Now we know who to blame -- Arlen Specter

I was watching coverage of the winter meeting of the Pennsylvania Republican Party Committee over the weekend on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.

Counting down the moments until Vice President Dick Cheney took the podium, I had to endure Pennsylvania GOP Chairman Robert A. Gleason Jr. introduce various party officials ... when he came to Sen. Arlen Specter.

Gleason introduced Specter as the "leader of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania."

At last we learn the identity of the man most responsible for leading the party into the abyss in recent years. (And I thought it was Tom Ridge).

The culprit turns out to be Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania's senior senator. And I do mean senior. Specter turns 78 on Tuesday and plans to run for reelection in 2010, when he will be 80.

Under Specter's leadership, if that's what Gleason wants to call it, Pennsylvania Republicans have lost the governor's mansion, a U.S. Senate seat and a half-dozen Congressional seats.

I can't blame Specter for losing control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives after 12 years of Republican control. The blame for handing the state House over To Democrats goes directly to Rep. John Perzel, the former speaker of the house who pushed for the ill-fated, middle-of-the-night pay raise vote in July 2005.

And let's not talk about Pennsylvania's role in the last two presidential races when Keystone State voters backed Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004.

If you want to know what's wrong with the Republican Party in Pennsylvania, all you had to do is look at the weekend gathering in Harrisburg. If Arlen Specter is the leader of the Pennsylvania Republican Party, I'm thinking of switching to the Libertarian Party real soon.

After it got done feeling sorry for itself, the Pennsylvania GOP Committee did find time to endorse a slate of candidates for statewide offices this year:

* Tom Corbett for Attorney General
* Tom Ellis for Treasurer
* Chet Beiler for Auditor General

Corbett should win reelection as Attorney General and bide his time until he runs for governor in 2010.

Ellis doesn't stand a chance for state treasurer. That's too bad because the position tends to be stepping stone for higher office. See Bob Casey Jr. The Pennsylvania GOP lost an opportunity to put a winner in this race.

I've never heard of Chet Beiler, so I can't say anything about him.

Oh yeah, the state party also endorsed John McCain for president.

Phyrillas returns to 'Journalists Roundtable'

Tony Phyrillas will be a panelist on the "Journalists Roundtable" program on the Pennsylvania Cable Network on Thursday, Feb. 14.

The one-hour program hosted by Bill Bova is shown Thursdays at 8 p.m. on cable systems throughout Pennsylvania. The program will repeat Sunday, Feb. 17, at 5 p.m. and again at 11 p.m.

The panel for Feb. 14 will consist of Tony Phyrillas, political columnist for The Mercury in Pottstown; Tracie Mauriello, who covers state government for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; and Chris Lilenthal of the online news service Capitolwire.com

PCN is shown on Comcast Channel 98 in Berks County, Service Electric Cable Channel 23 in Berks/Lehigh counties and Comcast Channel 78 in the Pottstown area.

Consult your cable guide for the Pennsylvania Cable Network channel on your area.

A Valentine from Hillary or Obama

The Republican National Committee has an easy and no-cost way to send your favorite Republican a Valentine's Day card this February 14.

You can choose between three Hillary Clinton cards or three Barack Obama cards post on the RNC Web site and e-mail them to your favorite valentine.

The three Hillary Valentine's Day cards have a common theme: higher taxes. The three Obama cards focus on the junior senators inexperience and his rating as the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate.

There's nothing as amusing on the Democratic National Committee Web site. I guess the Democrats have their own problems to worry about since the coronation of Queen Hillary has been postponed indefinitely.

PHEAA acted with ‘wanton disregard’ of the law, judge rules

The Associated Press is reporting today that the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency has been ordered to pay pay legal fees incurred by three media outlets that fought in court for release of PHEAA spending records.

This is the latest black eye for the scandal-plagued student-loan agency supervised by a Board of Directors made up mostly of of Pennsylvania legislators.

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Doris Smith-Ribner said PHEEA acted willfully and disregarded the Right-to-Know Law in a two-year battle over spending records, including those exposing the agency's lavish retreats for top executives and board members, according to the wire service.

The judge ordered PHEAA to pay $48,000 in legal fees incurred by The Associated Press, The Harrisburg Patriot-News and WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh.

The decision issued Friday said there was no legitimate reason for PHEAA to delay access to the records for 20 months, according to the AP.

While there have been some steps taken by PHEAA toward reforming its spending habits and the executive director has retired, no one can explain why the Board of Directors who were asleep at the wheel during the scandals is still made up of mostly the same Pennsylvania lawmakers.

The following of lawmakers who served on the PHEAA board at the time of the spending scandals: Rep. William F. Adolph Jr.; Sen. Sean Logan; Rep. Ronald Buxton; Sen. Jake Corman; J. Doyle Corman; Rep. Craig Dally; Sen. Jane M. Earll; Sen. Vincent J. Fumo; Sen. Vincent J. Hughes; Rep. Sandra J. Major; Rep. Jennifer L. Mann; Rep. Joseph F. Markosek; Sen. Michael A. O'Pake*; Roy Reinard; Sen. James J. Rhoades**; Rep. James R. Roebuck Jr.; A. William Schenck III; Rep. Jess M. Stairs; Sen. Robert M. Tomlinson.

*O'Pake, who served on the PHEAA board for 20 years, was recently replaced by Sen. Andrew Dinniman. Rhoades, another longtime board member, was replaced by Sen. Edwin B. Erickson.

The AP and The Patriot-News sought records of PHEAA board retreats, while WTAE-TV wanted to records on how much the agency's 2,700 workers spent on airfare, hotel rooms, meals and other expenses between 2003 and 2005, the news service reports.

The records showed the lawmaker-dominated board spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at posh resorts between 2000 and 2005, including on luxuries such as booze, golf fees and spa treatments, according to the AP.

Conservative bloggers top Pennsylvania 'Influence Ranking'

Congratulations to Alex C. at PAWaterCooler.com and Nate B. at Policy Blog for topping this week's 'Influence Rankings' for Pennsylvania political bloggers at BlogNetNews.com

Rounding out the top three spots is yours truly, TONY PHYRILLAS

My blog has been in the top five at BlogNetNews.com every week in 2008, including one week at No. 1. It's the first time I recall seeing three conservative bloggers holding the top three spots on the list.

Here's this week's TOP 10 list:

Pennsylvania's Most Influential Political blogs
Rank Blog
1 Pawatercooler.com
2 POLICY BLOG
3 TONY PHYRILLAS
4 Suburban Guerrilla
5 Comments From Left Field
6 Attytood
7 Capitol Punmanship
8 Lehigh Valley Ramblings
9 The Pennsylvania Progressive
10 Capitol Ideas

Schuylkill County's 'War Board'

I don't know much about Schuylkill County politics, so I enjoyed reading "Meet the War Board" at a new blog called The Clarke Report. It offers a lot of insight into the back-room deals orchestrated by a handful of professional politicians who have a great deal of influence in Schuylkill County.

According to The Clarke Report, the "War Board" consists of five Republicans, former state Rep. Bob Allen (who was kicked out of office after the July 2005 pay raise), Frank Shoeneman, Champ Holman, state Rep. Dave Argall (a top GOP leader in the House), and state Sen. Jim Rhoades.

My interest in Schuylkill County candidates stems from the fact that some of the elected state legislators in Schuylkill also represent parts of Berks County, where I live.

An excellent post that I recommend. And welcome to The Clarke Report. I'll be checking back frequently to keep tabs on what's going on in Schuylkill County politics.

Inmate health care in Pa. costs $73 million a year

An innocuous press release crossed my desk the other day about the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections extending its medical contract with a private firm that handles medical needs of state prisoners.

The press release touted the fact that the state will save $55 million under the extended contract with Prison Health Services Inc.

It's always nice to save a little money, but when you consider that the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections will spend $1.6 billion in the next fiscal year, the $55 million in savings is a drop in the bucket.

What surprised me was information buried deeper into the press release.

Pennsylvania taxpayers have to pay $73 million a year to pick up the cost of health coverage for 46,000 inmates housed in state prisons.

