Category: Corbett

Corbett To Cave On Medicaid?

It has been confirmed that Gov. Corbett has requested a meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and the obvious  subject is the acceptance of federal money that would make an estimated 600,000 low-wage Pennsylvanians eligible for Medicaid, the government health program for “poor” people

Corbett had initially rejected the money after it was pointed out to him that expanding the pond of Medicaid recipients without expanding the health care providers isn’t really going to help anyone. In fact, it will make health care harder to obtain for the people now getting it, along with those getting Medicare as there is  overlap in the doctors participating in both services.

Having a card saying you have a right to health care is not the same as having health care, after all.

Still the propaganda mills run by those who acquire wealth and power through managing government services grind on and the fears are the Corbett — not known for having a strong backbone — will cave.

The good news, one supposes, is that he hasn’t yet.

It should be obvious, by the way, that the fewer private options available the more wealth and power the government managers have. These people really don’t care about you.

Corbett’s Penn State Folly: Suing NCAA Will Not Save Him

July of 2012 was notable for several reasons: the hottest month on record, both parties gearing up for the presidential campaign, and the voluntarily acceptance of harsh NCAA sanctions by the Penn State Board of Trustees, which includes Governor Tom Corbett.
A half -year later, all have evolved predictably: it’s cold, the President won, and Corbett has flip-flopped in an ill-fated attempt to bolster his image in the PSU/Jerry Sandusky scandal. The Tom and Jerry Show — a tragic comedy — just keeps getting better.
*****
In a nakedly obvious political calculation, Corbett has reversed himself on the penalties, and is now suing the NCAA for “overreaching and unlawful sanctions.”
Wow. What a change of heart, since it was only last July when he stated, “part of the corrective process is to accept the serious penalties imposed by the NCAA on Penn State University and its football program.”
The $64,000 question is “Why?” Why the 180-degree change, and why now, instead of when the sanctions were announced? For those answers, let’s play Corbett’s version of Let’s Make A Deal:
Corbett answer behind Door Number One: “I wanted to thoroughly research the issue to make sure we were on solid legal footing.”  Uh, sorry, but no prize.  For months leading up to the announcement, even the most remote Eskimos knew severe sanctions were a certainty. The NCAA bylaws aren’t all that complicated, so Corbett (himself a former U.S. Attorney and twice the state’s Attorney General), his General Counsel, his attorney Chief of Staff, and an army of other Administration lawyers could have easily determined — way ahead of time — if A. the NCAA could legally impose sanctions; B. if so, what sanctions should be off the table; and C. if the Administration had legal footing to sue the NCAA should it impose them anyway.  And as a Trustee, Corbett clearly would have been party to discussions with the NCAA about the forthcoming sanctions.
Corbett’s Door Number Two: He waited so that the football team could avoid another distraction.  Wrong again! Football season doesn’t start in July, and the football team was already dealing with Sandusky fallout.  Ironically, a Corbett lawsuit in July would have had the opposite effect— becoming a rallying cry for the team that someone was standing up for them.
Door Three: “I didn’t want to make the same mistake the NCAA made by carelessly rushing in.” Well, that one fits, since Corbett, as the Attorney General investigating Sandusky, made absolutely no rush to get a serial predator off the street, taking a staggering three years to make an arrest, conveniently after his gubernatorial election. True “carelessness” was Corbett assigning two narcotics agents to investigate Sandusky, while scores of agents (including child predator units) pursued a headline-generating political corruption case in which no children were at risk.
Door Four:  “After months of research and deliberation, as well as discussions with alumni, students, faculty, business owners and elected officials, (Corbett) concluded that the NCAA’s sanctions were overreaching and unlawful.” So is the suit because the NCAA is violating its bylaws, or because souvenir shops aren’t selling as many Nittany Lion magnets? And, despite the vast legal knowledge of those constituencies, since when do they factor into whether a lawsuit should be filed?
Taxpayers should understand that the substantial cost of this lawsuit will be footed by them, since neither Administration lawyers nor the Attorney General will handle it. Instead, that prize goes to top-of-the-line law firm Cozen O’Connor.  Cozen (and its attorneys and family members) contributed almost $100,000 to the Governor’s campaigns, and is the former firm of Corbett’s new General Counsel.
