After discussing a variety of issues for 45 minutes over lunch at Home Delivery Pizza, 1820 S. Atherton St., United States Senate candidate Marc Scaringi summed up his campaign in one sentence.
“I want to restore freedom, personal liberty and independence of the Constitutional republic,” he said.
A Pittsburgh native and founder of a Harrisburg law firm, Scaringi stopped in State College Thursday to promote his campaign and political strategy, which he called the “Free America” agenda. Scaringi said he also planned to meet with a local business owner to get a sense of how difficult it is to conduct business in an “Obama/Casey economy.”
Scaringi is on the ballot for the Republican primary for April 24. The winner will run against Democrat incumbent Sen. Robert Casey Jr.
During his stop in State College, Scaringi discussed the central points of his “Free America” agenda.
The most important issue right now, Scaringi said, is the economy. He said massive borrowing and spending is the reason for the country’s financial crisis.
“It’s grinding the economy to a halt,” he said. “We are at the edge of fiscal ruin if we don’t get our fiscal house in order.”
Scaringi said he supports adopting a balanced budget amendment. This would require the state and federal governments to balance their budgets and prevent politicians from continued borrowing and spending, he said. Scaringi also wants to see the elimination of the Federal Reserve System so the government cannot “simply print money,” he said.
Scaringi also talked about the rise in tuition costs for higher education.
The federal government subsidizing higher education through grants, loans and other forms of financial aid is the main cause of rising tuition, Scaringi said. When students have the ability to take out more money, the schools can get away with raising their tuition, he said. The best solution to lower tuition is to have the federal government step down from subsidizing higher education, he said.
Scaringi addressed the hot-button issue of Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania.
He said he opposes the regulation of hydraulic fracturing — the process used to extract the gas. The Marcellus Shale industry is substantial to Pennsylvania’s economy by bringing in large revenue and creating jobs, he said. Regulating Marcellus Shale would only hurt this economic progress, he said.
“I think the development of Marcellus Shale is going to put Pennsylvania back in its proper place as the leading energy-producing … state in the country, if not the world,” he said.
Mitt Romney has faced tough criticism since the release of his recent op-ed piece in the Detroit News where he openly opposes the auto industry bailout issued by President Obama.
With the Michigan primary on Feb. 28th, this could hurt his campaign since the swing state has close ties with the auto industry, and have seen a profiting auto industry since the bailout.
Romney uses his hometown roots in Michigan and the popularity of his dad, George Romney, as the former Michigan governor and president of American Motors.
Romney claims in a recent opinion column in the Detroit News that he grew up in the auto industry and was sadden when it started to fall, but Obama’s auto industry bailout was not the right decision for Detroit and was “crony capitalism.”
Instead of the bailout, Romney suggested managed bankruptcy. Romney said that with a managed bankruptcy, Chrysler and General Motors could restructure rapidly without spending years in a courtroom.
In July 2009, GM entered a managed bankruptcy and exited a month later, Romney said.
With the bailout, Romney said that Obama’s union allies and his major campaign contributors was rewarded with the bailout while thousands of non-union salaried employees saw a decrease in their pensions and lost life and health insurance.
Throughout the column, Romney ties himself with Detroit and with a “Detroiter” in the White House the dream of the Motor City can once live again.
Chrysler reported a $183 million dollar profit for last year, which was its first full year profit since 2005.
Obama has tweeted that the auto industry is back with 170,000 new jobs since 2009.
Chrysler is not the only auto-maker seeing profits, Ford has seen its largest earnings in 13 years.
The auto industry is closely tied, if Chrysler or GM would have fallen, the entire auto industry would have nearly collapsed. Not only would the Big Three auto-makers have declined, the auto suppliers would have gone out of business.
Romney won the 2008 Republican presidential primary in Michigan, but this time, he is not running as the conservative alternative, Rick Santorum is.
Santorum has had a rise in the polls. Michigan has 30 delegates at stake.
This will be a test for Romney who hopes his Michigan roots will help him with a win. Santorum hopes his contrasting views to Obama will provide a win.
Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) was responsible for raised eyebrows and a few slacked jaws Tuesday night.
Santorum swept the evening’s three Republican primaries in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado.
He won in Missouri with 55 percent of the vote.
