Sam Rohrer on Obamacare: 'Stunning disregard for the constitutional rights of every American'
State Rep. Sam Rohrer (R-Berks), who is also seeking the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania governor, issued the following statement Monday in response to the approval in the House of Representatives of the health care overhaul bill:
"Last night the world watched the U.S. House of Representatives act with stunning disregard for the constitutional rights of every American, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. What passed under the rally call of civil rights and human dignity was in fact one of the strongest challenges to individual freedom in a generation.
In winning passage for the healthcare overhaul using every unsavory procedural tool, threat and backroom promise, they broke faith with their own pledge of openness and transparency. But far worse than hollow campaign promises is the shame in knowing that public officials who knowingly violate their oath to defend the Constitution, commit an act far more injurious to the public trust than bowing to raw politics.
If and when President Obama signs this unconstitutional healthcare bill into law, the roadmap for Pennsylvania’s legal challenge is clear. From the disintegration of the separation of powers between the state and federal government to the misapplication of the Commerce Clause to the lack of congressional authority to apply a direct tax on citizens, the Congress has given us an obvious framework to oppose this bad law.
As Pennsylvania's governor, I will use the powers of the office to defend the rights of every citizen to make private decisions, like the purchase of health insurance, for themselves. I will vigorously defend the responsibilities of our elected state legislative bodies, under the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, to make decisions about any restructuring of laws that regulate the conduct of health insurance companies and providers. This is simply not the role or right of the federal government.
In my administration, I will never hesitate to defend the constitutional rights of every citizen. This will be my first and highest priority."
Join Pennsylvania Tea Party Coalition, Smart Girl Politics, Freedomworks, and other organizations for a Nov. 14 "March on Harrisburg" to take our message of fiscal responsibility and lower taxes directly to state lawmakers. Please join us for a big march and rally on the capitol steps in Harrisburg!
Who: Coalition of Tea Party groups and taxpayer advocates What: March on Harrisburg (State Capitol Steps) When: Saturday, Nov. 14th from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm Why: To send a message to state lawmakers that we support limited government and lower taxes
FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey will be the keynote speaker at the state capitol.
To RSVP for the March on Harrisburg, click here. For more details on the march, check out www.PAMarch.com
Six Republican Senators have written a letter to President Obama questioning the president's continued reliance on "czars" to run key parts of the government.
"These positions raise serious issues of accountability, transparency, and oversight," the letter states. "The creation of "czars," particularly within the Executive Office of the President, circumvents the constitutionally established process of "advise and consent," greatly diminishes the ability of Congress to conduct oversight and hold officials accountable, and creates confusion about which officials are responsible for policy decisions."
The letters was signed by Sens. Susan M. Collins, Lamar Alexander, Christopher S. Bond, Mike Crapo, Pat Roberts and Robert F. Bennett.
Read the full text of the letter at the link below:
I was pleasantly surprised with The Associated Press' coverage of the March on Washington on Saturday, Sept. 12. The wire service, which largely ignored the Tea Parties throughout the year, moved a lengthy article and more than a dozen photographers of the protest. Also, it did not downplay the turnout, putting right there in the lead that "tens of thousands" of Americans marched against Obama and his big government schemes. You can read the AP story and view photos of the event at The Mercury's Web site.
Organizers Predict Thousands of Tea Party Activists Will Attend Saturday’s March on Washington
From CNSNews.com:
"I believe there is a new center in American politics around the idea of what we call 'pocketbook conservatism,' " said Matt Kibbe, president and CEO of FreedomWorks, one of more than a dozen conservative organizations sponsoring the march.
Americans from all walks of life have already pledged to show up, Kibbe said, with virtually every one of them telling organizers the same story: " 'I've never shown up at a Town hall meeting, I've never shown up at a protest, I've never even talked to my congressman, but I have to show up now because things (in Washington) are out of control,' " Kibbe said.
This will likely be the largest gathering of fiscal conservatives ever, according to Adam Brandon of Freedom Works.
Anyone who posts comments on the White House's Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter pages will have their statements captured and permanently archived by the federal government, according to a plan that the White House is now seeking a contractor to carry out.
The Executive Office of the President is looking for a private contractor to capture and archive comments and information posted on social networking and new media sites where the White House has established a presence. While the Presidential Records Act (PRA) generally requires that the administration preserve information generated by the president and his staff, the White House says that in seeking to collect and preserve comments made by common citizens on social networking sites it is acting "out of an abundance of caution" to comply with the law.
In mid-August, the White House put out a "request for quotation" (RFQ)which seeks bids from private firms for the project. Under the terms stated by the White House, the contractor would have broad responsibilities in collecting information from White House related Web pages.
The RFQ for bids says the contractor is to "capture, store, [and] extract" information that will be transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for permanent storage. According to the White House proposal, the information involved will include the "capture of comments and publicly visible tags posted by users" on publicly accessible Web sites where the White House has established a presence.
Tony Phyrillas is the city editor and political columnist for The Mercury, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper in Pottstown, Pa. Phyrillas has won several national and state awards for his columns. Phyrillas has been featured on National Public Radio (NPR) and in The New York Times and is a frequent commentator on radio and television programs. He co-hosted "Talking Politics with Tony Phyrillas & Mike Pincus" on WPAZ 1370 AM.
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State Rep. Sam Rohrer (R-Berks), who is also seeking the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania governor, issued the following statement Monday in response to the approval in the House of Representatives of the health care overhaul bill:
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