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Now let’s get serious and look at the real reasons behind Corbett’s newfound love of Penn State. While he is now busy acting like its savior, let us not forget his grandstanding, doing his best impression of a Roman Emperor wanting to raze Penn State and sow its fields with salt, just like Carthage.
Has Corbett finally realized he is about to become the first governor to lose a second term? He is already one of the nation’s least popular governors, and, with the exception of demagoguing on Penn State (when convenient), is spotted in public less than Bigfoot. Now, he is at the point in politics where they separate the men from the boys, and he is frantically reaching for something with wide appeal.
Suing the NCAA won’t help Corbett, even if his lawsuit is successful, as Pennsylvanians see right through his ploy.  Many view him as part of the process which went overboard in destroying Penn State’s reputation and giving Joe Paterno a premature death. And even more think he deliberately understaffed the Sandusky investigation — leaving children to potentially suffer at Sandusky’s hands — so that he wouldn’t alienate Penn State alumni while running for governor. Corbett’s blatant pandering has only furthered the resolve of so many to end his tenure with a resounding sack.
And maybe Corbett is trying to distract incoming Attorney General Kathleen Kane, the first Democrat ever to hold that office, who not coincidentally wasn’t consulted about the Governor’s lawsuit.  Kane, it is worth noting, just won more votes than anyone in Pennsylvania history (including the President), a feat directly attributable to one issue: cleaning up Harrisburg, starting with an investigation into how Corbett handled the Sandusky investigation.
Put another way, would Tom Corbett have filed this lawsuit had his hand-picked candidate for Attorney General beaten Kane?
But we do have the lawsuit, and with it, two more major Corbett inconsistencies: 1. “conservatives” like the governor always rail against activist judges — until, like now, they need one.  And 2. Corbett stated that, if successful, he will urge the Board to use the $60 million to help groups working against abuse. While a nice thought, is that not completely undermining his argument that the fines are creating an unacceptable burden on so many in the PSU community? Is there anyone in the Governor’s office who has really thought this lawsuit through?
Truth is, this woefully miscalculated effort will accomplish only one thing: a major backfire.
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For the record, this author stated his opposition to the sanctions when they were first imposed. A courageous Board of Trustees would have fought the NCAA as former UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian did — who eventually won a multimillion settlement. But they, including Corbett, chose not to pursue action, voluntarily accepting the punishment from an organization to which Penn State voluntarily belongs.  One can debate the prudence of the Board’s decision, but the University’s message is clear: it wants to put the Sandusky matter behind it as quickly as possible, which is why it is not party to the lawsuit.
Corbett had his chance, but for whatever the reason — indecisiveness, incompetence, political motivations — he failed to act, and that ship has long sailed.
But the Tom and Jerry Show is far from over. The Governor is on a collision course with voters (especially his own Republicans) who demand answers about Sandusky — answers that Corbett refuses to give. These are questions that go to the very core of Tom Corbett’s true character. And they are questions that may well lead him to the dustbin of political history — or, depending on what Kane finds, worse.
How will this show end? Attorney General-elect Kane, the floor is yours.

 

Corbett’s Response On Sandusky Fails To Answer Questions

By Chris Freind

In a speech before the world’s press, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said, “We must keep in mind that when it comes to the safety of children, there can be no margin for error, no hesitation to act.” It was the same authoritative tone he took when chastising Joe Paterno for not doing more to stop Jerry Sandusky.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

It is Tom Corbett himself who is most guilty of hesitating. Hesitating to appropriately staff the Sandusky investigation, and hesitating for years to make an arrest – both of which may have jeopardized the safety of children. That hesitation, and the stonewalling that Corbett has now employed, has created an intense firestorm around the governor.

