Conservative outsiders become insiders in Pa. GOP

By PETER JACKSON - Associated Press Writer
June 12, 2010 2:42pm EDT
HERSHEY, Pa. — Pennsylvania's Republican State Committee got a pep talk Saturday from gubernatorial nominee Tom Corbett and a new perspective from former conservative outsiders who are now newly elected party insiders.
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With Democrats enjoying a 1.2 million-voter edge in statewide registration, Corbett urged each of the 359 committee members to reach out to at least five voters a day through the Nov. 2 election to tout the GOP message of smaller government, lower taxes and less spending.
"It's time to reclaim Harrisburg ... for the citizens of Pennsylvania," said Corbett, the state attorney general, who faces Democrat Dan Onorato, the Allegheny County executive. "We need the farmers to talk to the farmers, we need women to talk to women, we need business people to talk to business people."
The two-day gathering featured Friday night speeches by U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, the Californian who is the top Republican on the House oversight committee, and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.
But the main focus was the 80 new committee members, many of whom are affiliated with the conservative tea-party movement that has sprouted outside the political establishment.
While party leaders and other state committee members generally said they are eager to work with the new members, some of the conservative freshmen were more circumspect.
Among them are eight York County residents who belong to a local chapter of conservative commentator Glenn Beck's 9/12 Project. They ran together as an informal ticket in the May 18 primary, calling for an end to party endorsements in primary elections, which they say shut out worthy candidates who cannot match the party's resources.
One of them, Christopher Lau II, said he thinks the party emphasizes winning elections over conservative ideology too much.
"They're not giving people a substance to vote for," Lau said.
Fellow York County freshwoman Marie Hess said some state committee members seem receptive to change, but others are "used to doing the same thing, the same way, over and over again."
"I think we let people know that we're here," Hess said.
Troy Miller, another new member from York County, said he was previously registered as a Republican and decided that becoming more active in the GOP is the best way to effect change in a two-party system. He said he felt the initial reception from the state committee was "tentative."
Other state committee members expressed reservations about the prospect of the party embracing radical changes.
"I like the Republican Party. I like the way it is and I like the way it's going," said Peter Dolan, a committee member from Montgomery County.
Mike Barley, the state GOP spokesman, said participation at Friday workshops on campaigning and related subjects reflected strong interest in the political system.
"They've been better attended than anything we've had in the last decade," he said.

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