Carbon County CleanSweep

2006-03-19T01:13:00.000-05:00

Press On!

Most readers who make it to this blog are aware that there are some issues that are causing some strife within PACleanSweep. These are issues that must be handled by the Board of Directors.

On the local level, nothing has changed.

Carbon CleanSweep is dedicated to helping our approved candidates run successful campaigns.

To that end, we are starting to schedule more rallies and protests. In the coming days we will provide the information as to the locations and purposes of the first of these events.

2006-03-03T11:23:00.000-05:00

It Ain't About the Pay Raise

Well it is - sort of. But it really isn't.

The July 7 pay raise was a watershed event in Pennsylvania politics. Two o'clock in the morning. No floor debate. No public input. A bill completely stripped and appended with new language, changing its original subject. No consideration on the required three legislative days. The votes were evidently pre- arranged. And of course, the infamous "unvouchered expenses."

Five separate violations of our Constitution.

Absolutely outrageous, but certainly not out of the realm of possibility for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. In fact, they did almost the very same thing one year earlier in passing Act 71, the slots bill. And they just did it again with SB 595, with many "voting" members nowhere near the Capitol.

The PA Supreme Court upheld Act 71 as constitutional just weeks before July 7, but Act 71 did not benefit legislators in the direct and blatant way the pay raise did. While the unconstitutional procedures used to approve the pay raise were bad enough, the "we're getting ours through unvouchered expenses" attitude behind it made it the epicenter of a perfect storm of citizen outrage.

But it ain't about the pay raise. To paraphrase a campaign tag line from the past, "It's the process, stupid." The process is broken. It's broken because the institution of the General Assembly is broken.

Leaders strong-arm members into submission and punish those who don't submit. The rank and file bow to leadership's every whim. Otherwise, they'd lose the benefits of the Incumbent Protection Program. The "walking- around-money." The campaign fliers disguised as legislative updates. The public service announcements. The boiler-room "constituent service" phone calls to constituents. The $135 million slush fund leadership controls.

The results? Few Pennsylvanians actually being represented in Harrisburg. Thirty years of ignoring the property tax problem. Failure to even put a dent in the health care crisis. Failure to "maintain and support a thorough and efficient system of public education" as mandated by the Constitution. Failure to keep the students we successfully educate here to work and live. Failure to convince businesses to move to or stay in our Commonwealth without an outright bribe.

Failure. Utter failure. Except - of course - for self serving pay raises, pension increases and the occasional tidbit for anyone willing to drop a few dollars into a campaign war chest or two. Plenty of success in those areas.

We can't change the institution a little bit. We need to change it a lot. Pennsylvania is facing some very serious problems. We need actual solutions - not the pretend solutions their "experience" has given us so far.

We need to fix the process. We need to fix the institution. We won't accomplish it by replacing a few of them - they're all in it together. If they haven't been part of the solution, they're part of the problem. We need to clean the place out and start from scratch.

We need to get back to basics - the Pennsylvania Constitution. We need people who will support it, obey it and defend it once they arrive in Harrisburg - and We the People need to remain vigilant in enforcing it. Not just this year, but every year.

We'll keep bringing up the pay raise because it's the best way to illuminate what's wrong with the institution. It perfectly encapsulates the existing culture of arrogance, greed and corruption. While the pay raise was repealed, the indelible mark it left on the public wasn't.

The incumbents will ask you to consider not just July 7, but the rest of their record. Please do. We believe you'll find that record quite unsatisfactory for a group with such extensive "experience."

Pay raise, pay raise, pay raise.

It ain't about the pay raise. It's about institutional failure - and the failure of individuals within that institution to support, obey and defend our Constitution. It's the only thing they swear to do.

- PACleanSweep

2006-02-24T04:34:00.000-05:00

PACleanSweep Rally!

