“A Lifetime of Accountability”

1. Is it moral?

2. Is it constitutional?

3. Does it preserve individual freedom and responsibility (vs. Strengthening government control)?

4. Does it preserve and strengthen the traditional family?

5. Is it in the best interest of the general public (vs. only special interests)?

6. Is it necessary?

7. Should it be done on the federal level?

8. Is this an effective and efficient way to do it?

9. Do we have the money to pay for it?

When Sam was a teenager, a pastor shared with him a five point

checklist for making tough decisions. Sam carried and used that

checklist through high school and college, through 15 years

in business, and onto the floor of the PA House of Representatives,

where he modified it to meet the demands of legislative votes.

It is Sam’s “Voting Integrity Checklist”.

For nearly 18 years in the Legislature, Sam used this simple

checklist when voting. Sam guarantees you, that when

elected, he will carry it (modified for federal use) to

Washington as my commitment to making

principle-based votes and choices on your behalf.

By James Loewenstein

WYSOX TOWNSHIP – During a visit to the Towanda area, including a town-hall meeting in Wysox, U.S. Senate candidate Sam Rohrer called for deep cuts in federal spending, said he had never voted for a tax increase during his 18 years as a state legislator, and said the United States should provide a military role that would “back up” Israel if it launched a preemptive strike against Iran.

Rohrer, who served as a state representative from 1992 to 2010 in the Pennsylvania Legislature, said he led the field of GOP candidates for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania in two independent polls by the Public Policy Opinion polling organization, the first in November and the second done last month.

In the latest Public Policy Opinion poll, Rohrer was preferred by 16 percent of those polled, Tom Smith had 12 percent; David Christian had 10 percent; 8 percent preferred Mark Scaringi, and 5 percent preferred Steve Welch, the candidate endorsed by the Republican State Committee. But 48 percent of those polled said they didn’t know who they would vote for yet. The poll had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4 percent. Rohrer said he also led the pack of GOP candidates in a recent poll by Susquehanna Polling.

“We’ve been leading (in the polls) primarily because of name recognition,” said Rohrer, who is from Berks County. “The other candidates have not run for office before and have not held office.”

Rohrer said his campaign organization is more developed than the other candidates’.

“We have the broadest number of volunteers across the state,” he said.

But he said that even though he is leading in the polls, the winner of the Republican nomination could be someone else since there are still a high number of undecided voters, and since there are other GOP candidates who are much more wealthy than he is, including Welch.

“I don’t bring millions (of dollars) to the table that these other guys do,” he said.

It was Rohrer’s legislation that established the Educational Investment Tax Credit (EITC) in Pennsylvania. “That was our approach for providing school choice,” he said.

The EITC is a tax credit given to businesses that help pay for students to attend private or parochial schools.

Rohrer said the EITC has become “a national model.”

The EITC “is a way to provide school choice without getting entangled in lawsuits or other (legal) challenges from groups such as the ACLU,” he said. So far, no was has filed a legal challenge to Pennsylvania’s EITC program, he said.

Rohrer estimated that the EITC has assisted over 175,000 students since it was established, he said.

Rohrer discussed the United States’ financial situation at the town hall meeting, which was held at the Wysox Fire Hall and was attended by a dozen people.

“We are effectively broke as a nation,” said Rohrer. “If it weren’t for the fact that we are the reserve currency of the world, we would be worse off than Greece. Our numbers are worse than Greece’s.

“The debt of this nation is more than the GDP (gross domestic product) of the world by a couple of times. We owe about $100 trillion in promises already made to Social Security, Medicare and those programs, as well as other obligations we have.”

Rohrer said it would not be possible for U.S. citizens or their children to pay off the $100 trillion in federal obligations in their lifetimes.

“Getting spending under control is the only thing that can give us assurance, give us some strength to back our currency,” he said, adding that China, Russia, India and Brazil “are calling for a new currency. They don’t want the dollar anymore.”

Rohrer said that, in order to determine where to cut federal spending, the line items in the federal budget need to be examined using a series of questions, such as whether the line item is “constitutional,” whether it is necessary, and whether it is an efficient or effective way to accomplish goals.

In fact, he said that entire departments in the federal government need to be eliminated, either immediately, or phased out over a number of years.

The Department of Energy, for example, “was never authorized under the Constitution” and has failed to achieve its goal of making the United States energy independent, he said.

