'R' is for Everything Republican at Richland Repast (Dinner)

Congressional candidate Keith Rothfus made things easy to remember at Thursday night's Republican Committee of Richland Township meet-and-greet dinner.

He emphasized the letter "R".

"Romney, Ryan, Rothfus," he said to start his speech at the dinner in the Richland Community Park Barn in reference to presidential candidate Mitt Romney and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan.

Rothus joined House Majority Leader Mike Turzai and Allegheny County Republicans Chairman Jim Roddey to speak before the group.

By the time he finished, his "R" list had expanded to Romney, Ryan, Rothfus, Republicans, Roddey and Richland.

He also called for the repeal of "Obamacare" and the reform of the tax code and spending policies.

Rothfus is running against Democrat Mark Critz to represent the 12th District in the U.S. House.

Jim Roddey

For years, political pundits and politicians have said, "This is the most important election of our lifetime," Roddey quipped.

"It's finally come true," he said.

Roddey emphasized the importance of getting to the polls.

"We have got to get our vote out," Roddey said. "We've all got to get everyone we can to go to the polls."

"Barack Obama has to win Pennsylvania to win the presidency," Roddey said. He predicted western Pennsylania will be the battleground that decides who wins the state.

Rep. Mike Turzai

Turzai, whose 28th House District includes Richland Township, received applause when he noted the Legislature did not raise taxes.

He ticked off a list of Republican accomplishments in Harrisburg and noted the top two priorities are fiscal responsibility and private sector jobs.

We've not only talked the talk; we've walked the walk," Turzai said.

He spoke about his support for vouchers as an alternative for low-performing schools and said he is not "anti-public schools."

"When you are leading, you will get criticism," Turzai said. "Voter ID has been controversial."

He pointed out, as he has in the past, that a photo ID is need to check into a gym and to get certain medicines at a drug store.

"The integrity of (a) vote matters," Turzai said. "I'm not saying (fraud) it's rampant."

The crowd applauded when he said he wanted a level playing field in voting.

The House also has passed legislation to reduce the size of the Legislature from 203 to 153 members in the House and from 50 to 38 members in the Senate, he said.

Turzai said the bill is in the Senate now.

"This is an all-American community with the best America has to offer," Turzai told the Richland audience. "And I'm proud to be here tonight."