Carbon CleanSweep will be hosting a rally for all PACleanSweep-related candidates from Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, Schuylkill, and Monroe Counties. Anyone is welcomed to join us. The location is 3rd and Delaware Streets in Palmerton on Saturday, February 25 from 1pm-3pm. Please contact carboncleansweep@gmail.com with any questions.

Also......

I am sure that John Wieczorek, our PACleanSweep-approved candidate in Carbon against payjacker McCall, could use your signatures on his petitions and could use some help from you gathering signatures.

Any registered Democrat living in District 122 is eligible to provide a signature so long as no other candidate's petition was signed for the same seat for which John is vying. Any registered Democrat living in District 122 is eligible to help John gather signatures.

Thus, if you are a registered Democrat (or know registered Democrats who would be willing to sign John's petition or even circulate a petition for him), please contact me and I will facilitate you getting in touch with John's campaign.

Also, now is a good time to start considering whether you'd be willing to work the polls for John on primary day in May.

2006-01-25T16:03:00.000-05:00

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY EVENTS

Thursday 1/26 - Northampton County: Press conference called by Bonnie Dodge, who is running against incumbent Lisa Boscola (Senate 18).

Location: Miller's Diner; 1205 Main Street, Northampton, PA. 1:30pm.

Contact carboncleansweep@gmail.com or cleansweeppalehighcounty@gmail.com to coordinate efforts with other PACleanSweepers.

Please note: This is Ms. Dodge's press conference, not PACleanSweep's, but it is our first opportunity to be an organized presence in that area. We are there to listen to what she has to say, to learn, and to provide support to her as an opponent of an incumbent!

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The Saturday event in Northampton County IS a specific PACleanSweep rally/protest of all incumbents, particularly the payjackers, in Northampton, Lehigh, Bucks, Carbon, and Monroe Counties. Please join us for that, too!

Saturday 1/28 - Northampton County: PACLEANSWEEP EVENT.

Location: Corner of Broad and Main (near the Brew Works) in Bethlehem. 1:00pm.

Contact: carboncleansweep@gmail.com or cleansweeppalehighcounty@gmail.com.

Phone: 215-499-1323 (Rob)

2006-01-16T11:00:00.000-05:00

Regional Events

Lehigh, Carbon, Northampton, and Monroe Counties will be holding a joint meeting in Lehigh County on Tuesday, January 18 at 7pm at:

Lehigh Valley Diner
1162 MacArthur Road
Whitehall PA

Contacts:

Rob Lusch at carboncleansweep@gmail.com or (215) 499-1323
Josh Koch at cleansweeppalehighcounty@gmail.com

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Russ Diamond, Chair of PACleanSweep, will speak at a meeting hosted by the Pocono Libertarians

Tannersville Inn
Route 611 & Cherry Lane Road
Tannersville PA (Monroe County)

Open to public.

Contact: Ray Masters at (570) 476-1530

2006-01-04T17:49:00.000-05:00

Going to the Montgomery County Rally?

Note the Location Change:

Friday, January 6: CLEANSWEEP RALLY: COLLEGEVILLE/LOWER PROVIDENCE

Meet at Borough Hall
491 East Main Street (near 5th and E. Main)
Collegeville, PA 19426

The police are allowing us to use the borough lot for parking even though it is technically not allowed until 4:00. Thus, please feel free to park there. All the police are asking is that we do not crisscross the streets and make ourselves a danger, which is something that has never been a problem for us in the past. :)

Details:

Total time : 3:30-5:00pm

3:30-4:05 around 5th and E. Main Streets on the public areas in Collegeville

4:15-5:00 in front of Representative Jacqueline Crahalla's office at 3938 Ridge Pike in Lower Providence.

Contact: montgomerycleansweep@gmail.com

Any questions, please call Rob at (215) 499-1323

Check http://montgomerycleansweep.blogspot.com for inclement weather updates.