He said he would phase out the federal Department of Eduction over four years. Education is “a parent” issue first and then a “state” issue, he said.

The federal Labor Department should also be eliminated, he said. “Why do we need a labor department at the federal level? It’s a state issue,” he said.

He said he would also eliminate the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“If you would take out the obligations of several of these big departments, you would just about have dealt with our deficit problem,” he said. He said the departments he wants to eliminate should only exist on the state level, if they need to exist at all.

But one person who attended the town-hall meeting said the departments that Rohrer proposed eliminating were “small beans” compared to other federal spending, and suggested that military spending be cut.

While Rohrer said that military spending could be cut to a degree, he said that President Obama’s recommendation to cut military spending by half a trillion dollars is excessive.

While the United States shouldn’t be the “world’s policeman,” and shouldn’t be involved in so many military conflicts around the world, it needs to be the “number one military” in order to be able to defend and protect U.S. citizens at home and abroad.

During the town-hall meeting, the chairman of Rohrer’s Bradford County campaign, Victor Lawson, criticized the Republican State Committee for endorsing Welch for U.S. Senate this year, saying that Welch had recently switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party and was a supporter of President Obama and Democrat Joe Sestak, who had run for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania in 2010.

In an interview, Rohrer said he is proud of his 18 years of “consistent” voting as a state representative.

“I never flip-flopped on issues,” he said. “I was always consistently conservative … and consistently pro-Second Amendment and pro-life.”

Rohrer said he made a pledge when he ran for state representative that he would not vote for a tax increase, and he said he kept that pledge throughout the years he served as a state representative.

As for the United States’ involvement in Afghanistan, “I don’t see a compelling reason for the United States to remain there,” Rohrer said.

“I’ve been looking for some time to get a real definition of what our mission is” in Afghanistan, he said. “If it’s to frustrate the Taliban and Al-Quaeda, that’s happened. If it’s to eliminate them from the face of the earth, I don’t think that’s going to happen in Afghanistan, because they’ve already moved elsewhere in the world.”

“Afghanistan tends to be viewed as the burial place for nations. Many countries have gone in there, but they never come out,” he said. “If we don’t have a defined mission better than what I’ve heard, I think we ought to get out of there and bring the guys home.”

As for U.S. policy on Iran and its nuclear program, Rohrer said: “The common question is: Should the United States do a pre-emptive strike against Iran? I don’t think we should be the ones to do that.”

However, he said, “We should support Israel and back up Israel if they reach the point where they feel they need to do that.”

And that assistance to Israel would be military assistance, such as refueling Israeli planes in mid-air if they went on a bombing mission over Iraq or assisting Israel if its ships were attacked, he said.

By COLIN HOGAN

SAYRE – While making his way across Bradford County Friday, U.S. Senate candidate Sam Rohrer made a stop in Sayre before speaking at a town hall meeting in Wysox.

Rohrer, an 18-year veteran of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, is joining at least four other republicans who are vying for Bob Casey’s (D) U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania.

Though he has spent his political career serving constituents at the state level, Rohrer said he wishes to make the jump to Washington to help correct what he calls a “dysfunctional” Senate.

“My heart has always been at the state level,” said Rohrer. “But, unfortunately we are going to be affected by Washington for years to come. The Senate is the most dysfunctional portion of the legislative branch, and it needs fixing.”

Rohrer is a self-proclaimed “constitutional conservative,” and said he uses the principles established in the Constitution as his primary influence on how he votes.

“My views fall to the Constitution, not the party,” Rohrer said.

He carries with him a “voting checklist,” which outlines nine simple questions he said he asks himself before considering any vote: Is it moral? It is constitutional? Does it preserve individual freedom? Does it strengthen the traditional family? Is it in the best interest of the general public? Is it necessary? Should it be done on the state level? Is this an efficient/ effective way to do it? Do we have the money to pay for it?

He has received endorsements from both Michelle Bachman and Herman Cain, and said he believes he is Pennsylvania’s “true conservative candidate.”

“I don’t make my votes based on who make me the best deal,” Rohrer said. “I simply vote based on conservative, constitutional principles.”

As a conservative, Rohrer is staunchly against the federal government creating a climate of spending and regulation. However, he feels that too much spending and regulations are only the symptoms of what has gone wrong in Washington. To him, the real problem is “folks not following their responsibility to the constitution.”

