|
For
Immediate Release August
15, 2005
For
More Information: Russ
Diamond
PACLEANSWEEP.COM
WELCOMES 38,000 VISITORS; 2200 SUBSCRIBERS Operation Clean Sweep (OCS),
a non-partisan movement aimed at replacing every Pennsylvania legislator
facing re-election in 2006, today announced its website, www.pacleansweep.com, has welcomed
over 38,000 unique visitors since July 18 with over 2200 of those visitors
taking the extra step of entering their personal email address to
subscribe to the group’s regular OCSAlerts. Another 330 participate in an
online discussion group sponsored by OCS. The group has also recruited
45 coordinators in 28 counties across the Commonwealth along with ten
candidates to date who have submitted the OCS Candidate’s Declaration,
which binds candidates to a pledge to repeal the pay raise, subject future
legislative pay raises to voter approval and enact a ten-day "cooling off"
period for all legislation once they take office. OCS candidates also
agree to place all other philosophical and political differences in a
secondary role to these objectives. “I’m astounded at the
response we’ve had to this very simple premise,” said OCS founder Russ
Diamond. “I never imagined there would be so many people across the
Commonwealth so anxious to rise up against the status quo. To me, it just
further underscores that the General Assembly truly has gone too far this
time.” Diamond
will be addressing the Pennsylvania Press Club at its monthly luncheon on
August 22 at the Hilton in Harrisburg. The event is open to the public and
will be taped beginning at
noon for
a later statewide broadcast on the Pennsylvania Cable
Network
(PCN). Tickets are $20.00 and must be obtained in advance by
calling
717.540.0296. The
Club’s invitation to Diamond is a bit of a departure for the group, who
have previously been addressed by senior lawmakers Brett
Feese,
H.
William DeWeese, David J. "Chip" Brightbill, Dwight Evans, John
Perzel, Vince
Fumo and other notable figures in the Commonwealth including Chief Justice
Ralph Cappy and US
Senator Arlen Specter. The
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Sunday reported a rumored boycott of the
event by some of its usual sponsors in the paper’s popular “Whispers”
column: “Word
has it that many of the PR types and lobbyists who make a living off state
government will be nowhere near the luncheon,” the report stated. “Some
want legislative leadership to know they don't want anything to do with
Diamond. Now, why would that be?”
Diamond intends to use the address to further detail the OCS strategy for defeating incumbents at the May 2006 primary election.
|
