are not the answer. Rendell failed to explain how restricting the ability of law-abiding citizens to purchase guns from stores would help reduce the slaughter of Philadelphia residents.

Rendell has ignored rising crime in Philadelphia and most other large cities in Pennsylvania for nearly four years. Two months before the election, Rendell wants to hire 600 more police officers and institute gun control. (Swann wants to hire up to 5,000 new cops.)

Where was the governor when 315 Philadelphia residents were murdered in the first 285 days of this year? Rendell is, after all, the former District Attorney and Mayor of Philadelphia. Surely, he has options to fight rising violent crime that don't infringe on the Second Amendment, which guarantees "the right of the people to keep and bear arms."

Swann said gun violence in Philadelphia is rising because our schools are failing and we're not providing good jobs for young people.

"Guns don't cause crime," Swann said. "It's the lack of hope. It’s the despair. The poor quality of education … children are receiving. The lack of opportunity and jobs."

Rendell's response? Gun control. Gun control. Gun control. Gun control.

This election is about politics as usual under Rendell or Lynn Swann's approach: Thinking outside the box to find solutions to make Pennsylvania a better place to live, work and raise children.

Welcome to Ed Rendell's 'Taxsylvania'

If Gov. Ed Rendell was Pinocchio and his nose grew one inch every time he told a fib, Rendell's schnozz would stretch across the entire length of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Rendell has been telling us for months by way of those tedious television commercials that he's cut taxes in Pennsylvania. If anyone out there has seen his taxes fall under Rendell, I'd like to hear from you. Rendell also keeps telling people that the business climate in Pennsylvania has improved since he took office in 2003. Again, that appears to be a tall tale.

Truth is Pennsylvania residents are paying $2 billion more in property taxes today than they were when Rendell became governor. Rendell also signed into law a $1 billion increase in the state income tax. So how does he get away with saying he's cut taxes? He has unlimited money from lobbyists and corporate fat cats and telling the truth is not a requirement in television commercials.

The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax research group based in Washington, D.C., has released a new study that shows the tax burden on Americans broken down by counties. Pennsylvania has 38 counties on the list of the top 750 counties where homeowners pay the highest property taxes.

Five Pennsylvania counties — Chester, Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery and Monroe — made the list of the Top 100 most heavily taxed counties in the United States. Expand the list to the Top 150 and you can add Northampton, Berks and Lehigh counties.

The median tax paid by a Chester County homeowner was $3,678 per year. In Montgomery County, the median tax was $3,474 per year. In Berks County, the median tax was $2,592. The median means half the homeowners paid higher taxes and half paid less.

Homeowners in suburban counties closest to New York City topped the list of highest property taxes by county, with Westchester County coming in at $7,337. Second was Nassau County, where the median property tax is $7,025. Of course, the median value of a home in Westchester County is $541,000. In Nassau County, it's $469,000. That part makes sense. If you own a $500,000 home near your high-paying job in Manhattan, you’d expect to pay a lot in taxes.

Twenty of the 21 highest-taxed counties were in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut, the survey showed, and most of those were tightly clustered around New York City, according to the Associated Press.

The Pennsylvania counties shouldn’t be that high on the tax list. The median home price in Chester County is $229,000. In Montgomery County, it's $263,000. In Berks County, it's $138,400. So why are Pennsylvania homeowners paying so much?

Good question for Ed Rendell, who promised to cut property taxes for every Pennsylvania homeowner by 30 percent when he first ran for governor in 2002. After nearly four years in office, Rendell has failed to deliver one dime in property tax relief.

U.S. Census data released last week showed that homeowners in every state but Alaska spent more of their incomes on housing costs last year than at the start of the decade, the Associated Press reported. You can review the full breakdown of taxes by county at the Tax Foundation's Web site, www.taxfoundation.org

It's noteworthy that 15 of the Pennsylvania counties on the list of counties where homeowners pay the highest property taxes were among the 18 counties that Rendell won when he was elected governor in 2002. Yes, only in Pennsylvania can you lose 49 of 67 counties and still be elected governor.

Why would anyone living in those 15 counties re-elect a governor who broke his promise to lower taxes, increased state spending to record levels, signed a horrible casino gambling bill into law and still can't explain why he supported the July 2005 pay raise? We'll find out Nov. 7.

Rendell's other truth-challenged claims come in the area of whether Pennsylvania is a good place to do business. Rendell thinks so, but a variety of business publications who have no stake in the governor's race keep ranking Pennsylvania at the bottom when it comes to business friendly taxes and regulations.

The latest survey comes from Inc. Magazine, which rated the 26 governors up for re-election in 2006. The ratings were based on a star system, with four stars signifying a governor who is "a true friend" to business and whose policies "benefit businesses over the short and long term."

Rendell didn't make that list, but four other governors did. The next level, three stars, went to governors who display "creative and diligent" policies, but still need work. Thirteen governors earned three stars. Rendell didn't make that list either.

Pennsylvania's governor was awarded two stars by the magazine, reserved for those whose "achievements are mitigated by mistakes, failures or oversights." That sounds a lot like Rendell's Pennsylvania.

It could have been worse. One governor, Mark Sanford of South Carolina, earned one star, signifying "policies have negatively affected entrepreneurs."

Inc. Magazine also ranked the states in several other categories such as technology, health care, unemployment rate, fiscal policy and the cost of doing business. Pennsylvania did not rank high in any of those category, but the magazine singled out the Keystone State as having the highest corporate income tax rate among the 26 states surveyed.

As GOP challenger Lynn Swann so aptly put it during last week's televised debate, Rendell ranks high on rhetoric and in promoting himself, but falls far short in the areas that count: Reform and results.