Venango County GOP

Pelosi running for minority leader

2010-11-05T15:38:00.000-04:00

The story of Pelosi running for minority leader has a number of implications. If she wins, the current democratic leader (who is much more moderate and who can better negotiate with republicans) would be pushed out or pushed down to minority whip. And the long time whip is the highest ranking African-American. Neither of these demotions are going to go over well (and they shouldn't go over well as these guys don't deserve to lose their jobs). It is also a test for Obama. If Obama doesn't back Pelosi after she carried so much water for him, the simple question of why should any democrat in the House go the extra mile for him. And if these guys get pushed aside, you have to ask yourself the question about whether the Democrats have learned anything from such a big defeat. In all cases, you have a lot of problems on hte democrat side of the aisle.
Jim Griffith

Desperation

2010-10-21T15:29:00.000-04:00

Howdy;
It is time to start getting real, the Democrats are getting desperate. They though they had it made. They had the house, the senate, the president. and all the socialist czars your could want. They had the will of American people with the idea of change. Till they found out what that change meant. Now! - we know that the need for conservative thinking is greater than ever. It always has been, people just couldn't see it. All elected officials should be good stewards of the peoples money and even greater protectors of the peoples rights. Socialism has never worked, it just makes a mess that the conservatives have to clean up. Our opponents are going to be mad as hell that it did not work, they want more time to dig the hole deeper. They are desperate enough to try a lot of dirty tricks in these last two week. So, be on guard and look for them to try anything, to stop us from getting out the vote.

National GOP chairman speaks at Meadville rally

2010-10-21T13:12:00.003-04:00

National GOP chairman speaks at Meadville rally

By ROBB FREDERICK

robb.frederick@timesnews.com

MEADVILLE -- John Dennis must love the big orange bus that stopped here Wednesday.

Dennis, a "Liberty" Republican, is running for Congress. He wants to represent California's 8th district -- the seat now held by the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

The Republican National Committee chairman rode that bus clear across Ohio on Wednesday. Today he takes it to New York.

At every stop, Pelosi is Public Enemy No. 1.

"The people of

America

have stood up and said, 'Enough,'" the chairman, Michael Steele, said. "'Enough' with the bailouts. 'Enough' with the takeovers of our car companies, our banks and our health care.

"It's 'We, the people,'" he said. "It's not 'Us, the government.'"

That brought loud applause from the crowd at the Crawford County Republican Headquarters, where the "Legacy of Leadership" print links presidents Lincoln, Reagan and George W. Bush.

"Amen," yelled a man in the back.

Steele was still warming up. He had come to Meadville not to seek political converts -- it's late in the race for that -- but to rally the GOP faithful: Miguelina Dalton, who lined up for an autograph on her "Fire Pelosi" poster, and Derek Dye, a senior at Allegheny College, who posed for a photo in front of the big orange say-no-to-Pelosi bus.

"People are really starting to feel the effects (of the recession)," said Dye, whose father has not worked in two years. "We're gasping for air, frankly."

That has led to anger: at President Obama, and Pelosi, and at U.S. Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper, the nominal target of Steele's talk.

"They're energized," said Robyn Sye, the county GOP chairwoman. "They're angry, and that's got them off the couch and out the door."

Steele had come to ask for one last push.

"You've all got that crazy uncle who still believes that we can't win this," he said. "Turn him around. Get to work.

"We need each one of you to be uncomfortable," he said. "When you're comfortable, you're like, 'Someone else will do it.' You need to be out there, knocking on doors. You need to work those extra hours. Because we can't afford to let a good office go to waste."

"Amen," said the man in the back.

Check out our web site

2010-10-21T07:58:00.003-04:00

http://www.republicanvenango.com/

Corbett calls for selling off state’s liquor stores

2010-10-21T07:52:00.002-04:00

Corbett calls for selling off state’s liquor stores

HARRISBURG (AP) — Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett says he will work to get the state out of the liquor and wine business if he’s elected governor, while Democrat Dan Onorato’s campaign said he would strive to make the state stores more appealing.

Corbett, the state attorney general who faces Democratic nominee Dan Onorato in the Nov. 2 election, said his privatization plan would maintain hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes and other revenues generated by the state-store system and also provide a sizable nest egg to ease some of the financial pressures facing state government.

“Given the current economic climate in Pennsylvania, state government can no longer be in the liquor store business,” he said in a statement Tuesday. “We need to move our state out of the 19th century and refocus state government on its core functions and services.”

Onorato, the elected executive of Allegheny County, would retain the state-store system and try to make it more convenient and customer friendly, said campaign spokesman Brian Herman.

At a time the next governor is likely to face a multibilliondollar shortfall, “the state stores are making the state money,” Herman said.

Pennsylvania is one of only nine states that control the sale of both spirits and wine at the retail level, according to the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association in Alexandria, Va.

