After viewing a copy of the latest mailing sent out comparing Tom Corbett and Sam Rohrer, I must say that I am more embarassed than ever to be a member of the Republican Party in this state.   You claim that this flier’s purpose is to “set the record straight” about the two candidates, when you have actually done the exact opposite, and in doing so done a great disservice to every member of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania.  Let’s take a truthful approach to “setting the record straight”, shall we?  We’ll start with the statements made about Sam Rohrer:

“Voted for the midnight pay raise”: How appropriate that you bring this vote up, as it was actually the REPUBLICAN PARTY that backed Representative Rohrer into a corner, saying if he didn’t vote for the pay raise that his legislation for property tax elimination would never see the House floor for a vote.  So in voting for the pay raise, he actually did exactly what you wanted him to do.  And now you dare feign repulsiveness at that same vote.  In fact, your real problem with the pay raise and Sam Rohrer is that he came out the very next day publicly against it and helped spearhead the effort to have it repealed, and hasn’t accepted a dime of the pay increase.  But you failed to mention that part in your mailer, didn’t you?

“Voted to raise his taxpayer-funded pension by 50%”: Again, Representative Rohrer voted for this based on information he was given that the state could afford the increase in the benefits.  And one can only assume that this information was given to him by his own party, otherwise I don’t believe that he would have accepted it.

“In 18 years as a legislator, Rohrer has received over a million dollars in salary and benefits, yet has never written a single bill passed into law.”: This is probably one of my favorite “criticisms” of Sam Rohrer that you make on this flier, and demonstrates just how far out of touch with reality the Republican Party in this state is.  I’m not sure if you realize this, but a state representative isn’t elected by his district to go to Harrisburg and write and get passed as much legislation as possible to earn his pay.  He is sent to Harrisburg by his district to REPRESENT the interests of his constituents, and if need be PROTECT those same interests.  That’s why they’re called “representatives”.  Using the proper definition of his job title, Representative Rohrer has done an admirable job in his tenure in the House, putting his constituents before party politics.  Otherwise they would not have elected him for 9 terms.  It’s not your place to determine if he earned his salary or did his job, the voters decided that.  Your obvious ignorance about this point is statement enough that the Republican Party leadership in this state has lost grasp of the concept of “Constitutionally-limited government”, a term Mr. Corbett has tried to use as much as possible during this campaign after Representative Rohrer has made it a centerpiece of his campaign.

“Has billed taxpayers over $100,000 for his car, including gas and maintenance”: Wow.  That seems like an excessive amount of money when put that way.  But, when broken down over 18 years, that comes to a little over $5555 a year, a modest amount of money given how much he used it to travel back and forth to the capitol for his job.  Tom Corbett drives one of the state-owned “fleet” that he has so ardently promised to prune.  How much has his vehicle cost the taxpayers on a yearly basis?  Funny, I don’t see that figure on your mailer….

As far as your points about Tom Corbett on your flier, they’re not much of a “comparison”.  His quoted experience going after money from various criminal enterprises isn’t any sort of honest assesment of his qualifications to be governor, it means he’s a good prosecutor.  Show me any experience Mr. Corbett has in an executive capacity that demonstrates his ability to govern our state: a business he’s owned and operated, for example.  And please, don’t use his tenure as Attorney General as an example, because given the multitudes of improprieties that have occurred in that office while he’s been in charge I think speak volumes of his inability to monitor those he is responsible for and run the department he’s in charge of in any sort of fiscally responsible way.

The rest of your talking points about Tom Corbett are nothing more than promises he has made during this campaign.  He has no track record of conservative values at all.  In fact, he has no legislative history at all to look at to see whether he’s conservative or not.  What he DOES have that we can look at is the history of the cases he’s pursued for prosecution, including many examples of seeking to deny citizens their gun ownership rights.  Not very conservative, Mr. Corbett.

The point of this letter is this: the members of the Republican Party in this state are sick and tired of the party elite “coronating” our candidates for us, deciding for us who is worth representing the party in elections and providing them with all of the party’s financial backing.  It is our RIGHT to decide for ourselves who is worthy to represent us, not yours.  Your job is in an organizational capacity only, taking the information from the lower levels of precinct committeemen all the way up to the state level in order to determine whom the people want for potential candidates, coordinating funds and dispensing them to candidates as needed, and letting us have fair and open primaries so that every qualified candidate gets an equal chance to get his message out to every member of the party so that “We The People” can make OUR decision who represents us, NOT YOU.

You’re seeing a groundswell happen this year that you don’t understand and cannot measure.  You don’t understand why your choice for Governor isn’t already the defacto winner of the primary.  You’re obviously nervous about Sam Rohrer, otherwise why bother with the smear campaign of a fellow Republican so close to the election?  Which, by the way, is a repugnant act to treat a member of your own party with such disdain.  And don’t think it will go unnoticed.