That seems a bit excessive to me. Politicians haggle over how to provide health insurance for the state’s working poor, but has anybody questioned how much money the state spends to make sure inmates stay healthy?

Do the math. A five-year extension of the current health contract at $73 million per year comes to $365 million.

By comparison, Gov. Ed Rendell is pushing a plan called "Cover All Pennsylvanians" to provide health coverage to the 800,000 uninsured adults in Pennsylvania. The governor's plan could cost $480 million to implement in its first year.

"Continuity of inmate care is a matter of importance to the department," Corrections Secretary Jeffrey A. Beard says in the press release. "By doing this, we are making sure that inmates continue to receive excellent health care services. The extension also allows the department to lock in low rates, saving more than $5 million now."

Do we have our spending priorities in the right place in this state? Why do we need to provide "excellent health care" to thieves, rapists and murderers when so many hardworking Pennsylvania residents are struggling to provide basic health care for their families?

Providing health care to prisoners is big business. The Tennessee-based Prison Health Services currently serves 180 jail and prison sites around the country, covering approximately 165,000 inmates in 24 states.

Is Pennsylvania trying to encourage people to commit crimes so they can get access to "excellent health care" in addition to food, fitness centers, job training, cable television and subscriptions to Playboy magazine?

Don't laugh. Berks County was forced to rehire a female prison guard who posed in Playboy. The warden fired her last year because he was concerned about the reaction from prisoners who would ogle sexy photos of the female guard when their issue of Playboy arrives at the prison.

The current $73-million-a-year contract with Prison Health Services started in 2003 and was scheduled to end in August 2008, Beard said.

In exchange for the five-year extension, Prison Health Services is placing a 4 percent cap on the annual rate of increase each year for the first two years of the extension and a 3.85 percent cap for the remaining three years, according to the Department of Corrections.

The $500,000-per-year cost reduction previously negotiated with Prison Health Services will continue through the additional five years of the contract, Beard says.

The caps and the price reductions for the additional five years are expected to save Pennsylvannia about $46 million, Beard says. Another $9 million would be saved by Prison Health Services continuing to provide for "a direct pass-through of professional liability costs outside the base fee during the entire five-year extension," he said.

I applaud the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections for trying to save taxpayer dollars. I wish other state agencies would do the same.

But I still want to know why prisoners are getting better access to health care than many Pennsylvanians taxpayers.

Democratic trio targets Rep. Jim Gerlach

The West Chester Daily Local News is reporting that a three-way primary battle is shaping up among Democrats to challenge Rep. Jim Gerlach, R-6th District.

The candidate getting the most attention is Bog Roggio, a retired Chester County business executive who received the Chester County Democratic Party's endorsement to take on Gerlach.

But two other Democrats told the newspaper they plan to stay in the race through the April 22 primary.

Those candidates are Mike Leibowitz, a developer from Lower Merion, and Bob Rovner, an attorney from Lower Merion who once served as a state senator in Bucks County.

The 6th District stretches across three suburban Philadelphia counties: Montgomery, Chester and Berks.

Gerlach has faced three tough elections to hold the 6th District for the GOP, but he appears to be in the strongest position in years.

Not only does he have a lead in fundraising, but he's moved away from President Bush to a more moderate voting record. His last opponent, Lois Murphy, based her entire campaign in 2004 and 2006 on Gerlach being a pawn of George W. Bush.

That won't stick in 2008.

Gerlach told the Daily Local News he's familiar with Democratic rhetoric that attempts to tie him to President Bush.

"That's been the Democrats' strategy in the last three cycles, and it hasn't worked," Gerlach said. "I'm one of the most independent members of the House. It's clear that the Democrats are grasping at straws."

As evidence of his independence, the newspaper says, Gerlach cited his vote in favor of a bill that would fund stem cell research and his vote to override the president's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

"I have this question for my potential opponents," Gerlach said. "What will you do differently than Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats' do-nothing Congress?"

If Democrats can't run against George W. Bush this November, where does that leave them?

With Gerlach winning reelection to a fourth term.

In fact, Rovner was quoted in a local newspaper as saying, "I have nothing bad to say about Jim Gerlach."

That kinda defeats the purpose of running against Gerlach, doesn't it?

Pat Toomey handicaps McCain VP picks

Former Pennsylvania Congressman Pat Toomey, president of The Club for Growth, a leading conservative political advocacy group, has an interesting op-ed piece in today's edition of The Wall Street Journal.

Toomey, who nearly ousted Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter in 2004, has a short list of vice presidential picks for Sen. John McCain's consideration.

None of the current or former Republican presidential hopefuls are on the list. Toomey argues that McCain must shore up the GOP base by picking a solid conservative as his running mate if he's to have any hope of winning the White House.

Toomey's list includes: South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, Former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm and a real dark horse, Forbes Inc. CEO Steve Forbes.

Interesting list, but Steve Forbes? Republicans want to win this race, right?

Bad news for 126th House District - Rep. Santoni is running again

State Rep. Dante Santoni Jr. is running for a 9th term in the state House, according to The Reading Eagle.

No surprise there. Santoni, a Democrat, has been feeding off the public trough most of his adult life.

Santoni told reporter Mary Young that he's the right man to help get these things done because he has 15 years of experience in the House and inside knowledge of his district.

"I still remember where I came from," Santoni told the newspaper. "I've gotten to know the concerns of my constituents very well over the years. I listen to them and bring their concerns to Harrisburg. I will continue to fight for them."

What has Santoni been fighting for in Harrisburg? He has promised to deliver property tax relief in each of his first 15 years in Harrisburg, but has failed to deliver on his promise for 15 consecutive years. How many chances do you give somebody to fail?

His major accomplishments in Harrisburg? He voted himself a pay raise in July 2005 and took the money as unvouchered expenses, a practice the state Supreme Court ruled was illegal. He also voted to increase his taxpayer-paid pension by 50 percent. He has accepted annual pay raises (known as COLAs), bringing his annual salary to $76,163.

Santoni has held the 126th House District seat since 1993. He came close to losing his seat in 2006 when the majority of Democrats in the district voted against Santoni in the May primary, but the rest of the vote was split among two challengers, giving Santoni another term.

Santoni is consistently ranked among the worst lawmakers in Pennsylvania.

Two nonpartisan government watchdog groups released reports in 2007 ranking all 253 members of the Pennsylvania Legislature on a variety of issues. The PACleanSweep study reviewed voting records to determine which legislators served their constituents well or hurt their citizens by raising taxes or approving salary increases and other perks for themselves.

A study by DemocracyRisingPA evaluated how often legislators voted with party leaders, showing a lack of independence and the willingness to be influenced by career politicians once they get to Harrisburg. Santoni was ranked near the bottom.

Santoni was among the 20 lowest-ranked legislators on the PaCleanSweep survey of all 203 House members.

WGAL-TV 8 uncovered that Santoni was among the biggest abusers of taxpayer dollars to promote himself on television among all members of the Legislature prior to the 2006 election.

I live in Santoni's district and know firsthand what a lousy job he's done for the 126th District. Here's some more lowlights about Santoni from previous posts:

Santoni among worst legislators in Pennsylvania

Memo to Santoni: Thanks for nothing

PAY IT BACK campaign kicks off

The people who brought you Act 1

Punish politicians for property tax relief hoax

Dante Santoni soaks up taxpayer dollars

Take my legislators, please

Rep. Dante Santoni is a phony

Still undecided about your legislator? Take this test

Berks County is scraping the bottom of the Legislative barrel

The Charmed Life of a Pennsylvania Legislator

Barletta brightens Congressional prospects for Pennsylvania GOP

It sucks to be Paul Kanjorski.

The 12-term Democratic Congressman from Pennsylvania's 11th District will face one of the most famous politicians in the state come November.

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, who rose to national prominence as a leader in the fight against illegal immigration, made it official Thursday. He will run against Kanjorksi in the fall.

"I've done as much as I can fighting illegal immigration as the mayor of a city," he told The Associated Press. "I need to take this fight to Washington, because that's where the problem needs to be fixed."

Congressional prospects for Pennsylvania Republicans brightened Thursday.

