Why You Can’t Trust Bob Robbins and Good Reasons Not to Vote For Him!! (Part III)

.
Part III of a Series


Part I can be read HERE
Part II can be read HERE


(The following statements are my opinions, perspectives, and views after several years of volunteer work within the Mercer GOP. I served 12 years as a precinct committeewoman and 2 years on the PA GOP state committee.)




While driving around the county the other day I was pleasantly surprised to see that there are Republicans out there who refuse to support the continued reign of Senator Bob Robbins. This refusal is evident when you see a display of Republican campaign signs and either the Robbins sign is missing from the front yard OR, better yet, a BIROS sign is displayed. This could provoke Robbins and no doubt his people will be taking names and addresses. Robbins does not tolerate criticism or the audacity of non-support. Is there something seriously wrong with a local political machine, that has the operating principles of a Banana Republic? Allow me to share a few examples of how The Republic of Robbins retaliates against anyone who disagrees with the long-standing incumbent Senator.


First, there is the systematic purging of the local Republican committee to eliminate volunteers who may have a questionable loyalty to the incumbent circle of control. You may wonder what does it take to be part of the circle of control. I have an opinion about this; my view is that their judgment is based solely on self-interest, not on any higher principle (what an unfortunate, intolerable trait). I have witnessed the Senator aggressively forge ahead with a committed action to interfere in the democratic processes of the local Republican committee, not caring about the fall-out or damage to the character of hard-working committeepersons. Of course you have read in Part I and II of this series how Senator Robbins vilified, threatened, and screamed at me during an executive committee meeting (more details on this later in this article). Many other volunteers endured character assassination from his cronies, and as far as I know these people left the committee, thereby playing directly into the plans of the Republic of Robbins; viz., elimination of all contrary viewpoints. There are a couple brave souls who believe that the way to reform the Republican committee is from within, and they retain their precinct positions. These brave souls already have targets on their backs, and a recent perfect example of this, as reported to me, is that Senator and Mrs. Robbins groaned aloud during this past summer’s reorganization meeting when one of these brave souls was elected to a regional leadership position on the local Republican committee. The Senator complained audibly in a stage whisper, “There goes my support in that region of the county.” The only evidence that the Senator needed to make his judgment was the excellent reputation of this newcomer for fairness and honesty.


The second example of Senator Robbins and his Circle of Control’s vicious tactics occurred during a February 2008 executive committee meeting, when a planned attack was directed by this group on a newly appointed assistant chairman. The “straw man” that the group used to disrupt this meeting was that the assistant chairman had been appointed without the required quorum (the committee never has a quorum but business is conducted anyway as long as it does not contradict the interests of the Circle of Control). The real reason for the disruption of the meeting was simply “Pay-Back”; the new assistant chairman had once written a mildly critical letter to Senator Robbins about the sneaky, midnight pay raise vote. I have read that letter and in no way was it disrespectful; in fact, it is a letter which every voter would agree to sign. During this meeting, several of us were stunned to be subjected to the devious and harsh behavior of The Banana Republic of Robbins, including one disturbed individual repeatedly jumping from his seat, pointing his finger at the assistant chairman, and screaming at him. It was so bad that I was concerned for the safety of the assistant chairman as well as my own safety, and I contemplated calling 911. It was obvious that this attack was pre-planned with assigned disruptive “roles” to certain elected officials--three incumbents who jealously guard their dominant position within the Republican committee. If these three spent as much time on their elected offices as they do with the minutia of local politics, Mercer County citizens would be enjoying better service from their representatives. I might add that the assistant chairman endured the upheaval and conducted a stellar meeting.


Finally, during the turmoil of 2007 and 2008, there was a question raised about the failure of the local Young Republicans, to grow and assume a role in county politics. At that time, the YR‘s was led and advised by a co-sponsor whose residence was apparently out-of-state. This co-founder, clearly a member of the Robbins Banana Republic, appeared at meetings when a show of force was called for by the Senator and cronies. In an inquiry about the YR organization, a phone call was made to a staff member of the Harrisburg state YR office. What transpired thereafter is not fully known, but Senator Robbins bragged that the Harrisburg office immediately reported the inquiry to him. The Senator boasted that he “finds everything out, one half hour after it happens.” Next, the committee called a meeting of the Vice-Chairs to discuss the matter, and in response, Senator Robbins individually and privately pressured each of the Vice-Chairs to sign a document which the Senator had drafted, to prevent attendance at the meeting. This was a blatant and unnecessary action of the Senator, who escalated a helpful inquiry to a battle skirmish. This was his way of “bringing out the artillery”, a phrase which he enjoys using.


And now comes the irony: If the inquiry had been allowed to proceed, the local Republican committee would have discovered that the out-of-state resident YR co-founder was a Class III pedophile sex offender/felon in his state of residence (Class III connotes use of force). Instead, the discovery occurred accidentally when a mother of one of the felon’s victims saw the felon on a local television news report. Just imagine, if that mother had not called the television station, Senator Robbins would have succeeded in perpetuating the control of the YR organization by a convicted sex offender, and one can only wonder, was this person using his stature as a co-founder of a youth organization as a source of victims.


I offer this information to the public in order to shine a light on what is wrong with continuing another term of Senator Robbins. Fortunately, the voters have a choice this Fall election, and it is not inevitable that they must re-elect an ineffective incumbent. A grassroots, patriotic American who wants to do better things for our voting district, is the perfect alternative.  She is Roberta Biros. 

NOTES:
 
This article represents Part III of a Series

Part I can be read HERE

Part II can be read HERE

.