He won Minnesota with 45 percent.
And he won Colorado, a state Mitt Romney won decisively in 2008. This was the only state where it was close: Santorum received 40 percent of the vote to Romney’s 35 percent.
The set of wins came after back-to-back Romney wins first in Florida and then Nevada, which seemed to cement the former Governor of Massachusetts as the GOP frontrunner.
Santorum’s wins show just as much about the Republican Party as they do about Santorum himself. Romney has been attacked by candidates and pundits for his record of not-quite conservatism as governor of Massachusetts, leaving some Republicans doubting whether he should be the candidate to run against the current president.
Santorum also touted a recent Rasmussen poll that showed him ahead of President Barack Obama by one point in a potential 2012 election. The same poll showed Obama beating Romney.
Newt Gingrich’s ongoing feud with Romney may also be having an affect on the race. In a press conference after the Nevada caucus — where Gingrich finished second — Gingrich slammed Romney for saying the poor had a “safety net.” The fiery Gingrich also called Romney a “Massachusetts moderate,” and has continued to stand by his statement that he will stay in the race until the Republican National Convention.
This isn’t to say that Santorum’s wins mean little for his own future in the race. While none of the three states awarded delegates last night, they provided much needed momentum to the conservative as the race continues.
Who would’ve thought it would be the audience — and not the candidates — that would be the major topic of Republican presidential debates in Florida?
After NBC News asked the audience to hold its applause until commercial breaks at a debate Monday night, presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich threatened to boycott future debates. The conflict raises the question of whether partisan crowds and “applause lines” are ethical in political debates, and how much control debate organizers should exercise over the crowd.
Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, said NBC was violating the free speech rights of audiences when it asked them to withhold clapping, cheers or boos. Gingrich is renowned as a powerful, biting speaker; his recent win in South Carolina has been attributed to successful debate performances.
The ex-Speaker’s fiery response to a question concerning his supposed request for an “open marriage” in CNN’s Republican debate in South Carolina last week was met with thunderous applause. Gingrich used the emotional moment to turn the tables and blame the media for America’s problems.
Some called Gingrich’s performance flat in NBC’s “quiet audience” debate — an observation that surely has played a part in Gingrich’s decision to protest the practice.
The Commission on Presidential Debates, which oversees the general election debates, does not allow for audience reaction — a fact that Gingrich will have to deal with if he comes out at the top of th
Former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney swept New Hampshire’s primary Tuesday night, but for many, the major focus was on which candidate would cement their place in the race with a second-place finish on Romney’s home turf.
Ron Paul did just that, placing second in the state’s primary with 23 percent of the vote. Jon Huntsman, the former Governor of Utah, placed third with 17 percent of the vote.
Paul’s (R-Texas) important runner-up victory came after finishing third in the Iowa Republican caucus, and according to Mr. Paul, has made him the clear alternative to Romney in the Republican race.
“I called Governor Romney and congratulated him earlier tonight,” Romney said to a crowd of supporters following the announcement that he had placed second. “He surely had a clear-cut victory, but with me nibbling at his heels!”
Paul’s speech brimmed with defiance as he decried the “status quo,” the federal reserve and America’s role as “the policeman of the world.”
Paul painted his platform as one founded in the defense of personal liberty, with cries like “victory for the cause of liberty” heard throughout.
Fox News’ exit poll showed that Paul beat Romney with Independent voters, receiving 32 percent of their votes to Romney’s 29 percent.
When asked if he would pursue an Independent candidacy for the presidency if he failed to win the Republican nomination, Paul stood firm and said that he had no such plans.
While Paul and his supporters had complained of being ignored by the media earlier on the campaign trail, it’s now clear that the representative from Texas will be closely watched as the race continues.
New Hampshire's primaries begin today, and the state is teeming with Republican candidates.
The New Hampshire primary, the second round of voting on GOP candidates, will take place on Jan. 10. This primary is usually seen as the voice for voters in the New England states, like the Iowa Caucus is seen as the voice for voters in the Mid-Western states.
New Hampshire, because of its size, gives the lesser-known candidates time to gain exposure after the Iowa Caucus, which was held on Jan. 3.