"I believe that it is important for our country to have the very best leaders representing us, and I have no doubt that Lou Barletta is that type of leader, said Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Robert A. Gleason Jr. "Lou Barletta's announcement that he is running for Congress is great news for the Republican Party of Pennsylvania and even better news for the people of the 11th Congressional District."

The Pennsylvania GOP got its head handed to it on a platter in 2006 when Republican incumbents were tossed out of office as part of the anti-Bush Democratic tide.

But the GOP has rebounded, finding strong candidates to run against the freshman Democrats who failed to deliver most of their campaign promises when they got to Washington in 2007. It's the do-nothing Democrats who will have to defend their records this time around.

And Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District, where Republican Jim Gerlach has had a target on his back for three terms, looks safe for the GOP in 2008, especially with the Democrats prepared to wage a three-way primary battle of little-known candidates just to find a warm body to challenge Gerlach.

Back to Barletta. The Democrats are trying to downplay Barletta's appeal, saying he's a one-issue candidate, but that one issue is a winner in 2008. Americans are fed up with politicians who are unwilling to secure the nation's borders.

Behind the scenes, state Democratic leaders are shedding tears, the real kind, not the ones Hillary Clinton sheds after she loses a primary state.

That's Barletta flanked by his daughters Kelly, April, Lindsey and Grace during today's campaign kickoff announcement. (Photo credit: AP Photo, Aimee Dilger)

SE PA lawmakers fare poorly in Liberty Index

A must-read article by Bradley Vasoli in The Philadelphia Bulletin about the revised Liberty Index rankings with a list of Southeastern Pennsylvania lawmakers.

"There's not a clear difference between Republicans and Democrats at the state level," said Conservative Reform PAC President Bob Guzzardi.

The full, updated Liberty Index can be accessed at http://www.libertyindex.com/Home.asp

Make sure you check out where your state representative or state senators falls on the Liberty Index before you decide whether they deserve another term.

Activist to run for 29th state Senate seat

Citizen activist Dennis Baylor announced today that he is planning to run as an independent against state Sen. James Rhoades, who has held the 29th Senate District seat since 1981.

Rhoades has already announced he will seek another four-year term. The 29th Senate District covers all of Schuylkill County and parts of Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe and Northampton counties.

Baylor, who lives in Berks County, said he will begin collecting signatures on Feb. 13 to have his name placed on the November ballot. He'll need 1,300 signatures, about three times as many as a Republican or Democrat needs to get on the ballot.

"I think the average citizen is sick and tired of the two-party stranglehold on politics in Pennsylvania, and the gridlock that results from representatives playing partisan games," Baylor said.

Baylor has been one of a handful of citizen activists leading the reform movement since the Legislature approved the July 2005 pay raise for itself, the governor and the state's judges.

Baylor has been circulating a petition drive for a statewide referendum to hold citizen's constitutional convention in Pennsylvania. He also testified before the Senate's State Government Committee about convening a citizen's constitutional convention.

"Harrisburg has got to wake up to the fact that the 'gilded-age' of state government is long past, and has got to quit trying to hoodwink the public into believing that there is some less painful way to pay for the most extravagant state government in America," Baylor said.

One of his proposals is to eliminate the state Senate altogether "as one of a number of possible modernizations of government that a citizen's constitutional convention might consider."

The Pennsylvania Legislature is the most expensive in the country, costing about $333 million a year to run.

In addition to cutting the size of government to lower taxes, Baylor said in a press release that he will also focus on improving health care, (while at the same time lowering costs), improving the quality of education in Pennsylvannia, improving the environment, lead the fight against the upcoming rise in electric rates for residents and businesses in the 29th district and restore regulations to combat usurious interest rates.

Baylor is a retired engineer who formerly designed industrial safety, transportation and wind-turbine products.

Mount Rendell blows again

Gov. Ed Rendell lashed out at the media again because a brave reporter actually had the nerve to ask him questions about his $28.3 billion spending plan, which includes $230 million in new taxes and fees.

Rendell's legendary wrath was directed at KDKA TV Political Editor Jon Delano who asked an innocent question about the tax increases.

The governor's response? "Are you nuts, Jon? Are you nuts?," Rendell said.

Rendell argued that the tax increases were insignificant because they amounted to "pennies" per person. But those pennies add up, governor, to the tune of $230 million that you want to remove from the pockets of Pennsylvania residents.

You can see a video of Rendell on the warpath at KDKA's Web site.

A couple of bloggers posted items today about the exchange. Read about Rendell's temper tantrum at Capitol Punmanship and at Policy Blog.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review also takes a shot at Rendell's "Budget lies" on its editorial page today.

This is not the first time Rendell has lashed out at the press or citizen activists for failing to jump on his propaganda bandwagon.

Nate Benefield at Policy Blog also reminds us that the short-tempered Rendell "resorted to name calling, calling the Commonwealth Foundation "imbeciles" and Sen. Folmer "certifiable" and comparing Eric Epstein to "that guy who ate all those people" when they questioned Rendell's spending priorities in 2007.

Newspaper urges voting out state lawmakers

In light of the recent inability or unwillingness of the state House to give property tax reform a reasonable debate, The Mercury is telling voters in an editorial that the only option left is to vote out as many of the incumbent lawmakers as possible.

"Now, the leadership in Harrisburg is denying the opportunity for meaningful tax reform by scuttling all the plans to the back burner — again," the newspaper says. "Voters can have the last say. The state primary on April 22 offers a chance to send a message to lawmakers whose terms are up. Changing faces may be the only way to change the result."

Read the full editorial at www.pottsmerc.com

Property taxes could be this year's pay raise fiasco

Republican lawmakers gathered at the Capitol Rotunda Wednesday to put some pressure on House Democrats to resume the property tax reform debate.

If Pennsylvania taxpayers don't get property tax relief this year, the blame can be placed squarely on the shoulders of House Democrats who hold a 1-vote majority in the 203-member House.

Democrats are holding several bills hostage in the Democratically-controlled House Finance Committee, according to the GOP.

Republicans charge that the Democratic leadership has moved the property tax debate to the back burner after promising constituents that property taxes would be a priority in 2008.

Rep. John Perzel, R-Philadelphia, wants a vote on his plan to eliminate property taxes for all Pennsylvania residents 65 and over who make less than $40,000.

"What happened to this being the No. 1 issue of the Democrat party?" Perzel said during a press conference Tuesday.

His amendment to House Bill 1600 overwhelmingly passed the House last week, but the bill was intended to replace the Democrats' version of HB1600, which is another tax-shift scheme.

Majority Leader Bill DeWeese said Monday that Democrats are attempting to find a compromise on property taxes in the Finance Committee.

That's unlikely to happen as long as the Finance Committee is chaired by David Levdansky, who couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat.

One less vote for Sen. Mike O'Pake

This is a letter to the editor originally published in The Mercury regarding broken promises by state state Sen. Michael A. O'Pake, a a veteran Democrat representing the 11th Senate District in Berks County. Anger over the Legislature's unwillingness to deal with property tax reform will carry into the April 22 primary election.

I recently received a questionnaire from state Sen. Michael A. O'Pake, D-Berks.

Again, it contained the same old political jargon about how it will take years (if ever) to provide the residents of Pennsylvania with some school property tax relief.

I answered the questionnaire with my solution to the school property tax crisis. If we would put in place a 10 percent sales tax (excluding food and clothing), the homeowner property tax would be a thing of the past.

O'Pake's answer to me was if this was done in Pennsylvania, our state would have the highest sales tax in the country. He was worried about the political backlash and didn't take into consideration the abolishment of school property taxes. He didn't care if the residents of Pennsylvania would have a weight lifted off their shoulders that now is unbearable.

Mortgage foreclosures are at a record high. Families can't afford to pay for everyday living expenses. If we are not in a recession now, it's only around the corner. Yet the people of Pennsylvania continue to vote the same politicians into office. O'Pake has been in office for more than 30 years.

When something can be done now to change this mess we're in, we have to act. Get rid of the property tax and impose a 10 percent sales tax. Give the homeowners of this state room to breathe.

BILL SAKELLAROPOULOS
Reading

One less vote for Rep. David Kessler

This is a letter to the editor originally published in The Mercury regarding broken promises by state Rep. David Kessler, a freshman Democrat representing the 130th House District in eastern Berks County.

