dr. hfn
02-03-2010, 03:29 AM
By Tom Infield
Inquirer Staff Writer
KEMPTON, Pa. - When U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach withdrew from the governor's race last week, Republican leaders said the party could now unite behind the presumptive nominee, Attorney General Tom Corbett.
For supporters of state Rep. Sam Rohrer, including 175 people who turned out last night at a fire hall in this rural area of Berks County, that apparent dismissal of Rohrer's candidacy smacked of more than disrespect for the veteran legislator, best known for his long crusade against school property taxes.
For a network of antitax activists across the state, it signaled that the GOP leadership was also ignoring what they see as the political mood of 2010, one more against big government than at any other time in years.
"I, for one, am sick and tired of the party bosses telling me who I can vote for," said David Baldinger, leader of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations, who attended the town-hall meeting with Rohrer last night. "It makes my blood boil."
Mike Fogarty, member of a former taxpayer alliance in the Coatesville Area School District, put his feelings this way Monday: "They're writing off Sam Rohrer so they can get the old-school guy in there. They're not listening to the public."
From John J. McCartney, leader of an antitax group in southern Lancaster and Chester Counties, came this: "Certainly, Corbett is the more recognized name in Pennsylvania. Sam Rohrer is not that well-known statewide. But I don't believe name recognition qualifies you for the job of governor."
The man who has inspired this passion is a bespectacled, soft-spoken 54-year-old in a blue suit and crisp white shirt who grew up on a farm in eastern Ohio. He went to Bob Jones University in South Carolina and came to Pennsylvania because he married a woman from Media, with whom he now has six children. He worked for a couple of years as a radio station manager, then became marketing director for a company that makes children's furniture.
Elected to the state House in 1992 from a district that abuts Reading, he quickly established himself as the legislature's number-one foe of the school property tax, which he says is crippling homeowners, especially in poor districts that often have the highest tax rates.
In each legislative session since 2004, Rohrer has introduced House Bill 1275, which he has dubbed the School Property Tax Elimination Act. Unlike some other efforts to wipe out the real estate levy, he says, his bill is fiscally responsible.
He says he would replace the $6 billion to $8 billion in lost residential school tax revenue by broadening the state sales tax to include more goods and services, such as nonprescription drugs and the fees that a home plumber charges.
He would make up the remainder of the lost revenue by using taxes on casinos, plus fees on Marcellus Shale gas drilling, for school funding.
Casino taxes now go for school support. But Rohrer would keep tighter rein on the money from Harrisburg, making it harder for school districts to hike their spending.
Telling the Kempton crowd that he had never voted for a tax increase, Rohrer promised to veto any increase that came to his desk as governor.
"I think we have raised taxes so high that the people of our state and nation are just about wrung out," he said. "There is a limit to what people have in their pockets."
The enthusiastic crowd, largely in blue jeans and sweaters, applauded as Rohrer then dramatically signed a no-new-taxes pledge.
Rohrer said last night that he did not think grassroots Republicans want "an anointing or a coronation" on Corbett's behalf.
Since announcing his campaign for governor in November, Rohrer has done his best to raise money. He won't have to file a report until Feb. 1. But he certainly is far behind Corbett, who with the support of the state's major GOP donors had already collected $1 million by last summer.
Gerlach withdrew last week, saying that it would have taken him almost every minute of every day to raise the $4 million he believed necessary for a battle with Corbett in the May 18 Republican primary. Gerlach said he would run again for his current seat in the Sixth Congressional District, which includes Rohrer's smaller state House district.
State Party Chairman Robert A. Gleason Jr. said that with Gerlach out of the way, Corbett could "husband" his resources for the November election against the eventual Democratic nominee. But for Rohrer supporters, the GOP battle is not over yet.
When the Republican State Committee holds its endorsement meeting at the Harrisburg Hilton on Feb. 13, Rohrer expects to ask for support - or at least an open primary. But he's not counting on it. He plans what amounts to a rival event the same day in the same hotel that he is calling Mobilize for Liberty 2010.
With no big money, Rohrer is counting on the state's three-dozen antitax groups and other grassroots activists to rally support for him.
He is also hoping to tap into the homeschooling networks and antiabortion groups that were vital to former Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, who was elected in 1994 and 2000, but lost his seat in 2006.
Rohrer hopes to catch the conservative wind that is inspiring GOP insurgent movements in several states, including Florida and Ohio, where "tea party" activists are out to defeat mainstream gubernatorial candidates favored by the powers that be.
The problem for Rohrer, say GOP analysts, is not merely that Corbett has much greater name recognition, money, and power. It's also that Corbett has conservative credentials of his own.
Rohrer is rated highly by gun-rights groups, but so is Corbett. Rohrer is liked by antiabortion groups, but so is Corbett.
"From our perspective, it's a good problem to have - to have two pro-life candidates on the Republican ticket," said Charlene Bashore, political director for the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation.
The conservative movement in Pennsylvania has long been built on social issues. The state's antiabortion groups and pro-gun groups have plenty of money and muscle for a political campaign.
Antitax groups have yet to organize such clout.
"Grassroots development [for antitax movements] is probably 20 years behind, as opposed to social issues," Bashore said.
To hard-core Rohrer supporters, that doesn't matter. Rohrer's time, they say, is now.
