Joe Sestak -- On the wrong side of the plumb line -- as always

For Immediate Release—July 23, 2010

Toomey Calls on Sestak to Return Rangel Contributions and Hold Himself Accountable
Allentown – U.S. Senate candidate and former small business owner Pat Toomey called on Congressman Joe Sestak to live up to his own standard of accountability and return $12,000 in contributions from the ethically-challenged Rep. Charlie Rangel.
Yesterday, the bipartisan House Ethics Committee announced that Charlie Rangel is being charged with multiple ethics violations following a two-year investigation.
Over the past week, Congressman Sestak has refused to keep his pledge and return over $100,000 in contributions from people who received earmarks through his Congressional office, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
And so far, Congressman Sestak has refused to return at least $12,000 in donations from Rep. Rangel’s campaign committee and leadership PAC.

* Sestak accepted $2,000 from Rangel for Congress on September 18, 2006 (CQMoneyLine).
* Sestak accepted $5,000 from Charlie Rangel’s National Leadership PAC in 2008 (Open Secrets).
* Sestak accepted $5,000 from Charlie Rangel’s National Leadership PAC in 2006 (Open Secrets).

To make matters worse, Congressman Sestak has voted to back up the ethically challenged Rangel multiple times. When Sestak had the chance to save taxpayers $2 million and eliminate an earmark for the “Charlie Rangel Center for Public Service” in New York City, requested by Rep. Charlie Rangel, Congressman Sestak voted to keep the earmark (RC #678, 07/19/07). Now this “Charlie Rangel Center” is a subject of Rep. Rangel’s many ethics violations.
In addition, in October of 2009, Sestak voted against a measure to remove Rep. Rangel as chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee for the duration of the ethics investigation (RC #759, 10/07/09).
“Throughout the campaign, Congressman Sestak has spoken about accountability and putting principle over politics, but it is now becoming clear that his pledges and lofty promises are just hollow words from another Washington insider,” said Toomey Communications Director Nachama Soloveichik. “If Congressman Sestak is serious about holding himself accountable and putting principle over politics, he would return the $119, 650 he took in violation of his own pledge and he would return the $12,000 he took from Rep. Charlie Rangel.”

Paid for by Toomey for Senate

Trust and Obey ...for there's no other way...to be happy in Jesus...but to trust and obey

Know this song? When I came to a more mature faith as a college student, I remember singing this song to myself quite a bit, and it still comes to my mind when I'm faced with a choice between right and wrong. I wish politicians would learn to sing it to themselves, at least all who profess Christ as Lord and Savior. Our job is just to do the right things, God takes charge after that. Results are his business! But, we all tend to want to control the outcomes. And, some Christians in politics argue the most vehemently about it.

In this election cycle, in the PA gubernatorial race, the Republican State Committee decided to endorse Tom Corbett. I don't know exactly what their reasoning was; perhaps, they felt it was so important to win the seat back from the Democrats that they wanted to get ahead of the game with an endorsed candidate, throwing all of their support his way right from the start. The result, however, is that they lost about 30% (someone will surely correct me if I have this number wrong) of the vote. And, by putting State Party money into a critical mailer against his opponent, Sam Rohrer (a Republican Congressman for the past 18 years), in the final days of the campaign, they have engendered more opposition for Attorney General Corbett and disillusionment with the Party. In the current awakened state of the American voter, Republican voters clearly understand that an attempt was made to disenfranchise them in the Primary. They clearly understand that in the few days before the Primary, their Party, the Republican Party, aggressively campaigned against another Republican and that this was wrong.

Tom Corbett would probably have won the Primary. Now, there's a percentage of Republican voters waging a write-in campaign for Sam Rohrer. They are organized and hope they can spread the message of hope for our State that they see in Sam; at the least, they believe that it is as important to our State and Country to understand that any attempt to disenfranchise them will not be tolerated as it is to elect a Republican governor. This brings us back to the understanding of Trust and Obey. There's a plumb line that clearly divides right from wrong and you have to be on one side or the other of the line.

Being "righteous" and "above reproach" at any level of government

If one knows anything about Judeo-Christian teaching, it is to always expect evil because the heart of man leans in that direction and that's why salvation does not come from us but from above.  So, in speaking of righteousness, I do not purport to be righteous, but we should all be able to recognize it and its opposite as well.

Consider this article, "Top RNC Official's Daughter's Firm Paid Thousands in Party Funds" from April 2010.  Humorous that the blog is entitled Plum Line:  I suppose it is in reference to the "plumb line" spoken of in Amos 7:8 where the LORD asks Amos, ""What do you see, Amos?" I (Amos) answered, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said, "I'm going to hold a plumb line in the middle of my people Israel. I will no longer overlook what they have done."  Here the plumb line is an exacting measure and a symbol of judgment according to righteousness (http://bible.cc/amos/7-8.htm).     ....Would you agree that if you were to hang a plumb line with everything on one side being "above reproach and completely righteous" and on the other side "being of questionable righteousness" that the daughter's firm benefittng from her father's position in the RNC would fall on the unrighteous side?

I believe that we who aspire to serve in the Republican Party and want to register more Republicans and win elections for our Republican candidates, must all act and operate on the righteous side of the plumb line.  We cannot be serving the Party in an elected, servant-like capacity with one hand, and then bill the Party for our services with the other. 

