Pay raise round up

A new poll shows this issue just won't go away. You can find the details in the Philadelphia Daily News:

Seventy-nine percent said legislators didn't deserve the pay hike they dealt themselves in July, and 46 percent said they're less likely to vote for a state representative who approved it.
The good news for incumbents is that nearly two-thirds don't know whether their state lawmakers voted for the raise or not. But if a challenger manages to reach voters with that message, he has an issue.

There is a web site that wants to defeat every incumbent called Operation Clean Sweep. It's mission statement:

Operation Clean Sweep is not a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Constitution or Green Party movement. It's us vs. them. The governed vs. the government. The taxpayers vs. the tax spenders.Are you outraged at the recent legislative pay raise? Are you fed up? Are you genuinely ready to make a real change in Pennsylvania? If so, this is your chance to set things straight.In 2006, all 203 members of the House of Representatives and 25 of our 50 Senators must face re-election. With your help, we can give them all a run for their money by seeking out qualified candidates - in non-partisan fashion - to challenge the incumbents in both the Primary and General elections.

It is operated by a gentleman named Russ Diamond and claims to have 23 candidates ready to challenge incumbents but has not listed their names yet. It's an ambitious but probably unrealistic goal.

A group that is really getting under the skin of the powers that be is InformedPA. They have been buying billboards and airing radio ads in the districts of the leadership of both parties attacking the pay grab. It is the brainchild of the Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania headed by Chris Lilik who operates the best website devoted to PA politics, Grassroots.com. This effort seems to have started something of a civil war in the Republican Party detailed by Madonna and Young at PoliticsPA:

These are young, conservative Republicans, among them many Internet bloggers who have gone well beyond Internet chatter to lead a full scale rebellion against those who voted for the pay hike, including the leaders of their own party. Many of these bloggers express anger and hostility at the Republican establishment, safely ensconced in the seat of power in the state capital.

The outrage is not limited to conservatives and Republicans; Kevin Shaw of PAforDemocracy has a petition on his home page to repeal the pay raise. And Keystone Politics has been covering it extensively.

I know the 2006 election is a long way from now but judging by the reaction of people I talk too and the continued coverage in the media it's not going away.