This morning I had the pleasure of speaking to the Pennsylvania Congressman, who was one of just 17 Republicans in the 111th Congressional freshman class.

Obviously the initial conversation turned to yesterday's election results, and aside from categorizing the New York-23 race as an “outlier”, Thompson was pleased with the returns. The swing between the 2008 results favoring President Obama in those three jurisdictions presented a “message to the country (in) two bellweather states” that Americans had had enough of spending, taxing, borrowing, and intrusive government.

The Hoffman-Owens-Scozzafava race was also intriguing to Thompson as a former Republican county chairman. Part of the issue with how the race turned out was not having any voter input as to who the GOP candidate would be because of the compressed election schedule. Having a more normal timeframe to campaign may well have yielded a batter result, GT argued.

But health care was the “front and center” issue, and Thompson planned on being one of the Republicans participating in tomorrow's rally on the Capitol steps sponsored by Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota.

As one of the seventeen freshman in the minority party, I asked him where he could be most effective. Thompson noted that the newly-minted Republicans had “stayed on message” and intended to be a “force to be contended with” as the events of the 111th Congress played out. He decried the “wedge in decision-making between physician and patient” that current Pelosicare legislation encouraged.

I also found out that a “manager's amendment” was added to the House health care bill yesterday, with 42 additional pages designed to buy off individual members, or, as Thompson called it, “let's make a deal.”

Having spent nearly three decades in the healthcare field, most recently as a nursing home administrator, Thompson assumed when he was elected last year that health care and Social Security would be the predominant issues he'd face upon being sworn in. His idea to improve health care was to increase access and affordability (indeed, he voted in favor of SCHIP expansion) but instead this legislation would create a “legacy of debt” using figures that were “worse than fuzzy math.” Meanwhile, Medicare would remain “systematically underfunded” according to GT.

In other Congressional matters, Thompson was “disappointed” in the “cap and tax” legislation which would negatively impact his largely rural district, which is Pennsylvania's largest geographically. It's quite comparable to my home district in Maryland, so I asked Thompson about having a GOP district in a heavily Democrat state.

Perhaps, though, even his state is not so blue. Rep. Thompson pointed out that, in addition to the well-publicized win in neighboring New Jersey, Pennsylvania had a little-noticed GOP win yesterday as Joan Orie Melvin won election to their state Supreme Court, giving the Republicans a 4-3 majority at a time when redistricting after next year's census could end up being reviewed by that body. So the Republican brand isn't completely out of favor as pundits thought after last year's election of Barack Obama.

It's these election results which cheer Thompson and present hope that he'll be part of the majority party soon. With a relatively safe seat (no Democrat has represented the 5th District area since 1979) it's likely that GT can stay the course provided he remains conservative enough for the voters of the district.

Republican Joan Orie Melvin won a hotly-contested seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Tuesday, giving Republicans a 4-3 majority on the court.

Melvin defeated Democrat Jack Panella in the most expensive judicial race in Pennsylvania's history. Panella raised more than $2.5 million, largely from trial lawyers and organized labor, according to The Associated Press.

With 98 percent of the state's precincts reporting, Melvin had 910,270 votes or 53 percent to Democrat Jack Panella's 806,157 votes or 47 percent, the wire service reported.

Panella was widely criticized for running a negative campaign, resorting to personal attacks on Melvin.

Melvin's victory, which restores a one-seat majority that the GOP lost in 2007, continued a good night for Republicans, who have won the governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey.

Four Republican candidates for four open Pennsylvania Superior Court seats and two Republican candidates for two open Commonwealth Court seats were also leading their respective races at midnight, although final results were not in yet.

The Republican comeback is here!

It may be a new fiscal year, but Pennsylvania is experiencing the same problem. The state is spending more money than it takes in. That practice led to a record budget deficit last year and caused a 101-day budget impasse.

It appears Gov. Ed Rendell and the Pennsylvania Legislature haven't learned a thing.

New figures released by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue show fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $8.8 billion, which is $160.2 million, or 1.8 percent, below estimate. The new fiscal year began July 1, although the state Legislature was 101 days late in approving a new budget.
The state finished the 2008-09 fiscal year with a $3.25 billion deficit.

Look for another huge deficit next spring if Rendell and the Legislature don't wise up.

From the Revenue Department:

Secretary of Revenue Stephen H. Stetler today reported that Pennsylvania collected $3.5 billion in General Fund revenue in October, which was $19.5 million, or 0.6 percent, less than anticipated.

Fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $8.8 billion, which is $160.2 million, or 1.8 percent, below estimate.

Sales tax receipts totaled $696.6 million for October, $37 million below estimate. Year-to-date sales tax collections total $2.7 billion, which is $89.3 million, or 3.2 percent, less than anticipated.

Personal income tax (PIT) revenue in October was $719.9 million, $13.7 million above estimate. This brings year-to-date PIT collections to $2.9 billion, which is $84.2 million, or 2.8 percent, below estimate.

October corporation tax revenue of $116.6 million was $500,000 above estimate. Year-to-date corporation tax collections total $658 million, which is $7.8 million, or 1.2 percent, above estimate.

