Voter I-D Bill Could Come Up For Vote Today

State House members are working through amendments to the voter ID bill, which would require voters to show state or federal photo identification at the polls.
Democratic Representatives proposed nearly all of the 100 amendments to the legislation, in order to prolong floor debate.
Babette Josephs, a Philadelphia Democrat says the measure is unnecessary.

"There are severe penalties for this kind of behavior. That's why people don't do it. That's why people dont engage in this kind of behavior. That's why these kinds of requirements are nothing but a barrier."

Republicans say that barrier would keep people from casting illegal ballots. The sponsor, Representative Daryl Metcalfe of Butler County, says it follows a precedent.

"We drafted this legislation specifically to -- to follow along the same parallel lines as the Indiana legislation has progressed -- to require voter ID, photo ID by voters -- which has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. And we want to keep our legislation in line with what's been tested through the Supreme Court.'

In 2006, a similar bill to require voter ID passed the legislature but was vetoed by then-Governor Ed Rendell.
A final House vote on the proposal is expected as early as today.

Protests Against Right to Work Bill

Pennsylvania’s unions are mobilizing against a bill that would end mandatory union dues for public employees.

Teamsters packed the Capitol rotunda to oppose House Republican Daryl Metcalfe’s bill, which would let local and state public employees opt out of union membership. They chanted, “what time is it? Union time!” before the start of the rally, where Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Treasurer Frank Snyder said unions won’t be afraid to spend money on the fight against the bill. “We have our own PAC fund here, and we are no longer going to give a politician $500, a thousand dollars, and then go home and sit on our couch next Wednesday and hope they do the right thing.” He warned. “We are no longer going to do that. We are going to take our money, we are going to get our people out there, we are going to put boots on the ground. We are going to help those who help us.”

Metcalfe says the union opposition proved his point, and that leaders are, “trying to protect their six-figure salaries, trying to keep from being held accountable by their own membership. Because they believe that the only way to be – hold onto their power is to actually have the government be their enforcer.”

Similar bills have been introduced by Metcalfe and others in the past, but have never cleared both the House and Senate. Governor Corbett says he’d sign a right-to-work measure. He’s against stripping public unions of their collective bargaining power, though.

9 GOP Candidates for Lieutenant Governor

Nine Republican candidates will be on the ballot for lieutenant governor this spring including conservative firebrand Daryl Metcalfe.
Metcalfe, a five term Butler County State Representative, says he doesn’t view the lieutenant governor's position as a partnership with the governor, vowing to hold either Tom Corbett or Sam Rohrer accountable, and promising to run against his ticket mate in the next election should he raises taxes or increase spending.
The party’s endorsed candidate, Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley, disagrees with that approach to the job.

"I think that I’m looking forward to serving with Tom Corbett, to changing Pennsylvania and making it a place we can be proud of again. I’m not interested in using the lieutenant governor’s position as a weapon."

Metcalfe, who’s attracted international attention for his controversial comments about gays and lesbians, veterans, Muslims and other groups. Metcalfe says he’s confident he

"From Second Amendment coalitions, to those who are strong supporters of family values – the marriage between a man and a woman, protecting life. And the fiscal issues I’ve been working on. To try and reduce spending and reduce taxes. I’ve got a lot of folks across the state that support the work I’m doing to try and stop the excessive spending."

Political scientist Christopher Borick of Muhlenberg College gives the advantage to Cawley, saying the party endorsement carries weight in a race like the lieutenant governor primary, where voters aren’t paying close attention to the candidates.

Metcalfe Runs for Lt. Governor

Now that all of the nominating petitions have been filed for the May 2010 Pennsylvania primary a few surprise names are starting to bubble to the top. Conservative State Representative Daryl Metcalfe is among them. He filed petitions to run in the Republican Lieutenant Governor’s race. He says he has been talking about the possibility of a run with his wife and close political advisors since July but opted to keep his campaign “under the radar.” He says too often party powerbrokers get involved and try to force out candidates they do not like. He says he did not want that pressure and attention. Metcalfe has become well known for his fight against illegal immigrants and fiscal conservative proposals. Metcalfe says for too long the Lieutenant Governor has been a “silent sidekick to the governor” but he promises to be anything but that. He says he will serve as a watchdog of the governor, making sure he lives up to all of his campaign promises and works with the citizens best interests in mind. Metcalfe says if the governor falters he will be there to point it out to all Pennsylvanians. Further, Metcalfe says if the governor does not do the job for which he is elected, “I promise to run against him in the primary four years from now.” Metcalfe faces a crowded field. Also running is Billy McCue, Jim Crawley, Steve Johnson, Stephen A. Urban, John Kennedy, Chet Beiler, Jean Craige Pepper, and Russ Diamond.

Bill Proposed to Halt School Strikes in PA

A state representative is trying to make a change to the Pennsylvania Constitution in order to make school strikes illegal. Representative Daryl Metcalfe of Cranberry says school strikes impede with language in the constitution that calls for a “thorough and efficient system of public education”. Metcalfe says there only 13 states that have school strikes legalized, and he no longer wants Pennsylvania to be the school strike capitol of the nation.

State Rep. To have Protest in Harrisburg

With Governor Ed Rendell trying to find a way to close the $3.2 billion deficit in the state budget, a state representative from Cranberry is making sure the Governor doesn't raise income taxes. Representative Daryl Metcalfe will be protesting the tax on Tues., June 9 at the Capitol. He says the governor should be finding ways to eliminate inefficiencies that are within the budget, such as unnecessary jobs and bureaucratic processes, instead of looking for ways to accommodate the deficit. Metcalfe says taxpayers need to be a priority, and they cannot take more tax hikes. He encourages concerned taxpayers to join him to support their rights to not be taxed any more.