One issue he said he would like to see the Senate take a more “constitutional” stance on is our nation’s immigration policies. He said he believes the laws in place are perfectly suitable to addressing the issue, but believes the current administration has failed in properly enforcing them.

“The law is fine,” he said. “It is the enforcement of the law that is the problem.”

Rohrer believes the federal government spends far too much accommodating illegal aliens, and that the first step toward solving the problem is to cease any government services that go to those who are here illegally.

“We cannot, and must not, provided tax payer services to those who are here illegally,” Rohrer said. “We need to stop the bleeding by enforcing the law. If we stop providing them all with free services, most will go back themselves.”

When regard to entitlement programs, Rohrer would like to see the federal government removed from the equation. He said he would like to see federal Medicaid mandates eliminated and have the program turned over to the states. He believes the program could aid more people, at a lower cost, if counties were given more control over the benefits they issue.

Rohrer said the federal Medicare and Social Security programs unsustainable, and alleged that “both are eventually going to come to a complete stop.” He said he would like to see the programs abolished at the federal level and would like to see Social Security get replaced with a privatized system.

Rohrer feels the first step in transitioning from Social Security is to “cut off the people coming into the program.”

“At some time, you have to define the end,” he said. “Then you can begin to enter people into a privatized system.”

However, when asked if it is constitutional to force citizens to buy into a private sector program, Rohrer said the role of the government, in that situation, would only be having “an interest in incentivising citizens to go down that path,” but asserted that “retirement is a personal responsibility,” and that it needs to be “something every father teaches his children to invest in,” not a government-issued entitlement.

When it comes to foreign policy, Rohrer believes “our military needs to be second to none.” However, he denounced our nation’s presence in Afghanistan, calling it the “burial place for civilizations long gone.”

“We ought not to consider ourselves the world’s police,” he said. “That was not the founders’ intent in the Declaration of Independence.”

He said he has strong objections to our country’s recent habit of fighting in “conflicts,” rather than declaring war, saying that “conflicts are unconstitutional.”

“Without declaring war, our mission is not well defined, the terms of engagement are not well defined, and the exit strategy is not well defined,” Rohrer said.

Rohrer also listed several federal departments and programs he would like to see seriously scaled back, if not done away with completely, including: The Department of Energy, Department of Labor, Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”).

Above all, Rohrer said he wants to restore citizens’ trust of their politicians by always voting “morally and constitutionally.”

“We need to restore trust in Washington,” he said. “A free republic cannot survive if the people can’t trust those who serve them.”

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HARRISBURG, PA – Herman Cain endorsed United States Senate candidate Sam Rohrer in an address today at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference.  Cain strongly urged conference attendees to boldly support the Sam Rohrer campaign.  Later in the afternoon, Sam Rohrer won the conference straw poll by more than a two to one margin, handily outdistancing his four primary opponents.

“I continue to be encouraged by what I am seeing from the voters of this great Commonwealth each and every day,” stated Rohrer.  “The momentum on this campaign is clearly on our side and I am humbled today to receive the endorsement of Herman Cain and thank the conference attendees for their incredibly strong show of support.”

Earlier in the day, Rohrer launched his “Red Truck Tour.”  The Rohrer pickup truck trek begins an aggressive, month-long, 100 stop, push for conservative voters before the April 24 Primary Election contrasting the conservative leader’s record and credentials from the rest of the field.  Rohrer was joined by Herman Cain at the Two Cousins Pizza restaurant in Harrisburg at the first official stop on the tour.

“The voters of Pennsylvania want truth, not just talk,” continued Rohrer.  “We look forward to spreading our message of truth and accountability in government across this great Commonwealth as we propose real solutions to the problems that are facing Pennsylvanians today.  I have aggressively fought for Pennsylvania for the last 20 years and voters can be confident that where I have stood in Pennsylvania, I will stand in Washington.”

There is a stark reality being felt by Pennsylvanians right now. This is harsh reality in the loss of jobs, increasing gas prices, rising costs at the grocery store, higher prices for children’s clothes, severely rising education costs and losses in the value of our homes. These increased costs and investment losses are both alarming and threatening.

