State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, who served in the Army for four years after high school, sees himself as still defending American liberty and freedoms.
Only he serves in a suit on the homefront now.
"My main objective is to ensure our God-given liberties are passed on to the next generation," says the Republican lawmaker. "Already, our economic freedoms have been taken away. The tax burden is way out of line. We're driving jobs out."
The 43-year-old Cranberry resident is one of the most conservative lawmakers in the 203-member, Republican-controlled House. And he's been outspoken in recent weeks, sponsoring a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, introducing immigration bills and criticizing the recently passed property tax relief bill. He actively worked to get last year's pay raise repealed, as well.
When the eight-year incumbent first went to Harrisburg, he helped form a conservative group called the Commonwealth Caucus with eight other lawmakers. He estimates two dozen lawmakers now belong. Its mission statement says the group "is dedicated to preserving and advancing the values of our historic republic, constitutional law and the constitutions of the United States and Pennsylvania."
Members, before voting on any bill, are urged to consider whether the measure is moral and constitutional, preserves individual freedoms and responsibility or strengthens government control, and strengthens or preserves the traditional family; whether the action should be done on the state level; and whether the state has the money to pay for it.
But when some members of the Commonwealth Caucus voted last summer for their own pay raise, which Metcalfe said the state Constitution clearly prohibits from taking effect during their term, he resigned from the group.
Political beginnings
Metcalfe grew up in upstate New York. He attended college in Kansas while serving there with the Army, and he met his wife when he was stationed in Germany. After the Army, he found work with a biomedical service company as a field engineer. Soon after, he transferred to Western Pennsylvania.
Politically, he admired Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington for his military and political endeavors.
"I always had a passion for politics and liberty issues," he said.
He saw his opportunity when state Rep. Pat Carone retired in 1998. "I prayed about it with my wife and daughter, talked to my brother and a good friend, and decided to go ahead," he recalls. It was his first time being involved in elective politics.
Property tax relief was one of the main issues that Metcalfe won on.
The lawmaker commands a general's loyalty from supporters in his 12th Legislative District, which includes Saxonburg and the townships of Penn, Clinton and Jefferson in the Valley.
Saxonburg Mayor Brian Antoszyk, 45, a Republican, thinks Metcalfe represents his district well.
"He's the people's spokesperson," he said. "He has a Christian, conservative base. He's always been very visible at the Saxonburg carnival and arts festival. He's always walking around and talking to people."
He points out that Metcalfe has no opposition for re-election this year.
"They know he's strong," Antoszyk said.
The mayor sums up his respect for Metcalfe: "If he goes into battle, I'll be right beside him."
Al Neri, a long-time Capitol correspondent and political analyst, says, "He's probably more conservative than his district, but he gets away with it because he works hard and makes a lot of personal appearances."
Metcalfe is accessible, too. He has annual town hall meetings and conducts newsletter surveys of residents. He has been known to e-mail constituents about a particular bill from the House floor, as the constituent watches the debate on TV.
Metcalfe isn't flashy. Or loud. But he is dogged.
Rep. Jeff Pyle, a freshman GOP lawmaker from Ford City, shares an office in Harrisburg with Metcalfe. He says Metcalfe's desk is immaculate, with a Bible right in the middle, from which he often quotes.
"He says he was a wild child, but the military gave him discipline," Pyle explains. "His work ethic is something, he always has three balls he's juggling, and he sticks to his guns. He has very strong convictions."
Pyle says he knows Metcalfe won't even talk to him if a proposal includes a tax increase.
This past week, Metcalfe introduced two bills to try to combat issues associated with illegal immigration, which is more prevalent in the eastern part of the state. The bills would make it a felony for employers to knowingly hire illegal aliens and would prohibit state agencies from using public funds or benefits for illegal immigrants.
He's been critical of the limited property tax relief plan recently signed into law, preferring his own six-year plan to replace property taxes with sales and income taxes. He also wants spending caps for the state budget.
Effectiveness in Harrisburg
How effective is Metcalfe as a lawmaker?
After all, politics is defined as the art of compromise. Winners and losers are forever changing, depending on the battle or issue.
"Daryl is on the extreme right," political analyst Neri said. "And anyone on the extremes is less effective in passing legislation than someone more pragmatic."
While he can be uncompromising, Metcalfe doesn't hold grudges against fellow lawmakers. He knows that alliances change and that a lawmaker who doesn't side with him on one issue might be a key supporter on the next.
For instance, many Democratic lawmakers from the Valley are socially conservative and several supported the gay marriage ban. Metcalfe was one of five House members, including one Democrat, to sponsor the ban; and he was surprised when 136 members, including more than 40 Democrats, voted for it.
But some criticized the gay marriage ban as more show than substance.
Rep. Greg Vitale, D-Delaware, said the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act passed by the Legislature already defines marriage as between one man and one woman. He noted the House amendment banned civil unions or other legal relationships that enable partners to inherit property and qualify for family leave and health insurance.
Metcalfe said he was advised that, without a constitutional amendment, Pennsylvania might have to honor gay marriages in other states.
The more moderate state Senate already removed the ban on civil unions. And the bill isn't going anywhere, since a constitutional amendment has to be passed in two successive legislative sessions and approved in a statewide referendum.
Property tax reform has been a tough battle for Metcalfe, too. Its elimination was again voted down in the House two weeks ago.
G. Terry Madonna is director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster and has been one of the Legislature's longest political watchers.
Madonna said most of the 108 House Republicans would probably call themselves conservatives. And yet that doesn't always translate into fiscal conservatism. Madonna notes the GOP-controlled Legislature has increased spending over Gov. Rendell's budget request the last three years.
In addition, Madonna says, the Legislature is a collegial operation, where a lot of back scratching and deals take place. So a member who is not willing to go along with another member may lose that colleague's support.
The new landscape
Metcalfe was not the obedient soldier when it came to taking marching orders from Republican leadership on the pay raise. He's been outspoken in his criticism of GOP House Speaker John Perzel for engineering it.
And the public's furor over the pay raise has changed the political landscape in Harrisburg.
Over the years, Metcalfe has learned how to use the rules of the Legislature and the media.
The House leadership controls the calendar on moving a bill. So repeal supporters used the threat of a discharge resolution -- which forces a bill out of committee -- to prod the leadership to deal with it last November. Repeal supporters issued news releases to count down the 15 days the bill was in committee until it could be brought up on the calendar.
The defeat in the primary of some legislative leaders who backed the pay raise also has given rank-and-file lawmakers the courage to be more independent.
And in the current political atmosphere, leadership find themselves no longer able to penalize the rank and file by stripping them of committee assignments or cutting their discretionary spending grants.
Metcalfe would like to throw his name in the hat for one of the eight leadership posts in the Republican caucus after this fall's election. And Neri believes a bloc of conservative lawmakers has a good chance of getting a member into leadership.
The House will definitely look different next year.
Eleven Republicans and four Democrats were defeated in the primary and more than a dozen others will retire, increasing the chance for reform-minded members to make inroads. Metcalfe thinks many of his fellow lawmakers have been there too long and grown too comfortable in the job.
And the battle continues. It remains to be seen how much power Perzel and other legislative leaders will have in light of the anti-pay raise and anti-incumbent sentiment among the public.
"We're in uncharted territory here," Neri said.