An open letter to Rep. David Kessler:

I had several personal discussions with you while you were campaigning for the state House. I came to admire the hard work and effort you put into your campaign and, against my better judgment, crossed party lines and voted for you.

However, your first term has been an utter disappointment in that you seem to have stopped listening to the people you represent and have fallen into lockstep with your party leaders; particularly in the area of property tax elimination.

At repeated town hall meetings the people tell you they want property taxes eliminated and you, instead, tell them you support another variation of the sham Act 1 bill which was overwhelmingly defeated. Worse, your latest newsletter actually lauds school property taxes as a write-off against federal income tax and a way to keep people from New York and New Jersey from moving here! That’s the most convoluted thinking imaginable.

Your plan to gradually reduce property taxes is simply one more carrot on a stick that gives us back less than our school taxes have been raised.

Frankly, you’ve lost my vote and seem to be working harder to lose the next election than you did to win the last one.

RICHARD J. MARTINO
Douglassville

Activists vs. pundits in the blogosphere

Very interesting post at the Save the GOP blog about why liberal bloggers have such a big influence on the political process while conservatives are so upset about how the presidential primaries have turned out.

I've been saying for years that liberals have infiltrated the blogosphere much the same way they've infiltrated the mainstream media.

Here's what Save the GOP says:

Conservatives wonder why our side of the blogosphere has so little success influencing elections when compared to the massive fundraising and organizational power of the lefty-netroots. The reason is this. Their side is full of activists, ours full of pundits. We had an opportunity to use our influence to push a great conservative candidate toward the nomination. And we blew it.

So for everyone complaining about McCain as the nominee, go back and check your blog archives and see how many posts you wrote about how the Thompson campaign was failing to live up to expectations, or how its fundraising numbers were too low or its media strategy unsound. And hopefully you’ll learn a lesson for the next time around.

Turncoat Jim Matthews explains why he jumped into bed with Joe Hoeffel

If anyone is still interested, Montgomery County Commissioner Jim Matthews goes to great lengths to explain why he was "forced" to make a power-sharing deal with Democrat Joe Hoeffel.

Matthews's comments were contained in a two-sided one-page letter he sent out last weekend to GOP committee people wanting an explanation for his agreement to share power with Hoeffel, according to reporter Margaret Gibbons.

Under this agreement, Matthews gave Hoeffel his vote for vice chairman, which is the first time Democrats have held that position, in exchange for Hoeffel's vote for him as chairman, Gibbons says. Also, several of Hoeffel’s key campaign aides were hired in top administrative posts and Hoeffel was given the county’s economic development portfolio.

Matthews blames Castor for forcing him to make a deal with the far-left Hoeffel, who spend most of the campaign in 2007 attacking Matthews for making too many deals as a county commissioner. That's why politics makes strange bedfellows, isn't it?

Castor says Matthews' version of events is not true, according to Gibbons.

"Suffice to say, much of what is contained in his letter is inaccurate or false," Castor said in his own letter obtained by Gibbons. "Rather than refute it point by point, I simply must rely on my record for being honest with you. I have never lied to you, and I never will. That is a promise I will always keep."

Castor maintains that he has always been flexible and willing to work with Matthews and he remains willing to work with him, Gibbons said.

"The only thing I want in return is for Joe Hoeffel and the Democrats to be returned to the minority status to which they were elected," said Castor in his letter. "No deals, no jobs, no vice chairmanship and no partnership for the Democrats."

If Matthews does not end his alliance with Hoeffel, it could result in "certain and total defeat" of the Republicans in the 2011 county elections, according to Castor.

Read the full story in today's edition of The Times Herald of Norristown.

Rendell, most Democrats flunk Liberty Index

The Liberty Index, a report card on how Pennsylvania elected officials have advanced or restrained individual liberty, is back. It's not good news for Gov. Ed Rendell and most of the Democrats in the state Legislature. Rendell continues to score an "F" on the Liberty Index.

The Index reviews all the legislation approved by the General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Rendell since he took office since 2003. The rankings focus on economic freedom or "the ability and freedom to spend your own money in the manner you think best for you, your family and your community," according to the Liberty Index Web site.

The Liberty Index is intended to measure the extent to which the free market, the individual decisions of 12 million Pennsylvania residents, is advanced or restrained by 254 elected officials, the governor and the 253 members of the state Legislature, according to the Web site.

Of the 85 "F" grades issued to members of the House, 75 failing grades were awarded to Democrats. Of the 36 "D" grades issued, 25 went to House Democrats.

Over in the Senate, Democrats earned 18 of the 27 "F" grades issued. Another 3 Democrats earned "D" grades. (Sounds like there's a lot of RINOs in the Senate.)

To find out how your state representative or senator ranks on the Liberty Index, go to http://www.libertyindex.com

The Index is produced by RGI Inc, the Conservative Reform Network and The Conservative Reform PAC, Bob Guzzardi, President http://www.bobguzzardi.com

The Conservative Reform Network also publishes a blog at http://crnblog.org/

Business group warns of stealth tax hike in Rendell budget

There's a reason Gov. Ed Rendell is known throughout Pennsylvania as "Fast Eddie" or "Slick Eddie" or "Pinocchio Ed" or "Ed Spendell."

You have to watch this guy closely. He's addicted to spending (other people's money) and he likes taxes.

The Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association is warning that Rendell will attempt to increase the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax for 2009. The CSFT is a tax on business assets, which employers pay every year regardless of their earnings or losses, the business trade group says. A high CSFT puts Pennsylvania at a disadvantage in attracting new business to the state, according to the group.

Under current law, the CSFT rate fell to 2.89 mills on Jan. 1, 2008, and will drop to 1.89 mills on Jan. 1, 2009. Rendell wants to stop the phase-out, keeping the CSFT rate for 2009 at 2.49 mills.

"Most states have either a business income tax or a business assets tax – not both," said David N. Taylor, executive director of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association. "Pennsylvania's one-two punch of CNI-plus-CSFT is a major competitive disadvantage, which should make eliminating the CSFT a critical priority."

Read the full press release from the PNA at the group's Web site, www.pamanufacturers.org

Catch Tony Phyrillas on the radio today

Tony Phyrillas, The Mercury's award-winning political columnist, will be a guest on the Nick Lawrence Show on WPAZ 1370 AM today from 4-5 p.m.

Tony and Nick will discuss the results of Super Tuesday primary and caucus votes and how the race for president is shaping up. Gov. Ed Rendell's $28.3 billion budget proposal will also be discussed.

Listeners can call 610-326-4000 with comments or questions during the live broadcast.

You can also listen to the radio broadcast on your computer by logging on to http://www.1370wpaz.com and clicking on the "live audio" button at the top of the home page.

The Return of Ed Spendell

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

Gov. Ed Rendell wants to spend more of your money. He'd like Pennsylvania residents to pay more in cigarette taxes if they smoke and pay more for electricity if they use this new-fangled invention. The governor is calling it "public benefits charge," but it's a tax on electricity.

He also wants you to pay more for insurance. Rendell wants to impose a new assessment on all property-insurance policies, adding an extra $7 for each $100 you now pay in insurance premiums.

The rest of the money needed to pay for Rendell's $1.1 billion increase in General Fund spending would come from dipping into what is known as the "Rainy Day Fund" and borrowing money. Borrowing lots of money.

With the Republican-controlled state Senate unwilling to approve any new tax hikes in 2007, Rendell has decided that putting the state deeper into debt is the only way he can satisfy his enormous appetite for spending other people's money.

Rendell wants the Legislature to increase the state's debt limit by $750 million, all of which would immediately be spent on building projects. He also wants to borrow $270 million to rebuild bridges and other infrastructure. It would be the fourth time Rendell has pushed to raise the state's debt limit since he became governor in 2003.

If the budget makes it through the Legislature as Rendell has proposed, state spending in Pennsylvania would have risen by $8 billion since Rendell became governor in 2003. Rendell called the budget "tight" when he unveiled it before a joint session of the state Legislature. If $28.3 billion is tight, I'd hate to see what Rendell considers a "loose" budget.

Republicans in the state Legislature were quick to criticize Rendell's spending plan.