You must understand that China and the Middle East are contributors to your experiences in these hard times. However, the Obama-Casey failures in managing trade and energy issues here at home are the root causes for our distress.   China is the largest creditor to the United States and has a very powerful influence over our Nation.  The Proverb could not be truer — “the borrower is servant to the lender”.  The loss of American jobs is verified in each purchase you make with “made in China” stamped on your products.  China still carries trade surpluses with the United States.  It is the world’s factory and second-largest economy after the U.S.   This year alone, that surplus was approximately $26 billion in the first two months, $5 billion higher than the same period last year. New dollars are paid to China for the purchases we made creating this trade surplus.

China is no small matter for a United States Senator’s focus and understanding.  In Pennsylvania, leaders in industry and the business community have a right to understand my policy views as your future United States Senator. Foreign policy and international trade are a high priority when it comes to China. We’re living in an increasingly integrated and highly complex global world.

For many of you, I know this is a subject felt in daily living but not fully understood.  Making this Commonwealth resourceful and competitive requires global business experience and understanding.  But let me make one point clear, government planning cannot and will never be able to produce morality, virtue, hard work, self-control and personal industry that has made America great.

Europe, Russia and China have used centralized political power as a substitute for what we know is American exceptionalism. Their results have been historically tragic. The liberal and progressive Democratic Party ideologies of Obama-Casey, driven by ambition for power and larger government, will never achieve what the inherent and unique American fundamentals have accomplished.

But, the issues are not just about trade – even though the excesses of our nation’s debt obligations put America at great economic risk.  My role, if elected your Senator, also requires a clear understanding about America’s commitment to human rights and individual liberty, in the cases of China and other nations.   China lacks fundamental freedoms – speech, liberty, assembly, and the press.   United States policy is necessary to press for change in China’s political and religious freedom abuses.  China cannot have economic freedom without political and religious freedoms. As Candidate for the Senate, Sam Rohrer clearly understands these issues.

In addition to human rights issues, controlling the China debt problem is also of paramount importance.  Rising Presidential budget deficits, Treasury debt refinancing and potentially enormous interest payments equal massive future US debt burdens.   Given an increasingly dangerous dependence on borrowing from other nations and the stark fact that China may not be our future creditor, make obvious a future which could increase America’s vulnerability to collapse.

The enormous spending on discretionary entitlements must stop and government should be drastically downsized.   I will not participate in raising taxes in the United States Senate. I will follow a course to free private sector entrepreneurial growth by eliminating unnecessary regulations.

So, I say again, the 2012 federal elections are perhaps the most important of our lifetime. Electing a new majority to the US Senate Congress is essential for restoring freedom and liberty.  Those of you watching this video must help me as well as other Constitutional Republican Senate candidates in this Nation.  I ask you to help me help America.

I’m Sam Rohrer, Candidate for the United States Senate. I’ll be one of the courageous. One of the bold—and that’s the truth.

The Obama-Casey regime poses a three-fold threat against our religious freedom, the freedom to educate our children, and against the protection of our senior citizens.

Help me, and other Constitutional Republicans across this Nation, help America. I’m Sam Rohrer, Candidate for the United States Senate. I’ll be one of the courageous. One of the bold—and that’s the truth.

Dear Friends of the Second Amendment:

Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund is proud to endorse Pennsylvania’s Sam Rohrer for U.S. Senate.

In a time when politicians in Washington have abused and grossly exceeded their constitutional limits, voters are looking for fighters who are not afraid to rein in the federal government and place it back under the constraints of the U.S. Constitution.

State Representative Sam Rohrer is a long-time leader in the battle against federal intrusion, especially when it concerns the right to keep and bear arms.

Representative Rohrer stood up for gun owners and states’ rights with legislation to repeal the 2005 Real ID Act, a law that would have compromised the privacy of gun owners.

“I am deeply concerned about how the rights of law-abiding gun owners will be impacted by the implementation of the REAL ID Act,” said Rohrer. “The Second Amendment clearly states that our right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed upon. Thus, it is safe to say that Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and the rest of our nation’s Founding Fathers would not even consider carrying around a biometric, REAL ID card that would allow the federal government to instantly track their activities and whereabouts.

“Make no mistake about it, REAL ID holds the unmatched potential to violate our Second Amendment liberty as we know it,” Rohrer continued. “Whether you’re actually buying a firearm or purchasing shells or bullets for hunting, recreational target shooting or self-defense makes no difference.

“The store will scan your REAL ID card, and your purchase could be permanently registered in the federal government’s national driver’s license registry. In essence, the federal government could also have the ability to limit the amount of guns and ammunition you’re allowed to purchase or own.”

