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Readers may recall that I'm a bit down on the prospect of John McCain finding a running mate who will do him more good than harm. However, one person who might fit this description is John Kasich. He was a popular nine-term Congressman from Ohio, a state Republicans desperately need to carry. And he's originally from western Pennsylvania, another key area. Kasich seems to possess a blue collar appeal that his party desperately needs. To be sure, he was never a Senator or a Governor, but he held a leadership position in the House, serving as Chairman of the Budget...

The Dems have their final trainwreck prior to the Pennsylvania primary and it promises to be a show. The National Constitution Center is a beautiful building and it's nice to see Philly in the spotlight. 8:03: Obama's special interest rhetoric grates on me as he's taking money from just about everyone. Oil companies come to mind first. 8:04: Clinton speaking now and talking about the Constitution and going right to the liberal playbook: government is not doing enough for people. We've come a far way from "not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for...

Dear JJ, I want to personally thank you for all you've done to support our campaign. Your continuing commitment over the past months to the values we share means so much to me. With the Pennsylvania primary approaching on April 22 and important states following soon after, I need your involvement now more than ever. The stakes couldn't be higher, as you well know. If we want to end the war in Iraq, restore America's reputation in the world, rebuild the middle class, reform our government, and provide affordable health care for all, we need to work together. The Republicans...

Rep. Patrick J. Murphy (D-Pa.) has been one of the most high-profile freshman members of Congress in his first term. As one of Barack Obama’s most visible supporters in Pennsylvania, he routinely appears as a surrogate to tout Obama’s candidacy. And because he is the only Iraq war veteran serving in Congress, Democrats have turned to Murphy as someone with the credibility to speak out against the war. But while Murphy has emerged as a rising star in Democratic circles, Republicans have quietly recruited a candidate with an equally compelling story who is now on pace to raise the amount...

"And [these small towns] fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not..." Obama reportedly continued. "It's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." -Senator Barack Obama April 2008, San Francisco If you go to the most expensive private school in Hawaii and then move on to Columbia University and Harvard Law School, you may not understand...

A wheelchair manufacturing company owned by congressional candidate Dan Meuser and his family paid a $23,000 fine in 1997 for employing illegal immigrants. Mr. Meuser, president of Exeter-based Pride Mobility Products, acknowledged the fine in an interview and said the complaint by what was then the Immigration and Naturalization Service was prompted by the company’s hiring of three illegal immigrants. The workers presented the company 13 years ago, then known as Pride Health Care Inc., with false identification that included fake Social Security numbers. Fighting illegal immigration has been a linchpin of Mr. Meuser’s campaign. In a television ad aired...

In 2006, Chris Carney, a liberal college professor, took the seat. This year, we at RedState hope to take it back with Chris Hackett. Mr. Hackett, a CPA, is both a fiscal and social conservative. He is pro-life and anti-earmarks. His opponent, Chris Carney, has been spending federal dollars on earmarks claiming they bring the bacon home to the tenth. The problem is, Carney can't explain how his vote for fruit fly research in France brings jobs home. Chris Hackett, on the other hand, can deftly explain how growth in Washington kills jobs in the 10th. The 10th Congressional District...

Pennsylvania Republican Melissa A. Hart, who in 2006 lost the House seat she had held for three terms, now has a clear path to a rematch with freshman Democratic Rep. Jason Altmire in the Pittsburgh-area 4th Congressional District. Ron Francis, a former councilman in Allegheny County, is withdrawing from competition with Hart in the April 22 Republican primary, according to a statement from Francis that was circulated on Thursday by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). The committee is the political arm of the Republican minority in the U.S. House, and will provide support to Hart in her effort to...

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - When former House Speaker Newt Gingrich decided in late September he would not run for president this year, Bob Walker went looking for another Republican he could support. He found Fred Thompson. "I'm interested in somebody who is seriously considering the issues not just as a political gimmick, but has real, long-term ideas in mind for fixing some very large problems we face immediately and down the road," Walker says. "I came to the conclusion that Fred Thompson was the guy in the race who had that kind of serious attitude," says Walker, a Lititz resident...