"Hearing the governor this morning reminded me a little of Groundhog Day," House Republican Leader Sam Smith said. "The governor stood up, saw his shadow and proposed more taxes, borrowing and spending. It's the same story, year after year."

Rep. Tom Quigley, R-Montgomery, said Rendell's budget includes too much spending.

"The governor is repeating his pattern of looking for new ways to tax the people, and while he has proposed cuts to programs that have proven successful, he has reallocated that funding for his own personal spending priorities," Quigley said. "We should be looking at a budget with no new taxes and one where money that is cut is returned to the people, not to the governor's personal spending till."

Quigley has introduced legislation to cut the state income tax.

"Faced with the very real possibility of an economic downturn, we should be seeking a legitimate economic stimulus plan, Quigley said. "Rolling back the Personal Income Tax to 2.8 percent, as I have been advocating for months, would spur families and businesses to spend more money and would strengthen the Commonwealth’s economy. We need to give the money back to those people who contribute the most to our tax rolls – middle-income families and small businesses."

Much of what Rendell wants to spend in the 2008-09 budget is familiar. Rendell wants to extend health insurance coverage to the state’s uninsured, spend $850 million on alternative energy projects and borrow $1.25 billion to pay for development projects and build medical research facilities.

And let's not forget the Rendell "economic stimulus package," a plan to send $400 in tax rebates to 475,000 lower-income families who don't pay income taxes. The one-time payments would cost the state treasury about $130 million.

Quigley said the elimination of property taxes would provide the biggest economic stimulus for Pennsylvania taxpayers.

"I would also urge the Democrat Leadership to renew the property tax debate that started last week," Quigley said. "This is the main issue that the overwhelming majority of Pennsylvanians want to see addressed. The programs and initiatives outlined in today's budget need to be worked out over the coming weeks, but the issue of school property taxes needs to be addressed immediately."

For more details on the budget, go to the governor’s budget office: http://www.budget.state.pa.us

For a no-spin look at the spending plan, try The Commonwealth Foundation Web site at www.commonwealthfoundation.org

Tax reform is on the back burner again

It's getting harder to believe anything the Democratic leadership in the state House of Representatives has to say these days.

The leadership, headed by Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Greene, keeps saying that property tax relief is a priority in the House. But DeWeese postponed the property tax debate several times in January. When it finally came to the floor, the debate was cut off after a few hours. Here we are in February and property tax reform is again on the back burner.

At some point, Pennsylvania voters have to realize that the current leadership in Harrisburg is not interested in reducing or eliminating property taxes. Until that obstacle is removed, property tax reform is at a standstill.

The Democrats wouldn't allow a fair hearing of House Bill 1275, the school tax elimination plan introduced by Rep. Sam Rohrer, R-Berks. And when Rep. John Perzel outfoxed the Democrats by introducing his "gut and replace" amendment to House Bill 1600, the Democrats adjourned.

Perzel's plan would send all of the money available for property tax relief from the casino revenues to low-income senior citizens, shutting out all other Pennsylvania homeowners.

On Monday, HB 1600 (now the Perzel amended HB 1600) was re-committed to the House Finance Committee, controlled by the Democrats. Bills sent back to committee are usually never heard from again.

There was some talk by DeWeese that the Finance Committee will work on a compromise solution on property taxes, but don't hold your breath.

With Gov. Rendell unveiling his $28.3 billion 2008-09 budget on Tuesday, almost everything else will take a back seat until a budget is approved. That usually takes place in June and then the Legislature adjourns for the summer.

The Friends of John Perzel, which is Perzel's political action committee, took out a full-page advertisement in today's edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer demanding immediate action on his House Bill 1600.

The only way property tax reform will move back to a priority is if taxpayers bombard their state legislators with phone calls and e-mails. Otherwise, the Legislature is happy to sweep the property tax debate under the rug, once again.

Another way for taxpayers to get lawmakers' attention is to vote out incumbents on April 22. Nothing gets the attention of the political class like a clean sweep of career politicians.

So get on the phone, start writing letters and sending e-mails. And don't forget to show up at the polls on April 22 to vote out the incumbents.

For more cartoons by John Cole, click here.

At least Ron Paul is willing to secure U.S. borders

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul signed the Numbers USA pledge Tuesday reaffirming the Texas Congressman's longstanding opposition to amnesty and support for securing the borders, his campaign reports.

Paul has introduced a six-point plan to deal with the current illegal immigration problem.

"The talk must stop," Paul said. "We must secure our borders now. A nation without secure borders is no nation at all."

No other candidate has taken such a tough position on illegal immigration.

Rep. Paul has received the endorsements of many groups and leaders that oppose illegal immigration. A list of such endorsements can be found at: www.ronpaul2008.com/endorsements
Below is the Numbers USA pledge:

I pledge to oppose amnesty or any other special path to citizenship for the millions of foreign nationals unlawfully present in the United States. As President, I will fully implement enforcement measures that, over time, will lead to the attrition of our illegal immigrant population. I also pledge to make security of our borders a top priority of my administration.

Numbers USA includes six points of understanding as to what the pledge means and what it entails:

1. The 12 million illegal aliens now here will have to go home.
2. They will not get any legal status while here that allows them to remain long-term.
3. Once in their home countries, they may apply for re-admittance to the U.S. as immigrants, visitors or temporary workers through normal channels.
4. But they will not receive any special privileges on the basis of their having been in the U.S. illegally, such as being put to the front of a line.
5. There will be no new categories or programs through which they may re-enter.
6. There will not be an expansion of green cards in any existing categories that will speed up their movement to the front of the line.

'The Heavy Hand Of Hillarycare'

The mainstream media is giving Hillary Clinton (and her clone, Barack Obama) a free pass so far on their pie-in-the-sky socialized medicine schemes. You know, free medical care for everyone, a chicken in every pot, etc.

Investor's Business Daily has an interesting editorial today on Hillarycare and its implications on the U.S. economy.

"Clinton would still force the country to participate in a national system, in part by requiring everyone to buy health care insurance," the newspaper says. "Should any — ostensibly free — Americans refuse, she would consider having the government garnish their wages."

Sometimes you need to sweat the small stuff, especially when the Democrats stick their hands into your pocket.

Read the editorial here.

Matthews keeps digging a bigger hole

The first rule of holes: When you're in a hole, stop digging.

Jim Matthews keeps digging himself deeper.

Check out this post at PaWaterCooler.com, where King James I attempts to explain why he sold out the Republican Party in Montgomery County.

PAWaterCooler.com has obtained a copy of a two-page letter Matthews sent to Montgomery County Republican Committee members attempting to justify his betrayal of the party.

I don't think it's working. Montgomery County Republican Chairman Ken Davis will get bounced out the door on his behind at the next meeting of the Republican Committee and don't be surprised if Davis' hand-picked candidates for various state offices get the cold shoulder from the party's rank-and-file.

The sooner the party purges itself of Davis-Matthews and their ilk, the sooner it can rebuild.

Phyrillas on the radio Wednesday

Tony Phyrillas, The Mercury's award-winning political columnist, will be a guest on the Nick Lawrence Show on WPAZ 1370 AM from 4-5 p.m. on Wednesday.

Tony and Nick will discuss the results of Super Tuesday primary and caucus votes and how the race for president is shaping up.

Listeners can call 610-326-4000 with comments or questions during the live broadcast.

You can also listen to the radio broadcast on your computer by logging on to http://www.1370wpaz.com and clicking on the "live audio" button at the top of the home page.

Rendell pushes welfare, more debt

Will Pennsylvania survive another three years under Ed Rendell?

The governor who raised the state income tax and gave us the $52 a year nuisance tax for workers during his first term has decided to try something else in his second term.

Rendell's 2008-09 budget proposal includes huge increases in welfare spending (corporate and personal) and a massive increase in state debt.

Read the excellent assessment of Rendell's "stimulus" package at The Commonwealth Foundation's Policy Blog.

GOP offers alternative to Rendell budget

On the eve of Gov. Ed Rendell's annual budget address to a joint session of the General Assembly, House Republicans unveiled their version of a state budget, including an economic stimulus package that calls for tax cuts.

Rendell's proposed budget, to be unveiled Tuesday at 11:30 a.m., calls for $2.3 billion in new state spending, most of it from additional borrowing.