The past week in the small state has been a race for second place amoung many of the candidates, since most think that former govenor of Massachuettes Mitt Romney has already sealed first place and the majority of the delegates awared to him.
Though it is the first primary in the nation, it has had its big moments. In 1952, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower won the New Hampshire primary as a write in candidate, though he was still in Europe at the time. Eisenhower ended up winning the presidency that year as well.
Bill Clinton, on the other hand, didn't win New Hampshire in 1992, becoming the first candiate to not win the state and still become president.
After New Hampshire, the candidates will focus their sights South Carolina's primary on Jan. 21, where candidates will have the chance to win Southern hearts.
The Iowa Caucus, happening Jan. 3, is just around the corner, kicking off the voting season for the Republican ticket's presidential bid.
But with the presidential election still months away, you might wonder, "What's all the business with these caucuses and primaries, and why do they matter?"
The history of the Iowa Caucus goes back to the early 1970s, where it has been the first step in nominating the presidential candidates. Usually, caucuses are neighborhood meetings where community members can voice their opinions about the candidates for president. At those meetings, community members elect delegates for county conventions, where the national convention delegates are selected.
Those delegates, in turn, are the ones who nominate the candidate. In Iowa, this is serious business with the presidential elections around the corner. This year, since the Democrats already have their presidential nominee, the Republican candidates are canvassing the state of Iowa in hopes of securing a win.
After the Iowa Caucus, there are a series of additional caucuses and primaries in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida in January. These caucuses and primaries will lead up to Super Tuesday on March 6, which is a day of 10 state's caucuses and primaries. Usually after this day, it's clear who the front runner is.
In the 2008 elections, Americans didn’t know who the presidential nominee for the Democratic party would be until June 7, when Hillary Clinton conceded from the race and endorsed President Barack Obama.
The top runners right now in Iowa have been Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvanian senator Rick Santorum, based on polls. Santorum picked up supporters in Iowa in the past week, with much surprise from the other candidates.
Other republicans being voted on are Michelle Bachman, Jon Huntsman, Gary Johnson, Fred Karger, Andy Martin, Jimmy McMillan, Tom Miller, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Buddy Roemer, Matt Synder and Vern Wuensche.
Penn State College Republican Chairman Josh Crawford will take part in segment on Glenn Beck's television show.
Crawford, (seinor-crime, law, and justice) will appear on GBTV this Tuesday from 5-7pm.
Crawford said, the show will cover the Occupy Wall Street protests, and the importance of capitalism.
The idea is to get the opinions of people around the same age of those protesting.
GBTV is conservative television personality Glenn Beck's new live HD video network.
"[He's] one of the most influencial conservatives of our time, this is an incredible oppurtunity," Crawford said of his chance to talk with Beck. "I'm hoping we'll have time to sit down and have an informal conversation."
Crawford said producers asked him to join the show after he contacted them following the the Occupy Wall Street protests.
More information can be found on the GBTV website, web.gbtv.com
Centre County is moving up in class, as the county will go from a fifth class county to a fourth class county on Jan. 1, 2012.
Centre County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jon Eich said Centre County has been a fifth class county since 1980.
“To become a fourth class county, Centre County had to have at least 145,000 residents, including Penn State students,” Eich said. “The actual count, according to the 2010 Census, was 153,990.”
Due to the growing population, Eich said one of the offices in the Centre County government that is headed by an elected official would split into two offices in the 2015 elections.
In fifth class counties, one person is elected as Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts, he said. Fourth class counties split the position and the responsibilities, electing a separate Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts.
“The combined office currently is responsible for court filings for both civil and criminal cases,” Eich said. “After the split, the Prothonotary will be responsible for civil cases, and the Clerk of Courts will be responsible for criminal cases.”
The change will take place in 2015 because the positions are not up for election in 2011, Eich said.
The county will also receive more funding due to the change, Eich said, which will be put toward library funding.
The Penn State Council of Commonwealth Student Governments was posted in the White House E-book, “Winning the Future with Young Americans,” after CCSG members participated in a roundtable discussion with a White House official this past March.
CCSG leaders discussed the economy, the DREAM Act and other higher education issues with KalpenModi, Associate Director of the White House office of Public Engagement, CCSG President Peter Khoury said. The E-book summarized more than 100 similar youth roundtable discussions.
