Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum will address the 2012 Pennsylvania Leadership Conference on Saturday, March 24, in Camp Hill, Pa.

This is the largest annual gathering of conservative movers and shakers in the state and Santorum, fresh off primary victories in the South, will get a chance to make his case for the Republican presidential nomination in the state he once represented in the U.S. Senate.

The Pennsylvania Leadership Conference will be held over a two-day period, March 23-24 at the Radisson Penn Harris Convention Center in Camp Hill.

Santorum is the latest addition to a growing program of activities planned for conference, according to organizer Lowman Henry.

From a press released issued by Henry:

This year's keynote address will be delivered by Fox News Senior Political Analyst Brit Hume. Also scheduled to speak are former Presidential candidate Herman Cain, film producer Ann McElhinney, U.S. Senator Pat Toomey, Lt. Governor Jim Cawley, Grover Norquist from Americans for Tax Reform and Human Events White House correspondent and political editor John Gizzi. Candidates for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator will debate at the conference luncheon on Saturday, March 24th.

Henry said there is also a good chance Newt Gingrich will attend the event.

Registration and complete information on the 2012 Pennsylvania Leadership Conference is available at www.paleadershipconference.org

Advocacy Group Releases Report on Benefits of Term Limits

Republicans had a great election in November 2010, picking up a solid majority in the House, 6 more Senate seats and the majority of governorships and state legislatures. Michael Barone says 2012 could be even better as voters reject Obama and the far left.

Politics by the Numbers: Good Omens for the GOP in 2012

The Associated Press has called the Democratic Party primary in Pennsylvania for U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak over incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter.

This was the most watched race in the country on Tuesday as voters continued to punish incumbents for the many failures of Washington. It also marks another humiliating defeat for President Obama, who endorsed Specter.

From the wire service:

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter has been defeated in a Pennsylvania primary in his bid for a sixth term after taking the risky step of switching to the Democratic Party.

Voters Tuesday picked U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak as the party's nominee and rejected the 80-year-old Specter in his first Democratic campaign.

With 65 percent of precincts reporting, Sestak received 339,402 votes, nearly 53 percent. Specter received 304,179 votes, about 47 percent.

The vote also was a defeat for President Barack Obama, who supported Specter when he abandoned the Republican Party last year.

The moderate Specter cast his switch as a decision of principle after inflaming the GOP by voting for Obama's economic stimulus bill. But many Democratic voters questioned his motives.

Sestak faces Republican Pat Toomey in the fall election.

From POLITICO:

The Washington think tank industry has launched a thousand blue-ribbon commissions and furrowed-brow panels to brood over the public's loss of trust in government and its leaders. Why are people so cynical?

Last week, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist raised his hand with the answer.

It turns out that one big reason people assume that politicians are slippery opportunists whose words can't be trusted is that many of them are slippery opportunists whose words can't be trusted.

Read the full article at the link below:

Great moments in opportunism - James Hohmann and John F. Harris - POLITICO.com

The death of powerful Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha brought all sorts of reaction from political figures in Pennsylvania and across the nation. Here's a sampling:

"Jack was a devoted husband, a loving father and a steadfast advocate for the people of Pennsylvania for nearly 40 years. His passion for service was born during his decorated career in the United States Marine Corps, and he went on to earn the distinction of being the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress. Jack's tough-as-nails reputation carried over to Congress, where he became a respected voice on issues of national security. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife of nearly 55 years, Joyce, their three children, and the entire Murtha family." — President Barack Obama.

"He was a public servant in every sense of the word and his passing is a great loss to all of Pennsylvania," said Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa.

"He was a good friend to me and my family for years. He was one of the first people to say to my father (the late Gov. Robert P. Casey) after he'd lost three times that he'd support him the fourth time for governor, and believed in him when a lot of folks didn't." — Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.

"Jack Murtha didn't just worry about his district. He worried about all of Pennsylvania and in some ways he worried about the entire country. He was really the congressman for the entire state of Pennsylvania. Sort of a super, uber-congressman," said Gov. Ed Rendell, D-Pa.