Well let me fill you in on what’s going on.  We the people of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania are putting you, the party machine, on notice: your time has come.  The machinery is about to be dismantled.  And we’re taking our party back.  Precinct by precinct, county by county, your reign over us will fall.  And this party will once again function the way the Founding Fathers intended our government to work, as a REPRESENTATIVE Republic.

So consider this your wake-up call: start representing us and our interests again, or find yourselves another line of work.

Sincerely,

David A. Groot

Republican

Venango County

Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund Endorses Rohrer for Governor

Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Pl, Suite 102
Springfield, VA 22151
http://www.goapvf.org

May 12, 2010

Dear Friend of the Second Amendment:

Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund is proud to endorse Sam Rohrer for Governor of Pennsylvania.

In a time when politicians in Washington have abused and grossly exceeded their constitutional limits, people at the state level are looking for fighters who are not afraid to rein in the federal government and place it back under the constraints of the U.S. Constitution.

State Representative Sam Rohrer is a long-time leader in the battle against federal intrusion, especially when it concerns the right to keep and bear arms.

Representative Rohrer stood up for gun owners and states’ rights with legislation to repeal the 2005 Real ID Act, a law that would have compromised the privacy of gun owners.

“I am deeply concerned about how the rights of law-abiding gun owners will be impacted by the implementation of the REAL ID Act,” said Rohrer. “The Second Amendment clearly states that our right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed upon. Thus, it is safe to say that Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and the rest of our nation’s Founding Fathers would not even consider carrying around a biometric, REAL ID card that would allow the federal government to instantly track their activities and whereabouts.

“Make no mistake about it, REAL ID holds the unmatched potential to violate our Second Amendment liberty as we know it,” Rohrer continued. “Whether you’re actually buying a firearm or purchasing shells or bullets for hunting, recreational target shooting or self-defense makes no difference. The store will scan your REAL ID card, and your purchase could be permanently registered in the federal government’s national driver’s license registry. In essence, the federal government could also have the ability to limit the amount of guns and ammunition you’re allowed to purchase or own.”

Rep. Rohrer also authored and introduced the Tenth Amendment Resolution, which calls for aggressive opposition to the size and growth of federal programs, regulations and mandates from Washington D.C.

“Before there was ever a federal government, there were sovereign individual states. The Constitution very, very clearly recognizes that we are a Republic,” said Rohrer.

In Harrisburg, Representative Rohrer has stood up and supported every pro-Second Amendment bill that came up in the State House, including:

* Castle Doctrine legislation, which strengthens existing laws dealing with the use of lethal force for the purpose of self-defense;

* Legislation to allow individuals with a valid Pennsylvania license to carry a firearm to purchase additional guns without the cumbersome, expensive and redundant requirements of subsequent background checks through the Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS).

* Legislation that enables law-abiding individuals who can demonstrate evidence of imminent danger to themselves or a member of their family to receive a 90-day temporary emergency license to carry a firearm, allowing sufficient time to apply for a regular license to carry a firearm and undergo the potential 45-day waiting period for a license to carry under current state law; and,

* Legislation calling for Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies, specifically the state police, to discontinue its database of legal handgun purchases. Those records include personal information about gun owners, such as mailing addresses and Social Security numbers. The bill also sets a third-degree felony penalty and a fine up to $5 million for maintaining an illegal gun registry or database.

“Gun owners across this Commonwealth are justifiably outraged any time they are mandated by government to endure a loss of Constitutional freedom and personal security,” said Rohrer at a 2007 rally.

“When government is not properly enforcing the laws that already exist to curtail violent crime, it is nothing short of tyranny in the first degree to place additional restrictions on law-abiding citizens whose only desire is to defend their lives, their loved ones and their property.”

As a legislator, Rep. Rohrer has stayed true to his personal commitment to the Second Amendment. “My goal as governor,” said Rohrer at a recent town hall meeting, “would not be to get guns off the streets, but to get criminals off the streets.”

Gun Owners of America is a proud supporter of Sam Rohrer for Governor, and encourages all Pennsylvania gun owners and sportsmen to vote for Sam Rohrer in the May 18 Republican primary.

Please visit http://www.samrohrer.org to learn more about this race.

Sincerely,

Tim Macy
Vice-Chairman

Sam returns to the WEST beginning May 11. With one week before the primary this is the last chance to get those friends and neighbors out to meet Sam if they’ve not already.  Bring three, four or more! Spread the word and let everyone know that Sam’s in town!

GO SAM GO!!!!

WEDNESDAY, MAY 12 10:00AM

Bethel Park Townhall
Bethel Park Community Center
5151 Park Avenue
Bethel Park, PA 15102

GET DIRECTIONS HERE