From today’s liberal Post-Gazette…

Leaders of the Republican State Committee this weekend struggled to bind the wounds of a fratricidal primary and ease the concerns of a conservative base skeptical of the party’s direction.

During a crisply choreographed meeting yesterday, committee members ratified the choice of the party’s elected leaders by making Cambria County’s Robert Gleason the new state chairman.

I’m going to do my best to reserve judgement on Gleason for now, but from what I have heard so far he is apart of the same Harrisburg RINO crowd that we conservatives just gave a good ass-whipping to. I am also not pleased that he donated $10,000 to failed reelection campaign of RINO Senate President, Bob Jubilirer, who was defeated last month by a conservative challenger in the Pennsylvania primary.

“The last 18 months has not been the best of times for Republicans,” noted Eileen Melvin, the outgoing chair.

With a clear reference to issues such as last year’s controversial, quickly reversed state legislative pay raise, she drew one of the day’s loudest rounds of applause when she said, “We have some great elected officials, we have wonderful grass-roots workers, but sometimes our elected leaders make policy decisions without party input and our workers feel like they just carry the bucket for the elephants.”

And where were you at last summer’s State Committee meeting when we had drafted a proposal condemning the actions of our Republican “leaders”, Eileen? Oh, that’s right. You supported the payjackers.

Several of the regional caucuses, meeting before the general session of the committee, approved resolutions protesting the state committee’s pre-primary decisions to give extensive financial support to legislative incumbents challenged by other Republicans.

That is a serious, serious issue to be addressed, but happily this time conservatives triumphed over the machine. All four of our closest watched races were a success despite being monstrously outspent by the incumbents with the help of the corrupt State Committee.

Hopefully, newly elected Chairman Gleason payed close attention to what just happened here last month and will have the wisdom to guide the State party back in a prosperous direction.