Republicans don't want the state to borrow any more money and want to see cuts in existing state spending.

On Monday, House Republican Policy Chairman Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) and his colleagues on the Policy Committee called for a "zero-growth budget" for the 2008-09 fiscal year.

Turzai also unveiled an economic stimulus package designed to improve Pennsylvania's business climate.

"Over the past five years, the governor has focused his budget priorities on new taxes, new spending and new borrowing. Last year, his plan would have raised or enacted seven new taxes," Turzai said. "Today, my colleagues and I call on the governor to rein in the spending and propose a zero-growth budget. We can't allow Pennsylvania's hard-working families to be saddled with his ever-increasing appetite for spending."

The Rendell administration has increased state spending by $6 billion, or more than 29 percent, in the past four years, according to Turzai.

More government spending and more borrowing is not the answer, according to Republican legislators.

Turzai called on the governor to focus on three priorities during the 2008-09 budget process:

1) Rolling back the Personal Income Tax (PIT)
2) Enacting the Compete PA Business Tax Relief Package
3) Cutting the consumer electric bill tax by 50 percent over five years

"These priorities put the focus where it needs to be to move our state forward – on our families who work hard every day," Turzai said. "Without a competitive business climate, Pennsylvania cannot provide the types of economic development opportunities that are needed. In every corner of the state, we need to keep people working."

The governor painted a rosy scenario about the state's economy during a preview of his budget, but House Republicans see a different picture.

Since Rendell took office in 2003, Pennsylvania has lost 80,000 manufacturing jobs, including 2,300 iron and steel mill jobs and 6,800 high-tech jobs in computer manufacturing, Turzai said. Nearly 1,200 manufacturing jobs are lost per month and one factory closes every day, he said.

Republicans want each state agency and department to find ways to trim spending by 5 percent to 10 percent.

In addition to an economic stimulus package, Turzai called on the governor to put a limit on the borrowing.

"In his first term, Rendell enacted five borrowing initiatives, totaling $3.15 billion, which will cost the taxpayers of Pennsylvania $4.761 billion to pay back in principal, interest and fees," Turzai noted. "Already in his second term, he has proposed additional borrowing in the amount of $1.85 billion. That would amount to almost $3.1 billion in principal, interest and fees. If we continue to borrow and spend at the rate of this governor's appetite, future generations of Pennsylvanians will be hard pressed to pay their bills.

Rendell's economic stimulus plan consists mostly of $400 tax rebates to lower income Pennsylvanians, more than $2 billion in state borrowing and a rehash of his failed 2007 agenda on energy and health care.

Rendell proposes $3.2B in new spending

I can't wait for Gov. Ed Rendell's annual budget speech Tuesday.

Pennsylvania, like the rest of the nation, is heading into a recession.

I'm no economist, but is $2.3 billion in new government spending the best way to deal with an economic downturn? Rendell thinks so.

"A stimulus package is urgently needed to protect and build on the progress we've made in the past five years," Rendell said in unveiling his "Protecting Our Progress" initiative.

Rendell is still painting a rosy picture of Pennsylvania's sick economy, but the governor admits trouble is on the way.

"There are storm clouds in the national economic forecast and we need to continue working together now to ensure residents and businesses can weather any storm," Rendell said.

Rendell's "Protecting Our Progress" plan has three elements:

1) Tax rebates for lower income Pennsylvanians.
2) Release of state funds for public construction development projects
3) More government grants and tax breaks to businesses to "stimulating business expansion and job creation and retention." (In other words, more corporate welfare spending.)

The fact that Rendell's first five years of "corporate welfare" handouts has failed to provide the promised job projections is not going to deter Rendell from continuing to dig a deeper hole for the state's economy.

Here's some advice for the governor. The first rule of digging holes is when you're in a hole, stop digging.

I'm waiting to see how the left-wing media (and the bloggers) will respond to Rendell's tax rebate scheme since many ridiculed President Bush's proposal. Do tax rebates make economic sense if a liberal governor is proposing them?

Rendell wants the Legislature to enact "Protecting Our Progress" tax rebates, a one-time rebate of up to $400 per household that would be paid to more than 475,000 of Pennsylvania's lower-income working families. This will cost $130 million.

Rendell also wants passage of an additional $750 million in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, or RACP, funding to jump start $1.5 billion in community and economic development projects, according to the governor's office. Nearly $200 million worth of projects are ready to go by the end of this year, and nearly a billion dollars more are in various stages of readying for development.

As for the rest of the package, it's a rehash of the initiatives Rendell proposed in 2007 but have not been approved the the Legislature:

1) The Jonas Salk Legacy Fund to provide $1 billion to build new facilities for health-related research.

2) Enactment of the Energy Independence Strategy to put $850 million to work expanding the alternative energy sector and helping consumers bring down their household energy costs.

3) Launching "Rebuilding Pennsylvania" to repair the state's aging infrastructure with more than $700 million to accelerate progress in the next three years to repair at least 1,000 bridges, all state-owned high-hazard dams, and help local governments repair their dams. In addition, capital funds will provide targeted infrastructure improvements to expand rail freight and aviation facilities and mitigate flooding.

The governor hasn't revealed yet where the money will come from to fund all these programs. Is there a printing press in the basement of the governor's mansion? A tax hike is out of the question. Can you say borrowing? Rendell has already borrowed $2 billion to fund various programs. What's another couple of billion among friends?

Rendell will present his 2008-09 budget proposal at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, to a joint session of the General Assembly.

Striking teachers get more than they bargained for

The West Chester Daily Local News has published the salaries of all the teachers in the Downingtown Area School District in its Sunday edition.

The teachers, who are on strike, say they were insulted by the school district's offer of four consecutive years of salary increases: 4.4, 4.5, 4.5 and 4.6 percent, which amounts to an average annual increase of 4.5 percent.

The newspaper obtained the salaries from www.stopteacherstrikes.org, the Web site for Stop Teacher Strikes in Pennsylvania, a citizens coalition that wants Pennsylvania to join 39 other states in banning teacher strikes.

The salaries in Downingtown range from starting pay of $43,000 to as high as $82,000. Downingtown teachers are among the highest paid in Chester County, but the teachers' union says their members are forced to leave for jobs in neighboring districts that pay more.

DeWeese drops libel lawsuit in exchange for newspaper column

House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Greene, has dropped a libel lawsuit against his hometown newspaper, The Herald Standard of Uniontown, in return for the newspaper giving him space to run a column.

Hell, if it was this easy to resolve differences, who needs judges and lawyers and juries?

Read about the settlement in The Herald Standard.

And if you have nothing better to do for the next 10 minutes, you can also read DeWeese's column.

DeWeese has a lot on his plate. With the Bonusgate criminal investigation continuing, the inability of the House to accomplish anything during his tenure as leader, his own reelection in doubt on April 22 and the likelihood that the Democrats will lose control of the House this November, the last thing DeWeese needed was a protracted (and public) legal battle with a newspaper.

By the way, the reason DeWeese sued the newspaper in 2002 was over a series of articles questioning $12.5 million in taxpayer dollars that DeWeese kept in a leadership account he controlled. DeWeese and other Legislative leaders continue to control these accounts despite all the promises of reform in Harrisburg.

Momma or Obama

This cartoon is the work of Vicki Rhodier, a Pennsylvania artist.

Is there any difference between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton?

Can you think of any issues where they differ?

Is there any room in the Democratic Party for anyone who isn't a liberal like Clinton or Obama?

How do Democrats make up their mind about candidates who are so similar?

And what does the Democrat Party stand for?

Those are just some of the questions that come to mind as I view Rhodier's cartoon.

Have your say on the presidential race

Now that the preliminaries are over, it's time to get serious about picking the next president of the United States.

Super Tuesday is almost here. About half the states will have had their say after the results are in.

If you're interested in keeping up with the latest on the presidential race, check out a Web site called electionQlips, which allows you to leave comments, audio or video clips about your favorite candidates.

electionQlips is produced by Qlip Media, Inc. designed by OuterJoin, an online marketing firm.

