“You don’t need a lot of money to speak about great ideas,” he said. “They (the Republi-cans) spent millions of dollars to support a bad idea.”

He said what is needed is a $100 filing fee and “time. The most important thing you do,” he said, is spending time campaigning, noting it takes a lot of “shoe leather.”

He said education is not a criteria for election. Requirements for a state representative are that the candidate must be 21 years of age, have lived in Pennsylva-nia for four years, in a specific district for one year, and pay the filing fee. “That’s it,” he said. He asks that candidates asking for his organization’s help be able to “read the constitution and know the difference between right and wrong.”

“We have 74 candidates so far; we need a lot more,” he said of the 2006 elections where all 203 state House seats and 25 state Senate seats will be up for grabs. He also wants to defeat the governor and all incumbent office holders, saying they all deserve to be taken out of office. He wants an opponent on every ballot.

“I can’t do it alone,” he said as he urged people to get involved and work together. He said it would be better to have only one candidate on a ballot opposing an incumbent, noting if there are more than one, they split the votes and the incumbent will be nominated again.

Responding to questions about philosophies about candidates, Diamond said that is not the concern of Clean Sweep. He said if one starts worrying about philosophy and policy, it will divide the efforts.

Instead, he said, elect anyone who runs against an incumbent, regardless of their philosophies. He said no matter if the person is a “thief, a crook or a liar,” to vote for them, noting they can be defeated in two years. The important thing for 2006 is to vote out all the incumbents, he said, noting it’s time to make Penn-sylvania a better state and a great asset.

Jane Smith can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at jsmith@meadvilletribune.com