Corbett wants to liquidate the liquor and wine business now handled by the 620 state stores by selling wholesale and retail licenses to private businesses, said campaign spokesman Kevin Harley.

The proceeds from the license sales — estimated by a leading privatization advocate in the Legislature to be at least $2 billion — would be invested to generate revenue for a specific purpose. One possibility is the transportation trust fund Corbett proposes to help offset a shortfall in funding for highways, bridges and mass transit, Harley said.

The private operators would collect state taxes on the liquor and wine they sell, as the state stores do now. In the fiscal year that ended June 30, the state stores pumped $482 million in taxes and other revenue into the state treasury, said Stacy Kriedeman, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

The state stores employ about 4,000 people, Kriedeman said.

Pennsylvania Governor Debate in Pittsburgh

2010-10-17T08:48:00.000-04:00

Republican gubernatorial front-runner Tom Corbett broadened his no-new-taxes pledge Saturday during a televised debate with Democratic rival Dan Onorato, saying it also rules out increases in fees, such as motor-vehicle levies, or
employee contributions to the state unemployment trust fund.

Corbett's shift in position came early in an hourlong debate in which the candidates also sparred over the question of taxing Pennsylvania's booming natural gas industry and disagreed on a bill that would expand Pennsylvanians' right to use deadly force against an attacker.

Corbett's comments during the first gubernatorial debate on Sept. 27 about the possibility of increasing what employees, but not employers, contribute to pay back the unemployment fund's $3 billion debt to the federal government provoked sharp criticism from Onorato and his allies in organized labor. He also had said that the pledge, written by the Washington-based Americans for Tax
Reform, did not rule out possible increases in fees.

Corbett's comments during the Sept. 27 first gubernatorial debate about the possibility of increasing what employees, but not employers, sharp criticism from Onorato and his allies in organized labor. He also had said that the pledge, written by the Washington-based Americans for Tax Reform, did not rule out possible increases in fees.

``I've had time to think about it,'' Corbett said after the debate when asked why he had changed his mind. Onorato said Corbett's shift was just ``another example of someone not prepared to govern.''

``We've got 17 more days before the election,'' he said. ``It could change again.''

The debate, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters and broadcast on WPXI-TV, was moderated by Philadelphia Daily News political columnist John Baer.

Corbett and Onorato are vying to replace Democratic incumbent Ed Rendell, who will step down in January after having served the maximum two terms.

It is the second of three planned debates. The last one is set for Monday night in Philadelphia.

Corbett, a career prosecutor serving his second term as state attorney general, has maintained a clear lead in most independent polls since he and Onorato were selected as their parties' standard-bearers. A September survey by Quinnipiac University of likely Pennsylvania voters showed Corbett with a 15-point lead.

The 61-year-old Corbett is running on his office's ongoing prosecution of corruption in the Legislature and, like many GOP candidates in this year's midterm elections, riding a wave of voter discontent aimed mainly at Democrats. He has promised to slash taxes and spending and vowed to get state government ``out of the way'' so businesses can create more jobs.

Onorato, 49, now in his second term as Allegheny County's elected chief executive, has sought to portray Corbett as disengaged from the issues of the campaign and unseasoned as an executive.

The exchange about taxing gas drilling on the rich Marcellus Shale reserve focused not only on the candidates' conflicting views, Onorato favors a tax, Corbett opposes one, but also on the disproportionately large campaign contributions Corbett has received from the industry and its executives. A recent analysis by Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Common Cause put Corbett's total at $357,775 and Onorato's at $45,000 for the period between Jan 1. and Sept. 13.

Corbett said the still-young industry might be crippled by a new tax and that his judgment is not influenced by campaign contributions.

``It's clear that Dan is for taxes and I am for jobs,'' Corbett said. ``I want to grow this industry. I believe it's very important for the people of Pennsylvania. ... I think a tax would be absolutely the worst thing you could possibly do to this industry.''

``Tom, the reality is you took more money than any politician in Pennsylvania from the gas companies,'' Onorato said.

Onorato said he would veto the pending bill that would expand the state's so-called castle doctrine so that it applies beyond homes and vehicles and offers immunity against civil lawsuits. Corbett said he would sign it.

Judge will seek input to fill vacancy Lobaugh says he’ll ask GOP panel to interview commissioner applicants

2010-10-16T13:48:00.000-04:00

By SHEILA BOUGHNER Staff writer

Venango County President Judge Oliver Lobaugh will consider the views of a screening committee when he fills the opening on the Venango County board of commissioners.

But Lobaugh said in a prepared statement Friday he wouldn’t disclose the names of all the applicants because they might undergo “potential public adverse inference.”

The vacancy was created by the death this week of Commissioner Troy Wood.

Under the procedures for the selection process outlined in a written statement, Lobaugh said he will ask the Venango County Republican Party to form a committee to interview the applicants for the post.

Under state law, county courts are given sole responsibility for filling a commissioner vacancy, but Lobaugh said Friday he will take the committee’s evaluations into consideration when making his decision.

