Sam Rohrer PA Governor?

Many Conservatives in Pennsylvania are going to write in "None of the Above" when voting for PA state and federal candidates on November 2, 2010. It is our way of sending a message to the Pennsylvania Republican party that we have had it with the PAGOP and the local Republican Committees shutting out qualified candidates in the primaries and then telling us who we have to vote for in the general election.

In the race for Pennsylvania governor, an alternative has been brought to attention: http://www.samrohrerwritein.org. It will send the same message to the Republican party as voting "None of the Above," and if enough of us get behind it, Pennsylvania will proudly stand up with Alaska, Nevada, Utah, Kentucky, Florida, Delaware and New York in saying to the Republican party that we are mad as hell and we aren't going to take it anymore... even if it means losing.

In Pennsylvania there has been little discernable difference between the Tom Ridge Republican administration of eight years ago and the Democrat Ed Rendell's current administration, especially when you consider that each increased spending by 42%. Now, many of us are going broke because of it.

If the GOP loses PA state races this time around, so be it. We have the same people who have been screwing up things for more than a decade -- and rightfully losing elections for the last eight years -- who are now telling us they are the ones who we can trust to fix everything. Come on! Who's zoomin' who here?

By sending the PAGOP a strong message on November 2nd that we have had it, next time around, a better class of losers will be able to step up and actually start winning.

In other races, "None of the Above" is still a good bet as a write in for other state races, including some congressional races.

Your Tea Party & Pocono Rising

Think about what just happened in the primaries last week, and how two Tea Party wins have just completely shaken up the "old guard" GOP establishment: Carl Paladino in New York and Christine O'Donnell in Delaware. Wow! Wouldn't it have made you feel proud if we had done the same thing here in Pennsylvania?

Our tea party in Monroe County began with such promise. We were going to take back our country, reclaim control of our government and demand that our political parties and elected representatives pay attention to us "or else!"

Today, that "or else" has turned into a whimper. In Monroe County, Pennsylvania, the local tea party is marching in lock step with the local GOP, which includes promoting GOP press releases verbatim and blind, unquestioned support of GOP candidates. The local tea party is promoting "if it is Republican, it has to be good."

If this is not what you have signed up for, if you would like to take a stronger stance in determining the direction of the GOP while at the same time maintaining membership in a more traditional Republican oriented tea party (which is what we are advocating,) may we suggest http://www.meetup.com/poconorising. Log in and decide for yourself. After all, that is what we are all about... self determination.

Think of YOUR Pocono Rising as U.S. Army Rangers working proactively within the confines of the traditional military to achieve a common goal.

And think about this, also: In August, after ripping into Senator Jim Demint, former senate majority leader and Senator Trent Lott proclaimed that "When those Tea Party candidates get to Washington, we are going to co-opt them." We say, NO WAY!

How about you? We'll see you at the Founders TEA Party Patriots meeting next Monday evening at 7PM at the Hughes Library in Stroudsburg.


Ethan Koelsch, Luis Bermudez & Mike Avery
Pocono Rising - A Proactive Tea Party Club

You may E-mail: mikeaveryco@msn.com lbermudez@sga-advisors.com ethan@awholeapparel.com

Tea Party vs. Pennsylvania GOP

There seems to be a tremendous amount of resistance to the tea party movement by the GOP in Pennsylvania, unless of course, the tea party is willing to be co-opted.

For example, our tea party here in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, has proudly announced via one of its "board members" that it is working closely with the Monroe County Republican Committee to elect Republicans in November. Isn't that the opposite of why the tea party was formed in the first place?

There is a big difference between a tea party endorsing a candidate or candidates considered compatible with the tea party movement and a tea party working closely with any political party to help them elect their candidates on their terms.

There is no reason why anyone in the tea party movement cannot vote for whomever they choose and there is no one in the tea party movement who would argue otherwise. However, when a tea party aligns itself with a political party, and therefore commits its members to that decision... BY DICTATE, it doesn't seem to pass the sniff test... what say you?

Continental Congress v. Tea Party

Just for the sake of conversation, let's suppose that the Continental Congress decided to assign teams of rebels into study groups to contemplate the Magna Carta and Greek philosophy instead of forming militia to take up arms against the oppressive English. If that had happened, whose flag do you think we would be saluting today?

Now, to further the conversation, here in Pennsylvania the Tea Party movement has decided to remain non-committed as far as endorsing candidates during the just concluded primary process. The primaries are the most important ideological responsibilty of supporters and voters in the Conservative political arena. It's where we win or lose.

On May 18th, we lost.

Now, more than ever, it is time for us to unite and to form an alliance of committed Conservatives who will bring their like-minded groups together to work to achieve our goals of re-claiming control of our government while taking pro-active roles in deciding who we can trust to represent us in office once elected.

Are we together? Are we united? Are we an alliance? Please answer yes.

Memorial Day 2010

Never in the history of our great country have so few screwed up so much in such a short time. But, even with the disasters the Obama government has brought to us, nothing this Memorial Day will stop the rest of us from honoring all of the heroes who have served to protect our freedom and our Constitution. God Bless them.

Lesson Learned

Lesson learned from Pennsylvania May 18th primary:

In states where Tea Parties stood up to be counted, showed their mettle, were aggressive in their beliefs and did not wimp out, they helped to win elections. In Kentucky (Taking on the "old guard" GOP & Mitch McConnell,) Utah (Utah Rising took control of Utah GOP in less than a year,) and in Massachusetts.

In Pennsylvania, where Tea Parties for the most part hid behind being independent, non-partisan, academic and generally wimpish, we lost... badly. It was an overwhelming win for the "old guard" machine politicians, those who we profess to oppose and depose.

There was a 23% turnout for the PA primary on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Dismal. The Pennsylvania Tea Parties were invisible. In fact, the support for Tim Burns in the special election in PA Congressional District 12 came from groups from out of state.

Politics is not an intellectual exercise, it is trench warfare in a civilized manner. If you are not inclined to stand up and be counted, please sit down and get out of the way of those who are.

Lesson From Indiana

The "old guard" GOP is trumpeting its win in Indiana in the primary. Hopefully, we will learn some lessons here, and from the results in Florida.

1. We must generate universal excitement for the principles motivating the Tea Party movement.

2. The insistence on being non-partisan and non-endorsing leaves many non-Tea Party voters (and Tea Party supporters, too) wondering why we exist if we can't take a stand, and opens the door for the "old guard" to take control. If nothing else, the "old guard" are good politicians and good at co-opting under the guise of who has the best chance of winning, and who is "not as bad" as the other guy. We must stop wagging our tails when an "old guard" politician finally reaches down and pats us on the head; instead, we must keep our teeth bared. If we start thinking like a pretty, 25 year-old woman who knows a line when she hears one, we'll be in good shape.

3. The academic approach being encouraged by some Tea Party branches is boring. Leave that to the League of Women Voters and the 912ers, they are good at it and God bless 'em for it. The Tea Party was born to be a POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE, not educators.

4. Individual tangents promoted through Tea Party communications enhance the "kook" label to our movement. Our goal is to elect Conservative candidates to represent us in government.

Please think about this. When a Tea Party group decides not to become a PAC, it remains powerless, which is exactly what the "old guard" GOP and the Democrats want: We remain nothing more than an audience and a tool for others rather than a driving force.

Also, we must watch out for infiltrators by paying attention to the affiliations and associates of newcomers. Because we are beginning to gain political power, it pays to be a little paranoid.

Unless, of course, the parnoids are after you. Come on, smile with me. Together we can do amazing things.