First Principles -- A Video from the Heritage Foundation

 The purpose of educating ourselves on the core principles upon which our nation was based has 4 objectives put forth by the Heritage Foundation:

1. 1. To reorient American politics toward the First Principles of the American Founding.
2. 2. To reshape public policy to reflect our constitutional framework of limited government.
3. 3. To unify and revive a robust conservatism around, and in defense of, these core principles.
4. 4. To provide the next generation with a strong foundation for learning and promoting our nation's founding principles.
   

I believe that it is within our families that we must know and teach to our children and relatives this important American history. If you are worried about your country's future, you need to understand her past and pass it on. If we don't know what we have lost, how will we restore it. Thanks to Malinda Oesterling for bringing this before the meeting of the Indiana Armstrong Patriots last night!

Return Rep Jeff Pyle to the PA House of Representatives!

Congressman Jeff Pyle deserves your support -- In Harrisburg he has made the common sense votes we need to rein in government, and,  at home here in the 60th, he has taken care of everything and everyone -- from clearing away stacks of putrifying road kill to helping individuals in dire situations to find hope and real solutions.  On top of that he understands that government needs to support industry and job creation, not strangle it!  His voting record is that of a true conservative.  Consider, for example, his position on a severance tax on Marcellus gas extraction as shown in this youtube video:



On top of this, Rep Pyle has created a great new website where you can do everything from volunteering to signing up for his golf outing at Lenape.  Check out some more of his youtubes too.  Pyle2010.com

The only way to win is not to play....

Thank you, Mommy Life!

July 15 - 1st Regular Meeting of the ArmstrongGOP Committee

The Armstrong GOP Committee met in the Elks Lodge in Kittanning this evening with about 30 members attending as well as State Representative Jeff Pyle and the SW PA Coordinator for Tom Corbett for Governor campaign, Jeff Bell. Campaign materials are available and if you live in S Buffalo East precinct, I hope you will want to support our Republican slate. Pyle announced a new website -- http://www.pyle2010.com  that will make volunteering easy and outlines all the opportunities we have to support him.

The Armstrong Annual Republican Committee Picnic is scheduled for August 28th, 1-3 pm, at the Belmont Complex.  Food and Swimming are included with a $5.00 ticket.  Take advantage of this opportunity to connect with other conservative friends and come out and meet your GOP Committee people!  (I have tickets for sale, but, unfortunately, will not be at the picnic due to a commitment out of town.)

In August, stop by the Armstrong Republican Party booth at the Dayton Fair.  Committee people as well as members of the Republican Women's Group will be registering new voters, providing absentee ballots, and providing information about the conservative candidates you will want to elect in November.

In other business, Congressman Pyle warned against supporting HB 2405 that would increase the requirements for electricity to be generated from solar or wind  sources and raise the costs of energy for Pennsylvanians.  (As you can see at the Penn Future link, their website is attractive but they are not our friends!

Committeeman Steve Haasch asked if Secretary Tiffany Harkleroad would send out copies of the Minutes of Meetings to the membership, and Tiffany agreed to send these out in the future in PDF form.

State Budget Bills Rely on Monies We Don't Actually Have

According to Penn Patriot blogger, Roberta Biros, Editor, Mercer County Conservatives, we've just had the wool pulled over our eyes if we think our General Assembly has done a better job for us this year in passing the State Budget.  Basically, Biros says it's a pile of garbage -- it is unconstitutional; relies on federal funds that don't yet exist and a tax on the extraction of Marcellus shale natural gas that is yet to be passed.  She also says the Republican-controlled Senate could have stopped the budget bill, but voted 37 - 13 to pass it! 

I tend to agree with Biros' personal view, "Anyone that voted FOR this budget made a conscious effort to pull the wool over the eyes of taxpayers. This is not a VALID budget . . . no matter how you look at it.

It is the responsibility of our legislators to make certain that the state government does not spend beyond its means. If we don’t have the money, we ought not to be spending it. Federal dollars that simply aren’t there should not be considered in the calculations, and tax revenues from Marcellus Shale should NOT be considered in the equations either. IF the tax on Marcellus Shale extraction is pushed through (in October), it will be the worst fiscal decision in Pennsylvania . . . ever!"

And, I appreciate the continued conservative and responsible voting of the 60th District's Representative Jeff Pyle who voted NO on this budget.  Senator Don White, on the other hand, voted Yes.  What are our "Republican" Senators thinking?

Other Budget News:
PA Independent - To have better fiscal information and revenue projections, the budget bill will set up an independent Fiscal Office   --  This is being lauded as a good thing, but makes me wonder who has been supplying the revenue projections to date that we can't trust and will we still keep paying them?

PA Independent - Budget Did Not Actually Pass on Time (Meaning we really had the wool pulled over our eyes and no one in Harrisburg thinks we're smart enough to know any better I guess.)

Always Read Beyond the Headlines

At the beginning of every year, I work out a budget for our family. Admittedly, we don't follow it as religously as we should, but the bottom line for our budget is our projected income. We don't *budget* to spend money we don't anticipate receiving.  We *budget* so we won't spend more than we have.  Not very complicated, really.

After reading a number of news reports about our State's budget for the next year, sounds like we still need to get the red-ink pen out.  State Budget Passes - but don't celebrate the event too quickly - see Sam Rohrer's analysis