Sam the candidate

Rep. Sam Roher will court votes in his opponent’s political back yard Thursday accompanied by Joe Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber, the blue collar Ohioan transformed into a political icon by Sen. John McCain repeated references in the final debate of his 2008 presidential campaign.

Joe the Plumber will join Sam the Long Shot at stops in Latrobe, Apollo, Blairsville and Lower Burrell.  Mr. Wurzelbacher endorsed Mr. Rohrer’s candidacy for governor earlier this year, the same day that the Republican State Committee voted to endorse Attorney General Tom Corbett, for the party nomination.

With the primary less than a week away, the appearances will continue the a Western Pennsylvania swing the Berks County conservative began Wednesday with stops in Allegheny, Butler and Beaver counties.

Speaking to about 100 people in the Bethel Park Community Center, Mr. Rohrer described himself as the true conservative in the race while calling for a regimen of spending cuts to address the state’s looming budget crisis.

“The conservative constitutional message applies to all of us, is good for all of us,’’ he said.

Mr. Rohrer renewed his call to replace the school district property tax with the revenue from a broader-based state sales tax.  Asked by a questioner to describe his differences with Mr. Corbett, he said, “My opponent’s view of the constitution is substantially different than mine.’’

In an analysis that Mr. Corbett has disputed, Mr. Rohrer said that the attorney general views the constitution as “a living document,’’ subject to evolving interpretations rather than as an unchanging prescription devised by the founding fathers.