Sam Rohrer's views fit some voters to a tea

STATE REP. Sam Rohrer calls himself a "constitutional Republican," the kind of guy who seems tailor-made for the tea-party angst that has roiled conservative and libertarian voters.

Rohrer, who since 1992 has served nine terms in the state House from Berks County, has courted that movement's cultural and partisan passions as he seeks the Republican nomination for governor.

But Rohrer, the underdog to state Attorney General Tom Corbett in the May 18 primary, is not playing to that crowd with bumper-sticker slogans.

Instead, the man who spent two years managing a radio station and 12 years as marketing director for a company that sold baby products, offers dry analysis of the state's financial woes and ideas on how to fix them.

"We are insolvent right now," Rohrer said, noting that the state brings in about $24 billion a year and spends $28 billion. "I'm really running because I'm concerned about where we're going to be two years from now."

The plain-spoken Rohrer has emerged in the crowded field - two Republicans, four Democrats - as the man most willing to speak his mind. He calls for significant cuts in state spending on welfare, corrections and education.

On welfare, Rohrer says he has anecdotal information that state intake workers are not requiring applicants to prove citizenship.

On corrections, Rohrer says that too many substance abusers and nonviolent offenders are in prision when they should be handed off to "faith-based programs."

On education, Rohrer has long called for the elimination of local property taxes to fund public schools. Instead, he would expand the state sales tax.

Rohrer, who is not running again for his House seat, has been willing to take on his own political party to get his message out.

He held a "Mobilize for Liberty" rally in Harrisburg on the same day in February when the GOP leadership gathered to endorse Corbett for governor.

But, while the tea-party crowd is sometimes known for harsh rhetoric toward those considered not conservative enough, Rohrer has steered clear of that tactic. His exchanges with Corbett have been mostly polite.

"I have never campaigned negatively in my 18 years," Rohrer said. "You won't find that coming from our campaign. I don't think it's appropriate."

Corbett has also been civil. He throws two reliable jabs at Rohrer - the legislator voted for a controversial 2005 pay raise for the General Assembly and 2001 legislation for a large pension increase for retired state workers.

Rohrer did go after Corbett for a comment about the U.S. Constitution being a "living document" - red meat for tea-party fans.

Rohrer said that thinking allows "activist courts" to wrongfully tinker with public policy. He believes the courts were designed by the country's Founding Fathers to be the weakest of the three branches of government, with the legislature most powerful and the executive somewhere in between.

Rohrer grew up in Ohio and attended Bob Jones University. The ultraconservative South Carolina school awarded him its 2009 alumni-achievement citation.