2005-12-20T14:21:00.000-05:00

Incumbent Response Teams

An Incumbent Response Teams is a group of volunteers who can be contacted (sometimes at the last minute) by telephone and e-mail for participation in CleanSweep demonstrations when representatives appear at various sites.

I want to collect e-mail addresses, town names, and phone numbers from fellow CleanSweepers who don't mind sharing this info. I will keep all collected information just to myself unless you specifically tell me you do not mind it being shared. If we become successful and I cannot handle the load, I will ask everyone on the list if they mind me passing the info to a designated helper.

Then when we learn of an incumbent speaking somewhere (or if one of our endorsed candidates goes to speak), I will notify the group via e-mail as usual, but if the appearance is imminent, I will call members on the list who live within a reasonable distance from the appearance location. List members, if available, can then go and hold a mini-rally at the site. Please note that this sometimes may be in a neighboring county. Every person's presence helps! :)

If you are interested in being notified by telephone of incumbent appearances (or, in the future, candidate appearances), please respond back to me with the following information:

Name:
Daytime Town or Township:
Nighttime/Weekend Town or Township:
E-mail address:
Telephone Number:

Please note that I will only use the telephone for appearances that I learn of within 12 hours of the starting time. Otherwise I will send the notice out by e-mail.

And anyone who learns of appearances where our presence would be appropriate, please call me at (215) 499-1323. I have web, blog, and e-mail access on my phone, so under most circumstances I can push information out to the group on the fly.

Rob Lusch
Carbon County Coordinator
PACleanSweep
www.pacleansweep.com

2005-12-15T22:26:00.000-05:00

Anyone from any county is welcomed (and encouraged!) to join any event. Although it's a hike crom Carbon, our friends in Montgomery County could use some help at the Collegeville Rally on Jan. 6 and the Doylestown Rally on Jan. 13, and we would like to increase our numbers at all the other counties' meetings! Once our candidates are announced, we will need everyone who can help to jump in with ideas, information, and rally participation!

We will probably add at least another Bucks, Carbon/Lehigh, and Philly meeting in January, and some other counties may have events going on, too.

EASTERN PA EVENTS:

Monday, December 19: BUCKS CLEANSWEEP MEETING

Township Library of Lower Southampton
1983 Bridgetown Pike
Feasterville PA 19053
7pm-9pm
Contact: buckscleansweep@gmail.com; (215) 499-1323

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Wednesday, December 21: CARBON/LEHIGH CLEANSWEEP MEETING

Platz's Restaurant
101 Harrity Road
Lehighton PA 18235
7pm
Contact: carboncleansweep@gmail.com or cleansweeppalehighcounty@gmail.com
(215) 499-1323

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Thursday, December 22: PHILADELPHIA CLEANSWEEP MEETING

1930 South 25th Street (between McKean and Mifflin)
Philiadelphia PA 19145
7pm
Contact: philadelphiacleansweep@gmail.com
(215) 499-1323

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Thursday, January 5: SEPA REGIONAL PRE-RALLY MEETING

Philadelphia Inquirer Building
800 River Road
Conshohocken, PA 19428
7:30pm
Contact: montgomerycleansweep@gmail.com
(215) 499-1323

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Friday, January 6: CLEANSWEEP RALLY: COLLEGEVILLE/LOWER PROVIDENCE

Meet at Acme Market Parking Lot (location subject to change, please contact!)
222 West Main Street
Collegeville, PA 19426
3:30-5:00pm
Contact: montgomerycleansweep@gmail.com
(215) 499-1323

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Friday, January 13: CLEANSWEEP RALLY: DOYLESTOWN

Meet at Starbucks (location subject to change, please contact!)
10 N. Main Street
Doylestown, PA 18901
12:oo noon - 1:30 pm
Contact: buckscleansweep@gmail.com
(215) 499-1323

A certain state Senator has put himself in hot water...