"(Murtha) served his country as a Marine in Vietnam and in Congress for more than three decades. He worked hard for western Pennsylvania and he consistently guarded the interests of our men and women in uniform," — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

"Today, our nation has lost a decorated veteran and the House of Representatives has lost one of its own. I was saddened to hear of John Murtha's passing, and my thoughts and prayers are with his friends and loved ones," — Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio.

"He's bigger than life in so many ways. ... He's a strong and powerful political titan, yet he's very human and very soft-spoken. He wasn't a table-banger in any sense of the word," — Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman T.J. Rooney.

"While the congressman and I often differed when it came to politics, he always had my deepest respect. The thoughts and prayers of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania go out to Jack’s family," — Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason.

"Jack served his country in uniform and in Congress for many years, and his service will long be remembered and appreciated by the people of Pennsylvania." — U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey

"John Murtha may have represented Western Pennsylvania, but he was the voice of hard-working Democrats across the Commonwealth. Representative Murtha's service to his country and the strength of his convictions made him a powerful force to be reckoned with on Capitol Hill. His career took him from Parris Island to Vietnam, from Harrisburg to Washington, D.C. He was a leader until the end, fighting for American values and middle class ideals. He stood up for veterans and stood firm in his beliefs, not caring as much about political expediency as what he thought to be in the best interest of his constituents and his country. I am deeply saddened by the passing of Congressman Murtha and extend my deepest condolences to his family." — Pa. Sen. Democratic Leader Robert Mellow.

We may be witnessing the biggest political upset since Truman defeated Dewey.

With 60 percent of the vote in, Republican Scott Brown is ahead of his heavily-favored Democratic opponent, Martha Coakley, in a special election to fill the remainder of Sen. Ted Kenney's unexpired term

The Massachusetts Senate seat has been held by the Kennedys since the early 1950s.

With 60 percent of precincts reporting, Brown has 53 percent of the vote to 46 percent for Coakley.

The Associated Press calls the race "a referendum on President Barack Obama's sweeping health care overhaul and his first year in office."

From the wire service:

A loss — or even a narrow victory — by the once-favored Coakley for the seat that the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy held for nearly half a century in this Democratic stronghold could signal big political problems for the president's party this November when House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates are on the ballot nationwide.

More immediately at stake was a critical 60th vote for the Democrats' supermajority, which is needed to save their health care legislation and the rest of Obama's agenda. The Democrats can't afford to lose a seat because a 41st Republican in the 100-member Senate could allow the Republicans to use procedural maneuvers to block votes on legislation.

The election transformed reliably Democratic Massachusetts into a battleground state. One day shy of the first anniversary of Obama's swearing-in, it played out amid a backdrop of animosity and resentment from voters over persistently high unemployment, industry bailouts, exploding federal budget deficits and partisan wrangling over health care.

Two of Politico's top analysts break down the Massachusetts Senate election.

Five things to watch in Massachusetts - Alex Isenstadt and Josh Kraushaar - POLITICO.com

With so much at stake, election watchdog groups are worried that Tuesday's special Senate election in Massachusetts is ripe for political shenanigans.

Election Experts Issue 'Orange Alert' for Massachusetts Special Election

Charlie Cook, a highly respected and non-partisan political analyst, has moved two more Pennsylvania Congressional seats from the Democrats' "Safe Column" to "Likely D" -- an indication of how difficult 2010 will be for incumbent Democrats thanks to the missteps of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

The latest incumbent Democrats on shaky ground are Patrick Murphy and Tim Holden. That brings the total number of Pennsylvania Congressional Democrats who are vulnerable in 2010 to 7, according to The Cook Political Report:

PA-3 Kathy Dahlkemper
PA-4 Jason Altmire
PA-8 Patrick Murphy
PA-10 Chris Carney
PA-11 Paul Kanjorski
PA-12 John Murtha
PA-17 Tim Holden

Republicans could retake a half-dozen Pennsylvania seats after poor showings in the 2006 and 2008 election cycles.

Key excerpts from The Cook Political Report:

PA-08 Patrick Murphy Solid D to Likely D

In bad years, parties find that tamping down problem districts is a lot like playing whack-a-mole. Democrats weren't counting on having to spend much time thinking about this seat in 2010, but former one-term GOP Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick's bid makes this district a new concern for Democrats. The 2006 race between Murphy and Fitzpatrick was one of the closest in the country: Iraq War veteran Murphy unseated Fitzpatrick by less than a percentage point in this suburban Bucks County district. Now, Republican leaders have succeeded in convincing Fitzpatrick, who is apparently healthy after a bout with cancer, to make a comeback…Murphy is a solid fundraiser with $624,000 in the bank, while Fitzpatrick must start from scratch. But the current state of affairs for Democrats in Pennsylvania means this rematch should only become more competitive.