Over the weekend, voters in Don Sherwood’s congressional district began receiving “A personal note from Carol Sherwood” in which the congressman’s wife decries the political commercials that refer to her husband’s affair. The six-paragraph typed note signed by Carol Sherwood – her first public comment on her husband’s affair – accuses Democratic challenger Chris Carney of using “negative campaigning” and “a personal attack” in political ads centered on her husband’s affair with a younger woman who claimed the congressman abused her. “The negative ads approved by Chris Carney seem to be needlessly cruel. Private humiliation is one thing to endure,...

>Don Sherwood-R 30,867 Kathy Scott-R 23,826 >Chris Carney-D 22,338

Diana Irey will be a guest on the Quinn & Rose morning drive-time radio show, Wednesday May 3rd.The show airs from 6am-9am EST on Clear Channel 104.7FM and around the world on satellite xm channel 165. Diana will be on during the 8am-8:30am segment.Info on the station is available at warroom.com

Dear Fellow American, As I travel across my home state of Pennsylvania and the nation, I hear conservative after conservative voice the same complaint... ..."our leaders are increasingly betraying our values, our principles and beliefs." Well, I can't speak for other conservative leaders. But I'm not afraid to stand up and let everyone know exactly where I stand on the issues... I make it clear that I strongly believe that: You deserve to keep more of your hard-earned money and we need to make tax relief permanent Parents know what's best for their children and their children's education -- not...

President Bush did not actually invite the Taliban to visit Texas. He merely voiced his approval, in reference to the invitation, his buddies in Unocal set forth to the Taliban. No other clarifications are necessary, for the truth cannot be improved upon. I’ve listened closely to all the responses, and in doing so, I‘ve become confused about what a “Conservative”, actually is. It has always been my impression that conservatives believe in hard work, character, integrity, and above all, self-reliance. Many times I’ve heard tales of conservatives that started from nothing, and using sheer determination and will, maybe some inherent...

President Bush did not actually invite the Taliban to visit Texas. He merely voiced his approval, in reference to the invitation, his buddies in Unocal set forth to the Taliban. No other clarifications are necessary, for the truth cannot be improved upon. I’ve listened closely to all the responses, and in doing so, I‘ve become confused about what a “Conservative”, actually is. It has always been my impression that conservatives believe in hard work, character, integrity, and above all, self-reliance. Many times I’ve heard tales of conservatives that started from nothing, and using sheer determination and will, maybe some inherent...

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO BE A PART OF PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY! ON APRIL 24TH, 7:00PM, AT THE HOLIDAY INN, GREENTREE PITTSBURGH, PA Click here for directions: http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hd/pitgt THE PENNSYLVANIA REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLY, "The Republican Wing of the Republican Party" WILL OFFICIALLY KICKOFF ITS REORGANIZATION WITH FORMER CONGRESSMAN PAT TOOMEY, PRESIDENT, CLUB FOR GROWTH AS KEYNOTE SPEAKER. NATIONAL FEDERATION OF REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLIES PRESIDENT RICHARD ENGLE WILL BE THERE AND PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE NATIONAL SCENE. http://www.gopwing.com PA RA PRESIDENT ANDY DLINN WILL DETAIL STATEWIDE PLANS TO RECRUIT CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATES AND EXPLAIN THE CRITERIA FOR ENDORSING QUALIFIED CANDIDATES. THIS EVENT PROMISES TO...

I sold some items to a customer of my eBay store this week, and today a packaged arrived from him in the mail with a cover letter and several letters to Senator Rick Santorum, Chief Deputy Attorney General Frank Fina, Arlen Specter, Vincent Fumo, Attorney General Tom Corbett or Pennsylvania. The cover letter speaks of how he was wrongly incarcerated for a crime and how he compares his incarceration with serving time in a domestic war, and how after March 16, 2006 he will stop paying taxes and that he challenges the government to come after him. On the face...