He also intends to interview some of the applicants himself.

Under County Code, the person filling the post must be a registered elector of the county and must have been a registered Republican at the time of Wood’s election in November 2007. Wood was a Republican.

Lobaugh is asking those interested in applying to send letters of interest, with resumes, to District Court Administrator Lynn Cummings- Wilson at the Venango County Courthouse, P.O. Box 94, Franklin, 16323, by Oct. 29.

The documents may also be sent via e-mail to lwilson@ co.venango.pa.us.

The judge has instructed Cummings-Wilson to forward copies of all the applications to Martha Breene, chairman of the county Republican Committee.

Selection process

Under the procedure outlined by the judge, the party is to form a committee to interview all the eligible applicants and immediately following the interviews, the members of the committee are to deliberate and rate the applicants by secret ballot on a scale of highly qualified, qualified or not qualified.

The ballots will then be provided to Lobaugh for consideration.

Lobaugh notes that members of the committee should be encouraged to include comments on the candidates.

In his statement, Lobaugh said the court “is not interested in whether a particular applicant intends to run for election in 2011 . . . or whether the applicant would agree not to run for this office in 2011.” Wood’s term would have ended in December 2011.

The court’s goal for the process is to find “a highly qualified person to perform the duties of Venango County commissioner for the balance of the term of the vacancy,” Lobaugh wrote.

Lobaugh gives the committee until Friday, Nov. 19, to conclude its interview process.

He will then review the ballots and take them into consideration during his evaluation process, which will include further interviews of some of the applicants.

If, for some reason, the committee cannot interview every applicant, Lobaugh said he may choose to interview those people as well.

Lobaugh gave no timeline for his review of the applicants.

Breene could not be reached for comment Friday, so the make-up of the party’s screening committee is not yet known.

Applicant privacy

Neither Lobaugh nor Breene intends to share the names of the applicants for the post with the public.

In a statement on the matter, Lobaugh wrote, “With regard to the disclosure of applicants’ names, the Court has concern for the potential public adverse inference with regard to unsuccessful applicants.”

“The Court is not opposed to disclosure by each applicant if he or she chooses to do so,” he continues. “However, the Court will not, on its own, divulge the names of the individual applicants without their consent.”

“The court believes it would be unfair for individuals to apply, not get the appointment, and then have their name disclosed without their consent. By way of contrast, the successful applicant would not face the same potential public adverse inference as an unsuccessful applicant,” the statement concludes.

Breene said Thursday that she will do everything she can to keep the names of the candidates private.

The fear of publicity might reduce the applicant pool, she said.

She also cited the applicants’ “right to privacy.”

“There is good reason for waiting to keep it private until they have gone through the process,” she said.

Applicants can contact us

Applicants applying for the Venango County commissioner post can let the public know of their interest and qualifications through this newspaper. We will share the information with our readers.

Breene shoots down poll-watcher plan

2010-09-29T12:03:00.002-04:00

Breene shoots down poll-watcher plan

Venango GOP chair speaks at commissioners meeting

By SHEILA BOUGHNER Staff writer

The Venango County Election Board’s consideration of a resolution allowing candidates to serve as poll watcher prompted a quick negative response from Martha Breene, chair of the Venango County Republican Committee.

Breene shared her thoughts at the start of Tuesday’s meeting of the county commissioners, the election board and the salary board.

Timothy Brooks, chairman of the commissioners, said the election board received a letter from the Department of State indicating that state election law does not specifically prohibit or allow candidates to be poll watchers.

“They said we may want to make a resolution saying candidates either can or cannot be watchers,” Brooks said.

In response to that letter, the county election board drafted a resolution outlining the rules under which candidates could serve as poll watchers and provided the county’s political parties with copies and asked for comments, he said.

In her response, Breene noted that issue stems from an incident in Philadelphia in which candidates were allowed to be poll workers. She said the matter arose because people raised questions asking what law was used to justify that action.

She said the department of state is not recommending the practice as new election law.

“I think it’s a very bad idea and wouldn’t hold up in court for a second,” Breene said.

“It has been upheld repeatedly that no candidates are permitted in polling places, and for good reason,” she added, noting that the exclusion of candidates prevents voter intimidation, whether overt or subliminal.

While election law does not expressly deny candidates the ability to serve as poll watchers, “it would very likely be prohibited if challenged under state election law,” she continued.

She asked that the practice not be allowed in Venango County and that the election board “ensure the integrity of the election process.”

“We put this out to get your input. We appreciate your input. Thank you,” Brooks said.

Right to Vote

2010-09-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

Don't Lose Your Precious Right to Vote - Call 814-758-0451, email me via facebook messages or cmhb@verizon.net for an Absentee Ballot Applicaiton to be delivered to you immediately by me or one of our Committee people. These Application requests have to be into the court house by October 26th, 2010. I / we will deliver to the Court house immediately to assure it is in & processed