Other General Fund revenue figures for the month included $61.2 million in inheritance tax, $800,000 above estimate, bringing the year-to-date total to $242.8 million, which is $5.3 million below estimate.

Realty transfer tax was $26.1 million for October, $1.4 million above estimate, bringing the total to $108.3 million for the year, which is $2.3 million less than anticipated.

Read the full release at the link below:

U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts, who represents Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District, wants to set the record straight about the latest bogus announcement by the Obama Administration that it has "created or saved" 650,000 jobs.

Earlier this week, The Associated Press reported that the official count of "created or saved" jobs from the $787 billion stimulus was 25,000. It's amazing what you can do with numbers.

Obama released figures from his economic team stating that more than 40,000 jobs have been "created or saved" in Pennsylvania by passage of the stimulus bill, according to Pitts.

Nationwide 650,000 jobs have been "created or saved" at the cost of approximately $1.2 million each, Pitts says. Economists agree that the figure of jobs "saved" is misleading and is not a legitimate economic measure, Pitts says.

Pennsylvania has lost nearly 200,000 jobs in just the past year alone. Nationwide, more than 15 million Americans are out of work. The unemployment rate in the U.S. stands at a 27-year high.

Rep. Pitts' statement follows:

"Once again the administration is claiming that the wasteful $787 billion stimulus bill has 'saved' a distinct number of jobs. The White House has produced a number that is meaningless. There is no way to count jobs that weren't lost. I could just as easily come up with a formula to count the jobs that have been lost due this Administration’s policies on energy, health, and taxation.

"The truth is, unemployment is nearly two percent higher than the President projected. The administration’s website right now shows only one job saved in the entire 16th Congressional District. I understand that these numbers may be updated later today but they certainly won’t change very much. Right now this website shows that one job was created at the cost of $277,000 in government contracts.

"The government cannot create jobs, but it can make is easier or harder for employers to increase their payroll. With job-killing tax hikes in health care reform and the energy legislation being considered in Congress right now, how can we expect employers to invest in their business with confidence?"

Pennsylvania employers shed another 10,300 jobs in September, according to new employment figures released today by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry.

Under Gov. Ed Rendell's leadership, Pennsylvania has lost nearly 200,000 jobs since September 2008.

The Rendell Administration is attempting to put the best possible spin on the continuing bad news by pointing out that Pennsylvania's 8.8% unemployment rate "remained below the United States' unemployment rate, which rose one-tenth of a point to 9.8 percent."

Doesn't that make you feel better, especially if your unemployment benefits are about to run out?

The bottom line is that Ed Rendell, Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats have done a terrible job dealing with economic issues, resulting in record unemployment.

From the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry:

Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted civilian labor force -- the number of people working or looking for work -- rose by 9,000 in September to 6,368,000.

Employment was unchanged in September, while resident unemployment rose by 9,000. The Pennsylvania labor force was down 55,000 from September 2008.

Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was up one-tenth of a percentage point to 8.8 percent in September. The state rate remained below the United States' unemployment rate, which rose one-tenth of a point to 9.8 percent.

Pennsylvania's rate was up 3.2 percentage points from September 2008, while the U.S. rate was up 3.6 percentage points in the 12-month period.

Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs count dropped by 10,300 jobs in September. The majority of the job losses were among service providing industries, however, the Professional and Business Services sector added 2,700 jobs.

Pennsylvania job count was down 198,100, or 3.4 percent, since September 2008. Nationally, jobs were down 4.2 percent over the same time period.

For a breakdown by employment categories, click on the link below:

Pennsylvania's Employment Situation: September 2009

Voter turnout was small but the victory was decisive.

State Rep. Bob Mensch won a landslide victory over Democrat Anne Scheuring to fill the vacant 24th Senatorial District seat.

Mensch defeated Scheuring by a 2-1 margin. In his home county of Montgomery, Mensch defeated Scheuring by a remarkable 72% to 26% margin. In Lehigh County, Mensch won by a 64% to 30% margin. In Bucks County, Mensch won by a 68% to 29% margin. The tightest race was in Northampton county, where Mensch beat Scheuring by a 53% to 42% margin.

With all 123 precincts reporting results, Mensch finished with 12,496 votes. Scheuring had 5,730 votes. Libertarian candidate Barbara Steever had 660 votes.

After three years in the state House representing the 147th District, Mensch moves to the state Senate, giving Republicans a 30-20 majority.

The 24th Senate District has been vacant since July when former state Rep. Rob Wonderling resigned to become president and chief executive of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

There's no indication when Mensch's seat in the state House will be filled. While Senate Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, a Republican, got to decide when to hold a special election for Wonderlng's seat, the task of filling Mensch's seat falls to Speaker of the House Keith R. McCall, a Democrat.

With Democrats holding a slim 104-99 majority in the House, don't look for McCall to move quickly on replacing Mensch in one of the safest Republican districts in the state. Don't be surprised if McCall puts off a special election until next year.

One other interesting note. There have been three special elections this year to fill vacancies in the state Legislature and Republicans have won all three races by wide margins. That does not bode well for Democrats heading into the 2010 election cycle when all 203 House seats and 25 Senates seats are up for grabs.