MICHELMAN FOR SENATE? [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Will Kate Michelman get into the Pennsylvania Senate race? From the Legal Times (sub. only): Already frustrated with the Democratic Party for putting forward an anti-abortion candidate to run against Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, says she has been asked by a number of women's groups and Democratic donors to jump into the hotly contested U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania as an independent. The final straw? When Santorum's Democratic challenger, Bob Casey, endorsed the nomination of Samuel Alito Jr. to the U.S. Supreme Court. 'After Casey announced...

Marrone Considering Congressional Run PoliticsPA has learned that Republican Christian Marrone is considering a run for the GOP nomination in the 13th Congressional District. Marrone, who previously served under Montgomery District Attorney Bruce Castor, now works in Washington as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense. He briefly considered a run for congress in 2004. Marrone would be forced to resign his job before announcing his candidacy. With deep ties in the district to both Republicans and Democrats, Marrone would be a threat to current frontrunner Raj Bhakta.

Swann endorses Matthews By: MARGARET GIBBONS, Times Herald Staff 12/22/2005 COURTHOUSE - Republican gubernatorial hopeful Lynn Swann is throwing his support behind the lieutenant governor candidacy of Montgomery County Commissioners Chairman James R. Matthews. In a letter sent this week to county GOP Chairman Ken Davis, Swann acknowledged his support for Matthews was twofold - that they were both on the same page philosophically and that Matthews' presence on the November election ballot would balance the GOP ticket. "Jim will also bring strength to the ticket in one of the most important battleground areas," said Swann in the letter. "I...

You guys should check this group out. I met one of their members out in Ohio working with a congressional candidate. They knew what they were doing and I was impressed but i didn't realize that Alex had his own team until yesterday. I looked at their website its got some really solid ideas in terms of strategy. Check it out: http://www.vandenberg-strategies.com

Andrew L. Warren, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation district administrator and former longtime Republican Bucks County commissioner who recently switched to the Democratic Party, said he's considering a run for Republican Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick's 8th District seat in 2006.

In addition to Hafer, George Matta, the Allegheny County clerk of courts, said he hopes to make a decision soon on whether to enter the race.

Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak, a former pro football player, is considering a run at the Democratic nomination for U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood's seat.

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Sources: Casey Announcement on Senate Race Imminent; Will Challenge Santorum PoliticsPA is the first to report that State Treasurer Bobby Casey Jr. has decided to challenge Senator Rick Santorum. Casey is long considered the most formidable challenger to our junior Senator, and promises to be among the most highly-watched and costly races of the 2006 campaign cycle. Later this week, the Democratic leaders from the United States Senate will be in Philadelphia. Sources also tell PoliticsPA that former Treasurer Barbara Hafer is also likely run. EMILY's List, the pro-choice women's PAC has pledged to support Hafer over Casey in the...

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Decision 2004: American Jews must make our voices heard American Jews, who value Israel's security, have an important stake in this election. Senator John Kerry has been endorsed by Arafat, and hundreds of Muslim leaders, including the Protocol spouting form PM of Malaysia, Mohammed Mahathir. Senator Kerry's vision is increased reliance on the UN and European Union, both of which are anti-Israel. He has made it clear that he would support former President Carter, James Baker, or someone similar to pressure Israel on the Palestinians. President Bush, while imperfect on Israel, has supported the right of Israel to define the...

While there are many conservative men and women challengers running for the Senate, House, and state-wide offices in New York, it is likely that few, if any will win. Despite my many qualms with the Bush administrations moderate and liberal policies, I see the presidential race as the most important race in this region. While there is no way that Bush could carry NY State, PA and NJ are close races. The RNC and Bush-Cheney re-election campaigns are doing a fair job of mobilizing New Yorkers to come to PA and, to a lesser degree, NJ. However, these efforts are...