Rep. Rohrer also authored and introduced the Tenth Amendment Resolution, which calls for aggressive opposition to the size and growth of federal programs, regulations and mandates from Washington D.C.

“Before there was ever a federal government, there were sovereign individual states. The Constitution very, very clearly recognizes that we are a Republic,” said Rohrer.

In Harrisburg, Representative Rohrer has stood up and supported every pro-Second Amendment bill that came up in the State House, including:

* Castle Doctrine legislation, which strengthens existing laws dealing with the use of lethal force for the purpose of self-defense;

* Legislation to allow individuals with a valid Pennsylvania license to carry a firearm to purchase additional guns without the cumbersome, expensive and redundant requirements of subsequent background checks through the Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS).

* Legislation that enables law-abiding individuals who can demonstrate evidence of imminent danger to themselves or a member of their family to receive a 90-day temporary emergency license to carry a firearm, allowing sufficient time for the gun owner to protect himself or herself during the usual 45-day wait that ensues while applying for a regular license to carry a firearm under current state law; and,

* Legislation calling for Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies, specifically the state police, to discontinue its database of legal handgun purchases. Those records include personal information about gun owners, such as mailing addresses and Social Security numbers. The bill also sets a third-degree felony penalty and a fine up to $5 million for maintaining an illegal gun registry or database.

“Gun owners across this Commonwealth are justifiably outraged any time they are mandated by government to endure a loss of Constitutional freedom and personal security,” said Rohrer.

“When government is not properly enforcing the laws that already exist to curtail violent crime, it is nothing short of tyranny in the first degree to place additional restrictions on law-abiding citizens whose only desire is to defend their lives, their loved ones and their property.”

Gun Owners of America is a proud supporter of Sam Rohrer for Senate, and encourages all Pennsylvania gun owners and sportsmen to vote for Sam Rohrer in the April 24 Republican primary.

Please visit www.rohrerforsenate.org to learn more about this race.

Sincerely,

Tim Macy
Vice-Chairman

The President of the United States is acting in outright defiance to the limitations on his power. In one blatant act after another, he is robbing the American people of the freedom protected in our Constitution. I make a bold statement—I know. But it’s the truth and if we don’t stop it we soon won’t have the power anymore.

Perhaps you saw President Obama’s State of the Union Address and know that he created positions of power that do not exist under the Constitution. To these positions, which he called “czars” he gave the power to override Congress—the very body whose job it is to keep the President in check! And the President made clear, in unmistakable terms, that if Congress tried to challenge him he would go around them without hesitation.

And there’s more. With the help of Senator Casey and the Senate Democrats, the President has managed to give himself the power to spend at will.  It’s important to understand that since no budget has been passed during his tenure, the President is free to spend without constraint, making it possible for a crippling 3 trillion dollar increase in spending while Congress can do little more than watch. Without a budget, there is no control over Executive Branch spending. No budget –means opening our wallets to an out of control Executive branch that sets its own budget and determines itself the boss.

And there’s more yet. The President’s own Secretary of Defense declared that the President may declare war—without consent of the Congress as required by the Constitution—just so long as he has the support of the United nations and NATO!  This President, with Senator Casey’s rubber stamp, is flat out ignoring the Constitutional limitations on his own power. This is unprecedented, it’s incredibly dangerous and it’s very scary. Power is literally being ripped out of the hands of the People’s Congress. The attack on our Constitution and the blatant disregard for the separation of powers is effectively replacing a Constitutional America with one in which the President has all the power.

So what can be done? Courageous action must be taken. Congressmen and Senators must boldly step forward and challenge these unconstitutional actions on the part of the President.  They’re violations of the oath of office. It’s an attack against the Constitution that protects the freedoms of every American. The House must initiate corrective actions. They must bring all those who are violating their sacred oath before the Congress in special proceedings so that the American People can see clearly all that is happening. Most importantly, America must place a Constitutional Republican majority in the Senate in order for such actions to go forward.

The 2012 federal elections are perhaps the most important of our lifetime. Unless a new majority is elected to the US Senate congress will not be able to turn back the tide. Those of you watching this video must help myself and other Constitutional Republicans across this nation who are running for the US Senate.  I ask you to help me help America.

Again, I’m Sam Rohrer, Candidate for the United States Senate. I’ll be one of the courageous. One of the bold—and that’s the truth.