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Saturday, January 21: MONTGOMERY MEETING

Philadelphia Inquirer Building
800 River Road
Conshohocken, PA 19428
4pm
Contact: montgomerycleansweep@gmail.com
(215) 499-1323

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Tuesday, January 31: MULTI-COUNTY MEETING (MONTGOMERY, CHESTER, DELAWARE )

Valley Forge Beef & Ale
827 S. Trooper Rd.
Audubon, Pa. 19403-2311
7pm
Contact: montgomerycleansweep@gmail.com
(215) 499-1323

2005-12-14T16:27:00.000-05:00

It's on the books!

Thanks!

Rob

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CARBON AND LEHIGH COUNTIES CLEANSWEEP MEETING:
Wednesday December 21, 2005
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Platz's Restaurant
101 Harrity Road
Lehighton, PA. 18235
Phone: 610-377-1819 (site); (215) 499-1323 (Rob)
Contact: carboncleansweep@gmail.com

2005-11-23T23:00:00.000-05:00

Letter to the Editor of the Morning Call

The repeal of the unlawful legislative pay raise reveals almost as much about the character of our elected officials as the unlawful raise itself did. The legislators recognized that their positions were in jeopardy when they saw Russell Nigro be denied his second term on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. It is certainly no coincidence that the pay raise repeal was held up until after Election Day, and then suddenly it was repealed (for the time being, anyway).

Now we have a variety of legislators in our region who are refusing to return money that they took unlawfully. This is absurd, and it shows again that we Pennsylvanians cannot afford to re-elect these incumbents. Your legislator thinks you're incapable of seeing this for what it is: they got caught in the cookie jar, but they don't want to put the cookies back, they just want to put the lid back on and "call it even." I doubt that even your children would be so presumptuous.

We deserve public servants, not self-serving politicians, and this is not the behavior we voted for when we picked our legislators last election.

Unfortunately, these are also symptoms of a deeper problem, the foul stench of corruption emanates from Harrisburg. This is not merely about the pay raise. It is a much larger and graver than an issue of just dollars and cents. This whole fight is about the circumstances that allowed the pay raise to come into being, the spirit of corruption and vice that permeates our government, endangering our very rights and our Commonwealth at every turn.

The unlawful pay raise was a clear violation of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislators took an oath of office to uphold and defend that Constitution, and instead they actively sought to circumvent it, thus treading on our rights as citizens to a responsible and accountable government. Anyone who is willing to trample that core document once will do it repeatedly, as indeed they have.

And the saddest part is that they apparently think the citizens would not care enough to come to the defense of our Constitution. They seem to assume that since they have turned our government into the laughing stock of the taxpayers, we will nott rise up to restore a sense of duty and purpose to our government. Unfortunately for those who conspired against the taxpayers, that is where they miscalculated. We are not forgetting. We are coming to the defense of the Constitution.

All the legislators across the region (particularly those who voted for the pay raise, took the unvouchered expenses, and refused to pay them back) are on notice: We're taking our government back!

If you are an elected official who values your position, and you are willing to join forces with us to reform the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, you will need to give us your word in written form in addition to returning the unconstitutional "unvouchered expense" money. We will review your voting record and welcome you to the fight, if appropriate.

We are going to work hard to put all corrupt legislators (those who stole the money from their constituents) behind Mr. Nigro in the unemployment line. This is the time for Pennsylvanians to come together and restore dignity and honor to the government of our Commonwealth.

A note to politicians who continue to tread on the Constitution: Your (self) services are no longer needed, and your time at the public trough is limited. Your employers are giving your jobs to people of character, and you'll be getting your pink slips in May.

Robert Lusch
Coordinator for Carbon, Bucks, and Montgomery Counties

Josh Koch
Coordinator for Lehigh and Carbon Counties
PACleanSweep
www.pacleansweep.com

2005-11-23T12:38:00.000-05:00

Carbon Yahoo Group Initiated

Carbon County CleanSweep now has a discussion group on Yahoo. Everyone involved in the movement is welcomed and encouraged to particpate.

