By Chris Freind
Well, primary election day is almost here, and some of the races have gotten downright nasty. From disingenuous, mean-spirited campaign ads to a Democrat masquerading as a Republican accusing his opponent of being a Democrat, there’s something to satisfy everyone’s entertainment needs.
Perhaps the ugliest race is the Democratic contest for attorney general, pitting a woman against a whiner: prosecutor Kathleen Kane and former congressman Patrick Murphy. Murphy certainly can’t run on his record (there isn’t one), so instead he has charged Kane with being a millionaire trucking executive. (Note: If you can figure out how being married to a trucking company owner would prevent a career prosecutor from being an effective AG, please let me know. Perhaps she would look the other way on the rampant truck-on-truck crime in Pennsylvania?)
Of particular concern to many is that Murphy, who as a congressman perfectly personified the deer-in-headlights legislator (remember the Hardball interview with Chris Matthews on the Iraq war?), is running for the state’s top law enforcement job despite never prosecuting a single criminal case in Pennsylvania.
Murphy will need all the help he can get to pull out a victory, and apparently that help has arrived. Sources tell me that elements of the Republican Party have been covertly (and even overtly) pulling out all the stops for the young doe. And for good reason: They see him as infinitely easier to beat in November than an articulate (and better-looking) female prosecutor.
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Speaking of Republicans helping Democrats, for your reading pleasure I have a letter from Governor Tom Corbett pushing Steve Welch, the Obama-voting, Joe Sestak-supporting U.S. Senate candidate he personally endorsed (and strong-armed the Republican Party into endorsing). So in the spirit of accuracy, I’ve “corrected” the Governor’s letter to reflect the truth, though we will leave the bad sentence structure intact. My commentary in bold:
Dear Friend,
In less than two years we have turned the tide [by being just like Ed Rendell?], and are righting the wrongs of the liberal agenda here in Pennsylvania [yes, that same “liberal agenda” that, in fact, was passed by an overwhelmingly Republican state senate]. We brought a new way of thinking to Harrisburg after inheriting a recession and a $4.2 billion dollar budget deficit in 2011 [Sorry, Guv, but despite the constitutional requirement for a balanced budget, those deficits still exist because no one—Republican or Democrat—will address the issues that led to those deficits. Examples abound, such as the $400 million in I-80 tolls used to “balance” a prior budget—even though that interstate never became a toll road, and the money was never “repaid.”]. While we have witnessed others in the past attempt to solve our state’s problems by spending more of your hard-earned tax dollars, I have employed a fiscally conservative approach to our economic issues [Yes,by finishing Rendell’s spending legacy of bailing out the Philadelphia shipyard to build ships with no buyers, constructing a new stadium for the [obviously poor] New York Yankees’ AAA baseball team, funding the multimillion dollar Arlen Specter library, spending Delaware River Port Authority funds [AKA taxpayer dollars] on projects having nothing to do with the bridges while tolls continue to increase … we’d love to continue, but column space is limited to 10,000 words].
Together with the General Assembly, we have put our state’s economy back on track [uhhh, the natural gas industry is leaving the state, in part because of no political leadership, and the unemployment rate has not measurably dropped], not by demonizing the private sector, but by lowering taxes [Really? The job-killing taxes haven’t been touched, such as the nation’s second-highest corporate tax and the 18 percent tax on every bottle of wine and booze to rebuild Johnstown from the flood—of 1936!], cutting government spending [let’s be honest—that’s only because the federal stimulus dollars dried up],balancing the budget on time and giving businesses the ability to create jobs and drive economic growth.
Unfortunately, we have a government in Washington, D.C. stuck in the same liberal trap that Pennsylvania was suffering in. We started the fight in 2010 by talking about real change and real reforms [Very, very true. It was, and remains, all talk.] With your help and support, I was elected along with a Republican State Senate and House Majority, U.S. Senator Pat Toomey and 12 Republican congressmen to cut wasteful spending and promote economic growth. This year, we have to continue our efforts and send U.S. Senate candidate Steve Welch to join the fight! [The irony is just dripping here. Pennsylvania elects all those Republicans to stop the “liberal” Obama agenda—and Corbett is pushing an Obama-voter who was, until fairly recently, a Democrat. Go figure].
I endorsed Steve because he has the passion and ability to take our shared Pennsylvania values to Washington, D.C. and get our federal government’s reckless spending back under control. He is a businessman who has worked tirelessly to achieve the American dream, creating a successful living for himself and creating jobs for hundreds of others. In the private sector, Steve has helped young entrepreneurs achieve their own dreams of launching a successful small business [In keeping with the “dream” theme, who in their right mind could possibly dream that endorsing an Obama supporter would rally the Republican Party?]
Steve is running for the U.S. Senate because he believes in the same values you and I do! [Wait, whose values? Obama’s or Sestak’s? Or both? And do most in the GOP share those values? Admittedly, the Party’s pick for Prez is the architect of government healthcare, but still … ]Steve could no longer sit back and watch as President Obama and Senator Bob Casey continue to spend our way into oblivion and add more debt onto the backs of future generations [Damn! If only Welch didn’t vote for Obama, that line may have worked!!]. Steve wants to bring fiscal responsibility back to Washington, D.C. and help others achieve the American dream, as he has. [Unfortunately for Corbett and Welch, that’s not going to happen. There are no points for second [or third] place. Sorry, Bob Casey: It doesn’t look like Christmas is coming early for you.]
Remember that we have a great slate of statewide candidates including Steve Welch—David Freed for Attorney General, John Maher for Auditor General and Diana Irey Vaughan for Treasurer—who need your support over the next few days. You can visit www.pagop.org to learn how you can help.
Most importantly, I hope you will join me on April 24th and cast your ballot for Steve Welch for U.S. Senate and our entire statewide team! [Too bad Democrats can’t vote in the Republican primary, since that would at least give your man a fighting chance … ]
Sincerely,
Tom Corbett
Governor [well, at least until 2014…]