AFA of PA ACTION ALERT
November 12, 2010
Issues (check corresponding number in ‘Details’ and ‘Action’ Sections)
1.) State House Will Have Lame Duck Session!
2.) They are Trying to Steal Our New Congressmen THIS Weekend!! Act NOW to stop it.
Details
1.) On Wednesday State House Speaker Keith McCall relented and announced the House would hold a lame duck session beginning Monday, November 15th convening at 1:00 p.m. They are likely to debate several important bills including HB 2497 – the Pension Bailout which was crafted with the help of public employee unions. This bill is not real pension reform, but simply continues the same failed policies and passes the debt on to our children and grandchildren.
Thanks to the Commonwealth Foundation for these figures: Taxpayers paid $843 million in pension contributions to Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) and State Employees Retirement System (SERS) in Fiscal Year 2009-10.
In Fiscal Year 2012-13 those contributions are scheduled to increase to $5.8 billion. This represents an effective $1,360 increase in state and local taxes per homeowner/household.
How did we get into this mess?
- Losses in the stock market in 2001-03 and 2008
- Reduced taxpayer contributions as a result of deferring pension payments into the future in 2003 (a mistake HB 2497 would repeat).
- Generous benefit enhancements—a 50% increase for legislators and 25% for teachers—in 2001.
2.) Several days after the TEA Party Patriots (TPP) announced their Freshman Orientation another organization, Claremont Institute, announced that they were having one too, on the same day, at the same time (this weekend). They are promoting theirs in a way that makes it appear as an “Official” Freshman Orientation, and it is causing some confusion with the Freshmen. The TEA Party contacted Claremont (usually a like-minded organization) and, in a gesture of goodwill, offered to combine efforts. They were rudely dismissed by Claremont. This action caused TPP to do some investigation and this is what they found. Check out this comparison of the events:
1. TPP Event
a. Organized by and for local tea party coordinators around the country.
b. Partnered with Constitutional Congress, a new 501(c)(3) organization chaired by retiring Rep. John Shadegg, which intends to teach newly elected members to govern according to the Constitution.
c. Keynote speaker – Attorney General Edwin Meese, who served under President Reagan and will speak to the freshmen about governing according to the Constitution.
d. Supported by true reformers in the Congress, including Sen. Jim DeMint, Sen. Tom Coburn, and Congressman John Shadegg.
2. Claremont Institute Event
a. Coordinated by lobbyists and campaign consultants. They are apparently trying to make sure that instead of sitting with grassroots tea party leaders from around the country, the lobbyists and consultants can sink their claws into the freshmen, and begin to “teach them” the ways of DC. The invitation lists prominent lobbyists and campaign consultants in DC as the “coordinators”, including:
i. Chip Saltsman: Saltsman is a longtime DC insider and political consultant. He is most infamous for withdrawing his candidacy for RNC Chairman one day before the election following a controversy regarding his Christmas gift to almost 200 members of the RNC copies of a CD containing the song “BaracktheMagicNegro”
ii. Tim Powers: Powers is another long time DC insider and the former Deputy Director of the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) Congressional Affairs and Strategic Planning. He is listed as Co-Chairman and Co-Founder of a lobbying firm in DC, Artemis Strategies. Their website says that “Artemis Strategies is a well respected Washington, D.C. asset. Prior to co-founding Artemis Strategies in the fall of 2002, Mr. Powers operated PowerStrategies, a public affairs and government relations firm he founded.” Powers appears to be the quintessential DC insider and lobbyist.
b. Keynote Speaker – Talk Show Host – Bill Bennett
c. Supported by none of the reformers in Congress. Instead it’s a lobbyist / political consultant event for the Freshmen.
Action Steps
1.) Contact your State Representative now while they are still in their home district and ask them to vote ‘NO’ on HB 2497. Click here for contact info. If you don’t know who your State Rep is, enter your nine-digit zip code in the upper right hand of this same page.
2.) Do you want the first event your incoming Freshman Congressmen attend to be an event hosted by the grassroots Local Coordinators of Tea Party Patriots and the Congressmen and Senators who are willing to support them in their drive to restore the US Constitution? Or would you rather they attend an indoctrination organized by DC insiders and lobbyists, members of The Ruling Class? Do you want your incoming Freshmen Congressmen to attend an event where they will get the support, encouragement, and knowledge they need to begin to restore our Constitution or do you want them to attend an event where DC insiders can begin to corrupt them?
Pennsylvania has FIVE new Congressmen and they need to hear from their “bosses.” We need to call and e-mail each of them.
a.) Explain the differences between the two events. We need to make sure they understand that the Claremont event is not an “official” event but one put on by lobbyists, for which they are being asked to skip the TPP and Constitutional Congress event.
b.) They need to know what you, their new constituents, think about their choice, and how you’ll react if they choose to ignore the grassroots and immediately get in bed with DC lobbyists and RNC insiders.
Here’s the contact info for our new Congressmen:
PA – 3 – Mike Kelly — (724) 712-6312 Mikekelly@zoominternet.net
PA –7– Pat Meehan — (215) 850-6352 pmeehan@conradobrien.com
PA – 8—Mike Fitzpatrick — (215) 514-0470 mfitzpatrick@begleycarlin.com
PA -10 – Tom Marino — (570) 772-3192 realamon@aol.com
PA – 11—Lou Barletta — (570) 578-0026 loubarletta@gmail.com
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