The web address for the Bucks Yahoo Group is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/carboncleansweep

The group e-mail address is: carboncleansweep@yahoogroups.com

I will approve membership requests as soon as possible.

Thank you very much!

Rob Lusch
Carbon Coordinator

2005-11-22T09:44:00.000-05:00

PA CleanSweep Chair to Attend First Carbon Meetup!

Russ Diamond, the founder and Chairman of PACleanSweep, will be joining us on 11/29 at 7pm for the first Carbon CleanSweep meeting at the Bowmanstown Diner at 642 White Street in Bowmanstown.

While we are still a small movement in Carbon, the response from the community has been great and our numbers are growing! We invite you all to inform your friends and family members about CleanSweep and to encourage them to contact us by e-mail at carboncleansweep@gmail.com.

We also encourage folks to continue to contact the newspapers and radio talk shows to let them know that we Pennsylvanians are not fazed by the tactical repeal of the pay raise. The pay raise was the trigger for our movement, but it was really just a symptom of a deeper problem of corruption, failed checks and balances, and a lack of respect for the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

We know we deserve better representation. We are going to make it happen!

Thank you very much for your hard work!

Rob Lusch and Josh Koch
Coordinators for Carbon County
PACleanSweep

2005-11-18T19:31:00.000-05:00

First Carbon County CleanSweep Meetup

We have scheduled Carbon's first CleanSweep Meetup to be held at:

Bowmanstown Diner
642 White Street
Bowmanstown, PA 18030
610-852-2752
7pm on Tuesday, November 29.

We've knocked out Nigro. We've knocked out most of the pay raise.

Now let's move on to Phase 3!!

Purpose of our meetings:

* Candidate considerations: Anyone kicking around the idea of running against these incumbents?

* Awareness: Letter-writing campaigns. Merchandise acquisition. Increasing membership. Rallies. Regional cooperation.

* Contributions: Encouraging folks to donate to the cause as best asthey are able. In order to increase awareness, the entire movement will need more resources to make signs, to advertise, etc. In our region we are particularly in need of more exposure.

* Ideas: I have met through CleanSweep some very bright, verydedicated minds. Many - if not most or all - of you have some fantastic ideas that I think we need to hear.

2005-11-18T11:28:00.000-05:00

Carbon's GOP Committee Members Got the Clue!

Butler County GOP Chairman Jim Powers has called for the resignation of state GOP Chair Eileen Melvin over what he termed "a larger leadership problem at the Republican State Committee." Powers cited a state committee which is "still sitting in silence on the sidelines at this late date" in the pay raise saga.

A statement by Powers included a link to www.repealtheraise.org, a site apparently set up to promote a petition sent to all committee members condemning the pay raise and its violation of the PA Constitution's Article II Section 8, forbidding mid-term salary increases for legislators. 20 percent of Republican State Committee members signed the petition.

Both GOP State Committee members from Carbon County, Gilbert Gerhard and Paul Gellentien, signed the petition.

2005-11-18T09:36:00.000-05:00

Carbon County Deserves Better Leaders!

Amid the furor of the removal of Russell Nigro, we are reminded that those who trod all over our state Constitution are still in power: the state legislators.

All three of Carbon's elected state legislators - Musto, McCall, and Rhoades, voted for the unlawful pay raise. They all apparently felt comfortable pocketing the unvouchered expenses, too.

Article III, Section I of the Pennsylvania Constitution states:

"No law shall be passed except by bill, and no bill shall be so altered or amended, on its passage through either House, as to change its original purpose."

It is clear from the text above that the legislators' action of taking a 24-line bill that limited executive salaries and turning it into a 22-PAGE bill that granted huge pay raises across the board is a violation of this provision of the Constitution.

