The GOP’s plan to rig the 2012 Presidential election has hit a stumbling block as some PA Republicans are refusing to follow leadership. Rejecting the movement started by All Votes Matter, a.k.a. long time Harrisburg players Charlie Gerow and William Sloane, many of the state’s GOP are refusing to go along with the proposal which would award the state’s Electoral Votes by congressional districts instead of winner take all decided by popular vote.

The results of a new Quinnipiac survey that was released Wednesday show 52 percent of Pennsylvanians opposed the proposal while 40 percent were for it, 7 percent were still undecided. Among PA Democrats 63 percent opposed the new system with 30 percent favoring it. Republicans were split with 48 percent in favor and 44 percent opposed. Interestingly and much to the chagrin of Republicans in swing districts 53 percent of independent voters opposed the proposal with 40 percent in favor. Not surprisingly Republican voices in PA are calling out to jump from the sinking ship not wanting to be associated with the increasingly unpopular proposal.

Yesterday 11 of the 12 Republican congressmen who represent PA visited Harrisburg to oppose the new proposal. According to Capitalwire, “Most of the state’s Republican congressional delegation met with top state House and Senate leaders backing colleagues who want to sideline a pair of controversial bills: a Senate-proposed electoral college change bill, and a mandate that Pennsylvanians show photo ID before voting.

Eleven members of the state’s 12-member congressional Republican delegation met with Senate leaders this afternoon . . . . The congressmen also voiced opposition in both meetings to Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi’s proposal to split up the state’s 20 electoral votes by congressional district, in 2012. Pileggi, R-Delaware, heard out comments against his proposal from U.S. Reps. Bill Shuster, R-Blair, Tim Murphy, R-Allegheny, Jim Gerlach, R-Chester, Charlie Dent, R-Lehigh and Meehan.

All stressed the negative impact this could have by making swing U.S. House districts more competitive, and more expensive.”

Republican Tim Murphy, whose 18th district is made up of the southern suburbs of Pittsburgh which currently has 70,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, is a politician whose swing district could go against him if these unpopular proposals go through. No matter the extent of Corbett’s gerrymandering, Murphy would be susceptible to an upset if big money was pushed into the campaign of the Democratic challenger by the DCCC and various labor groups. The 18th District congressional holds Republican prestige in Pennsylvania having launched the careers of Senator John Heinz III and current presidential candidate Rick Santorum.

The bill, introduced by PA Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, gained support throughout the Keystone State with help by the lobbying of All Votes Matter that went all the way to the top office. With popular opinion now going against the proposal a handful of State House Republicans are rejecting it, with more likely to follow their lead. Keep PA Relevant currently has a running whipcount of who is voting which way on the bill allowing PA residents to see what their local representatives have to say on the matter. According to Keystone Politics, Seven republicans are currently against the bill,
”The rank-and-file in the PA House GOP has begun to come out against Senate Majority Leader Pileggi’s proposal to split Pennsylvania’s electoral votes. Keep PA Relevant has noted seven Republican members of the House who have expressed opposition in some form or another to the proposal, to only three who have come out in favor. Only eleven Republican no votes are required to defeat the plan, assuming Democrats are united in opposition.”

Representatives listening to their constituents..

What a novel idea.