PA-17 Tim Holden Solid D to Likely D

At the outset of the decade, Republican redistricting had caused some to leave Holden for dead. Instead, Holden has rather impressively made a happy home out of this GOP-leaning district…But now, GOP state Sen. Dave Argall, who shares Holden's Schuykill County base, is entering the race. Holden begins the race with a large reservoir of goodwill. In 2008, he took 64 percent of the vote while President Obama took just 48 percent here…But Holden has never had to run for reelection in this district in such a challenging environment.

The new blockbuster film "2012" depicts the end of the world in three years, but that scenario could come about in 2010 for the Democratic Party, which is poised to lose big in the midterm Congressional elections, crippling its far-left agenda and making Barack Obama a lame duck with two more years left in his term.

From Rasmussen Reports:

Republican candidates have extended their lead over Democrats to seven points, their biggest lead since early September, in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% would vote for their district's Republican congressional candidate while 37% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.

Support for the Republican party held steady from last week, while support for Democrats dropped slightly. Republicans have held the lead for over four months now. Democrats currently have majority control of both the House and Senate.

Voters not affiliated with either party continue to heavily favor Republicans, 44% to 20%.

Read more at Rasmussen Reports.

One year after the election of Barack Obama, voters could send a strong message they don't like the direction the country is headed by sweeping Republicans into office in the governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey and the special election in New York for a House seat.

Democrats fear triple blow on Election Day | csmonitor.com

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The most anticipated political documentary of the year, "Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted," will make its debut Thursday at the National Press Club.

"This movie shows as clearly as possible that journalism is dead," says John Ziegler, the writer and producer of 'Media Malpractice.'

Snippets of the film have been available on YouTube for months and have received hundreds of thousands of views.

"The level of detail in this production is staggering and it will remind millions of Americans that they were not presented a fair and honest portrait of the 2008 election because the media wanted Obama to win and they did everything in their power to see that Obama got elected," Ziegler said in a statement.

Here's a prediction. The Obama Media (the very same folks who idolize Michael Moore and Al Gore) will ignore the film. It will not be nominated for any awards. It will not be coming to a theater near you. It will not be reviewed by most newspapers.

You're going to have to search for the the film, but the effort is worthwhile.

If you can handle the truth, learn more about the film at www.MediaMalpracticeMovie.com

For more information about the Feb. 26 debut, follow the link below:

Media Malpractice Documentary to Premiere at National Press Club February 26th

"Americans always say they don't like royalty and hereditary connections. On the other hand, they really like families like the Kennedys."

That statement by N.Y. state Rep. Peter King, a Republican would is considering a run for one of New York's U.S. Senate seats, sums up the disturbing trend of a handful of families holding political power in the United States.

While we have the Bush family on the Republican side, it's mostly a Democratic trend, with Clintons and Kennedys leading the way.

Politico, the online political Web site, examines what some find as a disturbing trend toward an aristocracy handing political power to offspring and relatives.

Hell, even Jesse Jackson managed to get his son elected to Congress.

From the article by Charles Mahtesian:

All told, it's entirely possible that the Senate will be comprised of nearly a dozen congressional offspring by the end of Obama's first term as president.

"It's a very interesting American phenomenon, even though there is a line in the Constitution that says no title of nobility may be granted by the United States," says Stephen Hess, a senior fellow emeritus at the Brookings Institution and the author of "America's Political Dynasties." "Given where we started, it's interesting that this has developed."

Almost everyone agrees that the high cost of elections is making the world's most exclusive club seem even more exclusive. According to some estimates, the cost of winning Clinton's New York Senate seat in the special election in 2010 and the general election in 2012 will be in the neighborhood of $70 million.

"There are three issues behind this trend," said Bob Edgar, the president of Common Cause and a former Pennsylvania congressman. "Money is issue number one, money is issue number two and money is issue number three."