Every republican should by Fahrenhype 9/11. Then they should have a party watching first MOOREs movie and then the rebuttal. This is the best way to get liberals to see Fahrenhype, because you will tell them that you will watch Fahrenheit 9/11 if they do so. None of them want to admit that they won't listen to both sides of the story. So they will come. (I suggest also copying Stolen Honor onto a cd or dvd to show afterwards). I am doing this at work in California and I have got a lot of people together to watch them...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04294/398767.stm An ostensibly nonpartisan voter registration drive in Western Pennsylvania has triggered accusations that workers were cheated out of wages and given instructions to avoid adding anyone to the voter rolls who might support the Democratic presidential nominee. Sproul & Associates, a consulting firm based in Chandler, Ariz., hired to conduct the drive by the Republican National Committee, employed several hundred canvassers throughout the state to register new voters. Some workers yesterday said they were told to avoid registering Democrats or anyone who indicated support for Democratic nominee John F. Kerry. "We were told that if they wanted to register...

I am truly flabbergast!!! Running in the Pittsburgh Fox market, on Greta Von Sustern's On the Record tonight, was a campaign ad with Michael J. Fox commenting on the need for biomedical research, yadayada...but what stunned me was that it WASN'T for sKerry...it was for snarlin' Arlen Spector. The format is eerily the same as the sKerry spot...now what gives? Bush endorsed Spector (many of us PA R's were quite upset about it...me included) but Spector is running basically the same ad that Kerry is running using the same celeb? Is Arlen, perchance, distancing himself from the President in the...

If Kerry wins, I predict it will be the waves of new voter registrations in process. In my area, there are DNC registrars every ten feet, it seems. And they aren't playing by the book either... 1) I saw a college student "running against Bush" as the rally was called, running down the street handing out registration forms. If you were black or young, you got one. She skipped everyone else. 2) A friend of mine had his 17 year old son attempt to register as Republican. They had no problem accepting the registration without ID of eligibility to vote---but...

Why not go to the Labor Day Concert at West Point? Dull, right? Not really. This final outdoor concert of the season for the West Point Band will last from about 6PM until 9PM, and includes performances by our beloved Hellcats, the Jazz Knights, and the USMA Concert Band. The US Army Chorus will also perform. Now, I am no big fan of classical music, and would not drive 10 miles to see a concert, much less the 2+hrs this trip will take. Except for one thing: On the schedule is the 1812 Overture, complete with cannon and fireworks. I...

Latest poll gives Senator Arlen Specter a 54% to 36% lead.

Greenwood Escorts State Senator Joe Conti Around D.C.

Gannett Fails One-Newspaper Communities/Counties- Port Huron Times Herald a Queue for Government Intervention? In particular, with today’s concentration of all reporting medium with just a few companies- who determines the void or lack of reporting in the best interest to citizens. I’ve challenged a Gannett newspaper, the Times Herald of Port Huron Michigan of its obligation citizens in one-newspaper counties. There appears to be an immediate need to make certain legislation be brought requiring corporate newspapers to better report news and serving the communities they cover. At a crucial time with the 2004 Primary literally days away- this particular newspaper,...

The poll of 600 likely Republican voters in St. Clair County Michigan’s State Representative District 81 countywide found Alloway leading Pavlov by 12 points, 48 percent to 40 percent in a three-way race with Yale Republican Steve Pray Nader included in the ballot test.

“A Michigan Impossible until we work together ending illegal state house electioneering practices” Joe Alloway-R Michigan House District 81 St. Clair County Michigan PORT HURON – JULY 11, 2004 - Please listen to a recent interview (http://66.92.134.175/~benburch/old/TrupianoShow-(10-5-2004).mp3) exposing Michigan’s #1 area to reform and that’s ending illegal activities in Michigan’s House Republican Caucus Communications Office! Very few citizens asked have no idea of what that word means. Folks, the bottom line is we’ve had some major problems in this antiquated, 50-person staffed office and they’re just coming public. Take recent revelations of state employees assigned to representatives as campaign managers...

Former Rep. Ron Klink To Endorse Specter Over Fellow Democrat Hoeffel

I just got back last week from driving across the country, I live in Washington State and drove to PA in see my wifes family and took I-80 and I-90 back home. With my Bush/Cheney sticker from 2000 in my back window along with my W-04 sticker I got a aproviel rating of about 75% judging from the honks and thumbs ups from fellow drivers. Funny how I got the 1 finger salute from the folks with the Kerry stickers. My question to you is do you vent your hate and anger at fellow drivers on the road with a...

