Westmoreland County Takes a Bold Step — and where is Venango County’s Leadership?

While 2012 remains a critical year in terms of a national conservative movement to take back the White House, in Pennsylvania, 2012 marks growing resistance to traditional efforts on the part of its GOP leadership to control the outcome of primary elections.

Pennsylvania is one of only three states, including New York and New Jersey, that still participates in what’s called an “early endorsement process” wherein the GOP leadership cripples the race by giving its endorsement to one candidate prior to the circulation of nominating petitions. In theory, non-endorsed Republican candidates are to be shut out of Republican functions, and shut off from all GOP resources including significant funding and valuable voter information–but all of that is changing.

Many PAGOP County Committees are flat out refusing to ostracize non-endorsed Republican candidates despite what has been reported as “strong arming” on the part of the PAGOP leaders to persuade them otherwise.

Read more here.