"It's an enormously expensive process to run for the United States Senate," added Edgar, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 1986. "And once someone runs for a Senate seat, there is a sense of ownership."

Read "Nepotism Nation: Dems embrace dynasty politics" at the Politico Web site.

President-elect Barack Obama has women to thank for his election.

A new survey finds that nationally, 56 percent of women (who were 53 percent of voters) voted for Barack Obama compared with 49 percent of men (who were 47 percent of voters, according to the Institute for Women's Policy Research

Follow the link below for more:

Women's Vote Clinches Election Victory: 8 Million More Women Than Men Voted for Obama

Democrats can start the celebration.

The Associated Press says Barack Obama has built a "near insurmountable" in the Electoral College on his way to becoming the first black president of the United States.

Obama had 202 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House, the AP says. McCain had 80, according to the wire service.

The popular vote is almost even, but it's the electoral votes that win the presidency.

According to the AP, Obama has won Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland and New Jersey, as well as the District of Columbia.

The wire service says McCain has won Utah, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, West Virginia and North Dakota.

Shortly before 9 p.m., The Associated Press projected Barack Obama as the winner in Pennsylvania based on exit polls and less than 8 percent of the state's precincts reporting.

The AP says Obama is winning Pennsylvania by a 65% to 34% margin over John McCain. Does that make any sense to anyone? The most generous polls had Obama ahead by 10% in Pennsylvania, which John Kerry won by just 2% over George W. Bush in 2004.

Something doesn't add up. How could Obama win the state by a nearly 2-1 margin? How could Obama win Pennsylvania by a wider margin that he won his home state?

... Unless the AP sampling comes from Philadelphia alone.

Here's something else that's strange. In Michigan, the most recent numbers have McCain ahead of Obama by a 51% to 48% margin, but the AP is calling Obama the winner there.

Based on exit polls, The Associated Press is calling the following states in the presidential race:

Obama won Vermont, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia, for 78 electoral votes.

McCain won Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma and South Carolina, for 34 electoral votes.

The news service also says the nationwide popular vote also favored Obama, 53 percent to McCain’s 47 percent.

If you haven't had a chance to tune in to "Talking Politics with Tony Phyrillas and Mike Pincus," you've been missing out on some of the best political talk on radio.

The program airs every Thursday at 5 p.m. on WPAZ 1370 AM and can also be heard online at www.1370wpaz.com and www.pottsmerc.com

My co-host, Mike Pincus, is a political consultant and strategist with more than 30 years experience. He's helped get dozens of people elected to local, county, state and national offices.

On a recent show, Mike and I took a stab at predicting the outcome of some of the races on the Nov. 4 ballot in SE Pennsylvania. Below is a recap of our predictions.

Keep in mind that these predictions are not how we would vote, but how we expect the races to turn out. (There are some third-party candidates on the ballot, but we're ignoring them since they don't have a chance of winning).

PRESIDENTIAL RACE
John McCain (R) vs. Barack Obama (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict McCain will win.

PRESIDENTIAL RACE IN PENNSYLVANIA
John McCain (R) vs. Barack Obama (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict McCain will win.

CONGRESSIONAL RACES
Pennsylvania 6th District
Incumbent Jim Gerlach (R) vs. Bob Roggio (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Gerlach will win.

Pennsylvania 7th District
Craig Williams (R) vs. Incumbent Joe Sestak (D)
Phyrillas predicts Williams will win. Pincus predicts Sestak will win.

Pennsylvania 8th District
Tom Manion (R) vs. Incumbent Patrick Murphy (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Murphy will win.

Pennsylvania 13th District
Marina Kats (R) vs. Incumbent Allyson Schwartz (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Schwartz will win.

Pennsylvania 15th District
Sam Bennet (D) vs. Incumbent Charlie Dent (R)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Dent will win.

PENNSYLVANIA STATEWIDE ROW OFFICES
Attorney General
Incumbent Tom Corbett (R) vs. John Morganelli (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Corbett will win.

Treasurer
Tom Ellis (R) vs. Rob McCord (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict McCord will win.

Auditor General
Incumbent Jack Wagner (D) vs. Chet Beiler (R)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Wagner will win.

See More predictions for Nov. 4 for Legislative races.