Lawyers, bankers brag about defeating property tax relief measure

If you're wondering who got to the Democrats in the Pennsylvania House last week when Democrats overwhelmingly rejected the Rohrer amendment to eliminate school property taxes in Pennsylvania, take a look at the Pennsylvania Bar Association Web site.

The state's lawyers are particularly pleased that HB 1275 was defeated.

"The PBA Legislative Department would like to thank all the PBA members who took the time to contact their representatives and urge them to oppose the amendment," according to the Web site. "This outcome is a testament to the PBA's collective, sustained and diligent grassroots efforts."

The lawyers objected to HB 1275 because it would expand the state sales tax to include legal fees. For example, if you paid a lawyer $150 to write a letter, you'd have to kick in another $8 in sales tax. Would you rather pay the extra $8 for a one-time service or continue to pay thousands of dollars each year in school property taxes?

How many lawyers are in the House? How many House members will be receiving hefty contributions from lawyers for the reelection campaigns this year?

The Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers is also thanking its members for lobbying lawmakers to reject the elimination of school property taxes. The bankers oppose the measure because the sales tax would have been expanded to some banking services.

"PACB has consistently opposed these attempts believing they would be a new taxation burden on our customers and a huge regulatory/compliance burden on community banks to determine what is taxable and what is not," according to the Web site.

The House is supposed to take up property tax reform again this week, but don't expect much because special interests control your legislator - until April 22 when you decide if your lawmaker gets to keep his or her job.

60,000 visitors to TONY PHYRILLAS

A couple of milestones on this crisp February day.

My site counter has recorded 85,000 page views and 60,000 unique visitors since I started keeping track of visitors to TONY PHYRILLAS in January 2007.

I have some more good news to share. I'll be back on the Nick Lawrence Show on WPAZ radio on Wednesday to discuss the results of Super Tuesday.

I'll also be making my 7th appearance in the past 24 months on PCN's "Journalists Roundtable" program on Thursday, Feb. 14. Will you be my Valentine, Ed Rendell?

I've also received an invitation to be part of a panel at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference in April.

And I'm considering several scripts for my big screen debut. (OK, I made that last part up.)

Durante already lost the election

If this was happening anywhere but Montgomery County, it would make no sense. But Montgomery County is home to Ken Davis, Bob Asher and Jim Matthews, otherwise known as The Three Stooges of Pennsylvania politics.

Matthews decided to ignore the wishes of 85,000 Republican voters who wanted a GOP majority running county government and voted for Democrat Joe Hoeffel as the county's new commissioners' vice chairman.

Davis and Asher are responsible for giving away dozens of county and statewide offices to the Democrats by their incompetence.

The latest attempt to screw up the Republican Party is in the race for the 17th District Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Sen. Connie Williams.

Republicans have a good candidate in attorney Lance Rogers, a Lower Merion township supervisor who was an independent until he switched his party registration to Republican. Rogers is the type of candidate would could appeal to independent, moderate Republicans and Democrats. He could win the 17th District Senate seat for the GOP.

Enter Davis and Asher, who are pushing another candidate, Montgomery County Sheriff John Durante, who won for re-election to a new four-year term in November.

Only one glaring problem with Durante. He lost most of the communities in the 17th Senate District in the November general election.

Durante lost to little-known Democrat Ed Cheri in Lower Merion, Upper Merion, Bridgeport, Conshohocken, Narberth and Norristown, and narrowly won in East Norriton, Plymouth and West Conshohocken.

Durante was 3 for 9, losing in the 17th District by a total of 18,743 to 14,253 votes. Cheri took 57 percent of the vote to Durante's 43 percent. There's no way Durante can win.

Here's the 17th Senatorial District breakdown in the 2007general election in the race for Montgomery County sheriff:

East Norriton: Durante, 1,626; Cheri, 1,162
Lower Merion: Durante, 5,557; Cheri, 9,257
Plymouth: Durante, 1,880; Cheri, 1,608
Upper Merion: Durante, 2,506; Cheri, 2,692
Bridgeport, Durante, 239; Cheri, 340
Conshohocken: Durante, 702; Cheri, 750
Narberth: Durante, 471; Cheri, 801
Norristown: Durante, 1,109; Cheri, 2,014
West Conshohocken: Durante, 163; Cheri, 119

TOTAL: Durante, 14,253 (43%); Cheri, 18,743 (57%)

Voter registration in the 17th District consists of 46% Democrats, 40% Republicans and 14% independents or third party. A conservative like Durante can't win in this district, especially against ultra-liberal Daylin Leach, the Democratic Party candidate.

A moderate/independent candidate like Lance Rogers could win, especially if he carries his home turf of Lower Merion by a large margin.

Will Montgomery County Republican Party Committee members follow their "leaders" over the cliff and support Durante or will they endorse Rogers and have a shot at winning in 2008?

Sen. Rhoades needs another 4 years to work on tax relief

State Sen. James Rhoades has spent the past 27 years in Harrisburg and hasn't been able to deliver on his promise to enact property tax reform. But if the voters of the 29th Senate District give him another four-year term, Rhoades promises he'll get to work on that tax reform agenda.

At least that's what the veteran lawmaker told The Reading Eagle.

Rhoades is facing the voters for the first time since he voted in favor of the 2005 pay raise for lawmakers and other state officials. Only half the Senate faces reelection every two years, so Rhoades escaped the wrath of angry voters who tossed out Chip Brightbill, another senator who represented parts of Berks County.

The 29th District covers all of Schuylkill County and parts of Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe and Northampton counties.

Reporter Mary Young asked Rhoades why the Legislature has not been able to agree on property tax relief for the state's homeowners.

"Why can't we get it done? It takes 26 votes in the Senate, 102 in the House and a governor willing to sign it," Rhoades said.

Rhoades is also pushing the "referendum" option that the Legislature tried in 2007 with Act 1, which was rejected by most of the state's taxpayers. (Don't these state legislators get paid to make the tough decisions? Otherwise, why don't we disband the Legislature and save ourselves $333 million a year? We could put that toward property tax relief.)

Sounds like Rhoades has already given up. If the current makeup of the Legislature isn't willing to do the job, why not put some new people in there? Mike Folmer was a big improvement over Chip Brightbill.

No word yet if anyone is going to run against Rhoades.

Salvaging property tax reform

You're probably wondering what happened this week when the Pennsylvania House of Representatives took a vote on a plan to eliminate property taxes. How could the plan have been defeated by a 148-47 margin?

The entire 203-member House is up for reelection this year and every incumbent wanted to go before the voters saying they supported property tax relief. How did House Bill 1275, sponsored by Rep. Sam Rohrer, go down in flames? It's complicated.

The version of HB 1275 that was voted on last Tuesday was not the original plan Rohrer introduced two years ago. Tuesday's vote was on an amendment to House Bill 1600, sponsored by Rep. Dave Levdansky, the Democratic chairman of the House Finance Committee.

Levdansky's bill is a warmed-over version of Act 1, which was rejected by Pennsylvania voters in 2007. HB 1600 would temporarily reduce property taxes while permanently increasing the state sales tax and the income tax.

Rohrer's original bill would have ended school property taxes in Pennsylvania. House Bill 1275 could have passed had it been allowed to work its way through the committee process. But Levdansky wouldn't clear the bill out of his committee, forcing Rohrer to introduce it as a take-it-or-leave-it amendment. Too many lawmakers had problems with the amendment or didn’t understand it so they voted against HB 1275.

Instead the House approved the Perzel amendment, offered by Republican John Perzel of Philadelphia. The Perzel plan was approved by a 159-36 margin. On the surface, the Perzel amendment would deliver all property tax relief to senior citizens.

The Perzel amendment basically reverses the Act 1 concept of using the gaming revenues for the miniscule property tax relief for all homeowners and use that revenue to eliminate school property tax for seniors making under $39,999 and who are 65 and older.

But that's not why so many lawmakers voted in favor of it. Perzel is a master at manipulating parliamentary procedure. That's why he ruled over the House for so many years before he was ousted from his post as Speaker of the House by his fellow Republicans.

Say what you will about Perzel, but nobody knows how to navigate the floor of the House better than he does. From a strategic standpoint, Perzel's plan was a "gut and replace" amendment. It killed House Bill 1600.