Last night, I was told that a report was recently published by some DC think-tank. This report ranked members of congress in order of taxpayer-friendliness, i.e. it examined their votes on tax-related bills and determined where any particular member of congress came in on higher or lower taxes for their constituents. The same person who told me about the report told me that a whopping 75% of house and senate members from my state were in the top 20 LEAST friendly to taxpayers in their voting records. Have any of you heard of this report? Can you point me to...

Are you a registered voter?? Do you know anyone who needs to register?? Check this out: http://www.ConservativeAlerts.com/vote.htm Ultra liberal "MoveOn" is attempting to register 100,000 new left wing voters. WE need to register 200,000 new conservative voters!! Just click on the above link, click on your State, fill in the necessary information, print it out, and mail it in!! It's a simple as that!! As you all know, this will be the most important election in our lifetime. Our future depends on it, and the future of our children depends on it. It is an election we MUST win!! DO...

The attorney general is one of the state's most heated primary races, but polls show most voters have no idea whom to pick. The Republican race for state attorney general appears to be wide open. News 8 found that you'd be hard pressed to find voters that can even name any of the candidates running for attorney general. In the News 8 Keystone poll that came out just last Wednesday of 400 registered Republicans polled, 71 percent reported they are undecided. The poll showed 16 percent favored Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, and 13 percent favor former Attorney General...

I've seen the senate races heating up, but not nearly as much on the house seats. I'm mostly using information from DC POLITICAL REPORT and POLITICS1. STATES Alabama DISTRICT 3 - The other Mike Rogers (R) won in 02 with 50.3% over Democrat Joe Turnham(48.2%) in an open seat. So far, it looks as he is facing Democrat Bill Fuller, Ex-State Human Resources Commissioner. I haven't heard much about this race, but the first defense is hardest. Alaska SENATE - Lisa Murkowski(R) vs Ex governor Tony Knowles. This will be a tough race as Knowles is an ex-governor and Murkowski...

Darlin' Arlen By Tim Carney In the Pennsylvania primary battle between pro-choice liberal Sen. Arlen Specter (R) and pro-life conservative challenger Rep. Pat Toomey (R), self identified "conservatives" as well as "pro-life" voters are almost as likely to pledge support for Specter--who shrunk Bush's 2001 tax cut, supports Roe v. Wade and opposes school choice and tort reform--as for Toomey, who came to Washington as mostly conservative and has drifted right since then. Conservatives' mixed loyalties mirror the mixed messages they are receiving from the top figures on the right. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), a hero to pro-lifers, endorsed Specter...

BIG NEWS: SPECTER WEAK AT HOME Toomey Blog readers will recall that on Thursday, December 11, 2003 I posted a story on an Allentown Morning Call and Muhlenburg Colllege poll findng that, although Toomey trailed Specter 52 to 25 statewide, "The same poll also said Toomey leads Specter 57 percent to 29 percent among registered Republican voters in Lehigh and Northampton counties." For those who aren't good with math, on Toomey's home turf, he crushed Specter by 28 points. One would think Specter would enjoy a similar lead on his home turf. WRONG! "Lehigh Valley U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey is...

"State and local tax officials are salivating at the prospect of sinking their fangs into the Internet, one of the last remaining outlets of tax freedom in this country," Adam Thierer, director of telecommunications studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, told UPI. No one knows for sure which type of bill will emerge -- a permanent moratorium or a temporary one -- or whether it will all Internet access tax-free. The White House backs a permanent ban on taxes, and the issue might become more politicized during this year's election campaign involving President George W....

Can someone please tell me Toomey's record on abortion? I was told by someone who works for Santorum, who was moved to Spector's race, that Toomey really isn't pro-life, that he used to be pro-choice. Can someone let me know where I can find information on his record? Thanks.