Philadelphia CleanSweep

Press On!

2006-03-19T01:09:00.000-05:00

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.

Bucks 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 I will provide the information as to the locations and purposes of the first of these events.

It Ain't About the Pay Raise

2006-03-03T11:22:00.000-05:00

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

PACleanSweep Meetup in King of Prussia

2006-01-20T11:53:00.000-05:00

Saturday, January 21: PACLEANSWEEP MEET-UP - All CleanSweepers are welcomed!

Holiday Inn Express (Lobby)
260 North Gulph Road
King of Prussia PA 19406
7:00 pm
Contact: montgomerycleansweep@gmail.com
(215) 499-1323

Note: PACleanSweep founder and Chair Russ Diamond and possibly other Board of Directors members will be at this meeting.

Philadelphia PACleanSweep Meeting - Jan 18

2006-01-16T10:26:00.000-05:00

Starbucks
(215) 925-5125
1005 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Wednesday, Jan. 18 @ 7pm

Agenda:

* Introduction to PACleanSweep for any new participants
* Candidate status statewide and in Philly
* Recent actions in SEPA
* Signature pledges and Response Team
* Schedule next meeting
* General discussion

This meeting is casual and should be only last about an hour.

Contact: Rob Lusch at 215-499-1323 or philadelphiacleansweep@gmail.com

Going to the Montgomery County Rally?

2006-01-04T17:48:00.000-05:00

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.

Agenda for Inaugural Philadelphia CleanSweep Meeting

2005-12-20T15:42:00.000-05:00

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

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The agenda for the evening:

1). Introduction to PACleanSweep and to one another.

2). Review of Philadelphia County's State Representatives and Senators.

3). Discussion about potential candidates.

4). How to support announced candidates.

5). Advancing CleanSweep's causes - rallies, letters, etc.

6). Regional cooperation with other counties' activities to help build numbers

Incumbent Response Teams

2005-12-20T14:19:00.000-05:00

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
Philadelphia County Coordinator
PACleanSweep
www.pacleansweep.com

Eastern PA CleanSweep Events

2005-12-15T22:14:00.000-05:00

Anyone from any county is welcomed (and encouraged!) to join any event. We could use, in particular, some help at the Collegeville Rally on Jan. 6 and at 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:

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

12/22 Philly CleanSweep Meeting: Confirmed

2005-12-14T21:26:00.000-05:00

Our first Philadelphia CleanSweep meeting will be held at:

1930 South 25th Street (between McKean and Mifflin)
Philiadelphia PA (215) 499-1323 (Rob's cell)
Thursday, December 22
7:00pm

If possible, please let me know in advance that you are coming. If you are unsure of CleanSweep's message, please check out http://www.pacleansweep.com/, e-mail me at philadelphiacleansweep@gmail.com, or come to the meeting and learn about us in person!

Thanks!

Rob Lusch
PACleanSweep

Philadelphia CleanSweep Inaugural Meeting

2005-12-14T12:58:00.000-05:00

Good afternoon, Philadelphia CleanSweepers!

I know many of you are energized and looking forward to getting CleanSweep moving in the City of Brotherly Love!

To that end, I propose that we get an inaugural meeting off the ground in Philadelphia on Thursday, December 22 at 7pm. What I would need from you folks is a suggested location. It can be a diner or any place that is appropriate for a meeting. I don't mind if we spend up to $40 on a meeting space in a library or something, either.

I do not expect the initial meeting, particularly so close to the holidays, to be too large. However, this is how we start.... :)

Most of you are already on the Montgomery and/or Bucks mailing lists, but now we have this one for specific issues related to Philly.

For those who are unfamiliar with PACleanSweep, we are a non-partisan (more like multi-partisan, really) organization. I have posted below the Founder's Statement by Russ Diamond. The text may also be found on our website at www.pacleansweep.com. It will explain our purpose.

Please pass this note on to your friends, family, and associates! We will also be posting local and regional information to our blog at http://philadelphiacleansweep.blogspot.com.

And please send suggestions for a location ASAP!

Together we WILL make a difference by putting real public servants in Harrisburg!

Thank you very much!

Robert Lusch
County Coordinator
PACleanSweep