Not only did the lawmakers who voted for the Rohrer amendment support Perzel, but conservative lawmakers from western Pennsylvania who did not want to raise the income tax also joined the coalition. The rest of the votes came from Democrats who wanted no part of House Bill 1600.

The Democratic leadership was left in a daze by Perzel's maneuvering. It decided to adjourn until Feb. 4 to figure out what hit them.

Will both sides stop playing games and attempt to work out a plan to eliminate school taxes? We'll find out next week. Political careers are on the line here. The party that delivers property tax reform will take control of the House. And right now, it's not looking good for Democrats.

Ed Rendell has an evil twin

This is call placed to The Mercury's Sound Off column, which is published daily. I like what the caller had to say and I'm beginning to wonder if Ed Rendell has an evil twin.

"After hearing Hillary Clinton's Philadelphia speech on how great our Gov. Ed Rendell is, I wondered if there were two Rendells in this state. Nothing she said was true. Absolutely all lies. Tax-and-spend Rendell has literally destroyed this state. Recently he made changes to the prescription and Medicare plans for the state retirees. They're too expensive and very poor coverage."

Argall seeks 13th term in state House

The Reading Eagle is reporting that state Rep. David Argall, R-Berks/Schuylkill, will seek a 13th term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Argall has held the 124th House District seat for 24 years and has risen to the post of House Republican Whip, which is the No. 2 leadership post in the House GOP caucus.

Argall is the highest-ranking lawmaker in Harrisburg to push for the elimination of property taxes. That might be enough for voters in the 124th District to forgive Argall for voting in favor of the July 2005 legislative pay raise.

Argall told the newspaper he will continue to push for property tax relief despite setbacks this week when House Democrats blocked a plan by Rep. Sam Rohrer, R-Berks, to eliminate property taxes.

It's unlikely Argall will face a challenger in the April 22 primary, but he is slated to face Democrat William J. Mackey in the fall. Mackey ran against Argall in 2006.

Newspaper: Respect a one-way street for striking teachers

Talks have broken down between the Downingtown School District in Chester County and the union representing the district's 850 teachers, which means the strike will enter a second week.

The district has offered the teachers pay raises of 4.4, 4.5, 4.5 and 4.6 percent over the next four years, which amounts to an average annual increase of 4.5 percent.

But the teachers say the pay hikes are insulting and show a total lack of respect for the teachers.

The West Chester Daily Local News weighs in today on the impasse on its editorial page.

"We believe the district's offer is more than fair," the newspaper says. "We believe it shows great respect for the teachers, which is more than we can say for how the union is respecting every parent and taxpayer in Downingtown Area. But none of this matters. The union is walking the picket line today. How's that for some respect."

The newspaper has also published a letter from state Sen. Robert Mellow, the Democratic leader, touting his legislation to ban teacher strikes in Pennsylvania.

To learn more about why Pennsylvania is the teacher strike capital of the United States, go to Stop Teacher Strikes in Pennsylvania.

Mob influence in Pennsylvania casinos? You don't say

Let me get this straight. The mob (as in organized crime) has a connection to one of Pennsylvania's new casinos? You're kidding. Who would have imagined such a thing. The mob in the casino business? That's unheard of ... unless you've seen "The Godfather" or "The Godfather, Part II" or "Casino" or any mob movie made in the past 40 years.

Don't say we didn't warn you. Opponents of casino gambling in Pennsylvania were telling lawmakers in 2004 and 2005 that Pennsylvania's Swiss Cheese casino legislation and patronage-filled gaming board would get caught with its pants down.

I predicted this in July 2004 in a column titled, "Tony Soprano has friends in Pennsylvania."

The indictment this week of Mount Airy Casino Resort owner Louis A. DeNaples on charges that he lied to state Gaming Control Board about mob ties comes less than a year after after the state licensed its first casino. It won't be the first time someone with connections to the mob will infiltrate the state's casinos.

Read today's editorial in The Philadelphia Inquirer about "Pennsylvania's haphazard venture into legalized gambling."

Also spend some time at the CasinoFreePA Web site to review the history of Ed Rendell's casino gamble.

Follow the Clinton money

We'll know better after Super Tuesday which way the Democratic Party nomination is going, but don't bet the farm on Hillary Clinton just yet.

The Kennedys are all over Sen. Barack Obama. MoveOn.org, the far-left attack machine, is backing Obama and now even The New York Times is turning on the Clintons.

As much as Democrats want to win the White House, do they really want to turn it over to one of the most corrupt administrations in U.S. history? Bill Clinton has been out of the White House for 8 years and we're still uncovering information about his shady deals with various foreign governments and others.

There's been a lot of coverage of Hillary Clinton's ties with Norman Hsu, the recently convicted Chinese businessman, but the Clinton tentacles stretch all over the globe when it comes to financing the Hillary for President Machine.

The New York Times has a story about how the Clintons are getting money from Kazakhstan. That's right, Kazakhstan, home of "Borat." This is not a joke.

Read "After Mining Deal, Financier Donated to Clinton" to get a clearer sense of how dirty the Clintons are.

Pennsylvania taxpayers will help pay for soccer stadium

Politicians have picked the pockets of Pennsylvania taxpayers in recent years to help build football stadiums, baseball stadiums and hockey rinks for multi-millionaire owners.

The latest fleecing of taxpayers involves building a soccer stadium in Chester, Delaware County. The state is planning to kick in $47 million of your hard-earned tax dollars to help fund the private development. (When was the last time you sat through a professional soccer game?)

The Mercury gives Gov. Ed Rendell and Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, a Thorn in today's editorial page.

Lowman Henry weighs in on the soccer funding at his Web site.

"Setting aside the absurd thought that pro soccer can actually make it in Pennsylvania (flower arranging at Heinz field is more likely to succeed), why should state taxpayers pony up $47 million dollars to subsidize a private venture? If the stadium and a pro soccer franchise are such a good business investment, let the owners spend their own money," Henry writes.

Rick Santorum endorses Mitt Romney

Rick Santorum must not have gotten the memo from the Republican Party establishment.

In a week when some big-name Republicans are falling into line and endorsing Sen. John McCain, Santorum, the former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, has endorsed Mitt Romney.

Romney should be the choice of conservatives, according to Santorum, the two-term senator who lost his re-election bid in 2006.

"In a few short days, Republicans from across this country will decide more than their party's nominee," Santorum said. "They will decide the very future of our party and the conservative coalition that Ronald Reagan built. Conservatives can no longer afford to stand on the sidelines in this election, and Gov. Romney is the candidate who will stand up for the conservative principles that we hold dear."

While Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Fla. Sen. Mel Martinez, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani have thrown their support to McCain in the past week, Santorum is backing Romney just days before the crucial Super Tuesday votes in more than 20 states.

"Gov. Romney has a deep understanding of the important issues confronting our country today, and he is the clear conservative candidate that can go into the general election with a united Republican party."

Romney said he is honored to have Santorum's support. Hell, at this point, Romney will take anybody's endorsement.

"Throughout his career of public service, he (Santorum) has always led with a steadfast commitment to our party's conservative principles, Romney said. "He has fought for life, marriage, tax cuts and a stronger national defense. In the coming days, I look forward to working with him as we fight for our party's conservative foundations."

Since leaving the Senate, Santorum has taken a position as a senior fellow with The Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., is a contributor on Fox News Channel, and a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Someone forgot to change the calendar

Gov. Rendell's press office put out a release today announcing that the governor will deliver his "2007-08 Budget Address to Joint Session of House and Senate" on Tuesday, Feb. 5.

One slight problem. This is 2008. The governor delivered his 2007-08 budget last February. This would his 2008-09 budget address.

I'm guessing Rendell will offer pretty much the same budget to the Legislature that he delivered last year, so why bother changing anything in it?

You remember the 2007-08 budget don't you? That was the one with $2 billion in new spending and seven new or increased taxes. Rendell got his spending increase, but the Republican-controlled Senate drew the line on any tax increases.

And if Rendell couldn't get any of his budget priorities past the Senate in 2007, months after coming off his landslide reelection to a second term, what chance does have in 2008 when his is a lame duck?

Rendell's budget speech begins at 11 a.m. Tuesday and will be carried live on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.