The arguments relating to the timing of the unvouchered expenses, etc. are rendered unnecessary because the entire premise of the pay raise was unlawful. What more needs to be said? These men swore to uphold and defend the Constitution, and they were derelict in their duties.

They need to be removed from power. Period.

2005-11-17T18:39:00.000-05:00

Nigro's Removal was just the Start!

Everybody yawn, stretch.... scratch if you need to... but our job's not done! :)

We have seen success on November 8 with the no confidence vote against Nigro. Now it's time to turn our eyes to the legislators who brought this mess into being in the first place.

The state and the nation are still writing about the actions of the people of Pennsylvania. They are still shocked that the pundits were wrong about Nigro.

But we're not shocked. We know what Pennsylvanians can do when they take control of their own lives.

We know we have a lousy government and deserve better. We know we can make it happen.

Nigro was a warm-up for the bigger task ahead of us, and now it's time for us to start taking action again. The legislators have pushed the repeal through in an attempt to derail us from pursuing their removal from office.

Sorry, but it's too late.

They made their decision on July 7, and they can never be trusted again to have the general welfare at heart.

They have to go.

And we have to push them out.

So let's do it.

I propose a Quakertown meeting of Bucks County CleanSweep on Monday, November 21 at 7pm.

I propose a Lansdale meeting of Montgomery County CleanSweep on Tuesday, November 22 at 7pm.

I propose a Bowmanstown meeting of Carbon County CleanSweep on Tuesday, November 29 at 7pm.

Purpose of our meetings:

* Candidate considerations: Anyone kicking around the idea of running against these incumbents?

* Awareness: Letter-writing campaigns. Merchandise acquisition. Increasing membership. Rallies. Regional cooperation.

* Contributions: Encouraging folks to donate to the cause as best as they are able. In order to increase awareness, the entire movement will need more resources to make signs, to advertise, etc. In our region we are particularly in need of more exposure.

* Ideas: I have met through CleanSweep some very bright, very dedicated minds. Many - if not most or all - of you have some fantastic ideas that I hink we need to hear.

The proposed dates and locations above are not etched in stone, but I will work on chiseling them in as soon as possible. We must move forward now!

Thank you!

Robert Lusch
carboncleansweep@gmail.com

2005-11-17T10:07:00.000-05:00

Letter to the Editor of the Lehighton Times News:

On Tuesday, Nov. 8, the residents of Carbon County joined much of the rest of the state in denying Russell Nigro a second term in the PA Supreme Court.

The residents of Carbon County, along with the vast majority of Pennsylvanians, are resentful of the erosion of the checks and balances system of government, and they made it clear to the state legislators that we are not forgetting about their unlawful pay raise or the corruption that led to it.

Carbon County CleanSweep is the local chapter of PACleanSweep (http://www.pacleansweep.com/), which is non-partisan effort aimed at removing the corrupt legislators from power and taking back the government in the name of the Pennsylvania Constitution. We urge all residents of Carbon County to join us!

We made a difference on Tuesday, and we will continue to effect change for the benefit of the people, not the government!

Robert Lusch
Coordinator
Carbon CleanSweep
carboncleansweep@gmail.com
www.pacleansweep.com

2005-11-09T15:14:00.000-05:00

Ten votes eked out Nigro's defeat in Carbon County on Tuesday, November 8. Our little county made a big point by making it clear that we are not taking the abuse of our Constitution by our legislators.

The PA Supreme Court has been far too lenient on the legislators - even to the point of sometimes assuming that legislative actions are constitutional, and thus not bothering to review them.

We need better government. Decade after decade of bad government has made life difficult for many Carbon County residents. Jobs are scarce in the county, which leads to more and more emigration. People have trouble making ends meet. Meanwhile, the Justices and the legislators are living lavish lifestyles on our hard-earned dollars.

It's time for Carbon County to take a stand!

Robert Lusch
Carbon County Coordinator
Operations in Carbon County are based in Bowmanstown
carboncleansweep@gmail.com