"I think he's a man of integrity who looks at himself as a public servant," said Hugh Heinrichs, 78, of New Tripoli.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/81300687.html
Inquirer Staff Writer
KEMPTON, Pa. - When U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach withdrew from the governor's race last week, Republican leaders said the party could now unite behind the presumptive nominee, Attorney General Tom Corbett.
For supporters of state Rep. Sam Rohrer, including 175 people who turned out last night at a fire hall in this rural area of Berks County, that apparent dismissal of Rohrer's candidacy smacked of more than disrespect for the veteran legislator, best known for his long crusade against school property taxes.
For a network of antitax activists across the state, it signaled that the GOP leadership was also ignoring what they see as the political mood of 2010, one more against big government than at any other time in years.
"I, for one, am sick and tired of the party bosses telling me who I can vote for," said David Baldinger, leader of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations, who attended the town-hall meeting with Rohrer last night. "It makes my blood boil."
Mike Fogarty, member of a former taxpayer alliance in the Coatesville Area School District, put his feelings this way Monday: "They're writing off Sam Rohrer so they can get the old-school guy in there. They're not listening to the public."
From John J. McCartney, leader of an antitax group in southern Lancaster and Chester Counties, came this: "Certainly, Corbett is the more recognized name in Pennsylvania. Sam Rohrer is not that well-known statewide. But I don't believe name recognition qualifies you for the job of governor."
The man who has inspired this passion is a bespectacled, soft-spoken 54-year-old in a blue suit and crisp white shirt who grew up on a farm in eastern Ohio. He went to Bob Jones University in South Carolina and came to Pennsylvania because he married a woman from Media, with whom he now has six children. He worked for a couple of years as a radio station manager, then became marketing director for a company that makes children's furniture.
Elected to the state House in 1992 from a district that abuts Reading, he quickly established himself as the legislature's number-one foe of the school property tax, which he says is crippling homeowners, especially in poor districts that often have the highest tax rates.
In each legislative session since 2004, Rohrer has introduced House Bill 1275, which he has dubbed the School Property Tax Elimination Act. Unlike some other efforts to wipe out the real estate levy, he says, his bill is fiscally responsible.
He says he would replace the $6 billion to $8 billion in lost residential school tax revenue by broadening the state sales tax to include more goods and services, such as nonprescription drugs and the fees that a home plumber charges.
He would make up the remainder of the lost revenue by using taxes on casinos, plus fees on Marcellus Shale gas drilling, for school funding.
Casino taxes now go for school support. But Rohrer would keep tighter rein on the money from Harrisburg, making it harder for school districts to hike their spending.
Telling the Kempton crowd that he had never voted for a tax increase, Rohrer promised to veto any increase that came to his desk as governor.
"I think we have raised taxes so high that the people of our state and nation are just about wrung out," he said. "There is a limit to what people have in their pockets."
The enthusiastic crowd, largely in blue jeans and sweaters, applauded as Rohrer then dramatically signed a no-new-taxes pledge.
Rohrer said last night that he did not think grassroots Republicans want "an anointing or a coronation" on Corbett's behalf.
Since announcing his campaign for governor in November, Rohrer has done his best to raise money. He won't have to file a report until Feb. 1. But he certainly is far behind Corbett, who with the support of the state's major GOP donors had already collected $1 million by last summer.
Gerlach withdrew last week, saying that it would have taken him almost every minute of every day to raise the $4 million he believed necessary for a battle with Corbett in the May 18 Republican primary. Gerlach said he would run again for his current seat in the Sixth Congressional District, which includes Rohrer's smaller state House district.
State Party Chairman Robert A. Gleason Jr. said that with Gerlach out of the way, Corbett could "husband" his resources for the November election against the eventual Democratic nominee. But for Rohrer supporters, the GOP battle is not over yet.
When the Republican State Committee holds its endorsement meeting at the Harrisburg Hilton on Feb. 13, Rohrer expects to ask for support - or at least an open primary. But he's not counting on it. He plans what amounts to a rival event the same day in the same hotel that he is calling Mobilize for Liberty 2010.
With no big money, Rohrer is counting on the state's three-dozen antitax groups and other grassroots activists to rally support for him.
He is also hoping to tap into the homeschooling networks and antiabortion groups that were vital to former Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, who was elected in 1994 and 2000, but lost his seat in 2006.
Rohrer hopes to catch the conservative wind that is inspiring GOP insurgent movements in several states, including Florida and Ohio, where "tea party" activists are out to defeat mainstream gubernatorial candidates favored by the powers that be.
The problem for Rohrer, say GOP analysts, is not merely that Corbett has much greater name recognition, money, and power. It's also that Corbett has conservative credentials of his own.
Rohrer is rated highly by gun-rights groups, but so is Corbett. Rohrer is liked by antiabortion groups, but so is Corbett.
"From our perspective, it's a good problem to have - to have two pro-life candidates on the Republican ticket," said Charlene Bashore, political director for the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation.
The conservative movement in Pennsylvania has long been built on social issues. The state's antiabortion groups and pro-gun groups have plenty of money and muscle for a political campaign.
Antitax groups have yet to organize such clout.
"Grassroots development [for antitax movements] is probably 20 years behind, as opposed to social issues," Bashore said.
To hard-core Rohrer supporters, that doesn't matter. Rohrer's time, they say, is now.
"I think he's a man of integrity who looks at himself as a public servant," said Hugh Heinrichs, 78, of New Tripoli.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/81300687.html