Given the unprecedented nature of the Penn State scandal, this issue is not going away. In fact, if Corbett doesn’t come forward with answers, it promises to be the Number One issue in his 2014 re-election campaign.

Last week, the Governor responded to Freindly Fire’s Open Letter, which had requested specifics on key issues. But rather than answering any questions, the Corbett response raised even more red flags.

The Corbett response stated, “Grand juries take time. Evidence in decades-old molestations must be reassembled. A moral certainty of conviction must be reached … Where does Mr. Freind think that decade’s worth of evidence came from? It had to be gathered, reluctant witness-by-reluctant witness, with accompanying corroborating evidence.”

Absolutely correct – and precisely Freindly Fire’s point. Corbett is admitting that this high-profile case required a tremendous amount of work. So why were so few investigating it?

Here’s the bottom line. The Sandusky investigation took three years, was reportedly staffed by a single investigator at the outset, and later spearheaded by two narcotics agents, neither of whom had any experience in child molestation cases. Compare to this to the army of investigators Corbett used in the Bonusgate political corruption probe, including, sources say, agents from child predator units.

Given those facts, it seems logical that there can be only one of two explanations:

1. Politics

It doesn’t take a genius to know that sullying the reputation of the state’s largest university and taking down its legendary football coach would be a monumental challenge to any candidate running for governor. This would have been particularly true in Corbett’s case, given that his opponent, Dan Onorato, was a Penn State alumnus.

And the might of Penn State’s massive alumni network was just illustrated, where 76,000 alumni donated much of the $208 million the university raised this year.

So was the understaffed investigation dragged out in such a fashion that the arrests were not made until after the 2010 gubernatorial election?

2. Priorities

Or was the Sandusky case mishandled because Tom Corbett did not prioritize catching child predators?

If politics played no role, then Tom Corbett clearly prioritized corrupt politicians, who we will always have, over taking a serial child rapist off the street. One can only wonder how many more victims Sandusky molested while he was under investigation.

There are a number of quotes, some by Corbett himself, that are quite telling.

Randy Feathers, the head of the Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Office in State College who eventually headed the investigation, stated, “During the Bonusgate investigation, we had a shortage of investigators in Harrisburg.” (Altoona Mirror, June 24, 2012)

Corbett was obviously proud of the fact that he pulled no one from Bonusgate, stating, “We used a completely different unit from Bonusgate … (the agents working the Sandusky case) were pure narcotic investigators from up in that region.” (Corbett press conferences, July 12, 2012, and July 14, 2012).

And Corbett admitted worrying that Sandusky could still be victimizing boys during the lengthy investigation, stating, “It was a calculated risk.” (CBS Philadelphia/KYW New Radio, June 26, 2012)

So Corbett knew of the risk, and yet decided that investigating a child-victimizing monster was worthy of only two investigators.

What’s even more telling is the fact that, upon Corbett becoming governor, he immediately ordered state police resources to the case. Why wasn’t that done before? So again, the question has to be asked whether Corbett, as attorney general, ever requested additional assistance from then-Gov. Ed Rendell, himself a highly respected former prosecutor. It’s not a trick question, and only requires a Yes or No answer.

And did Corbett ask the Feds for assistance, especially if additional state police resources were denied by Rendell and no one could be pulled from Bonusgate?

If the answers are in the negative, as they appear to be, what were Corbett’s motives in choosing to stay with such a bare-boned investigative staff?

♦

No one has suggested that Sandusky should have been arrested before evidence was gathered. Common sense dictated that at least two or three solid cases be assembled before an arrest was made, and numerous prosecutors with no ax to grind have stated that strategy would have been a viable one.

But, as has been stated in the media, Corbett waited to have at least 10 cases before making an arrest, which just boggles the mind.

Once several victims were identified and an arrest was made, with the spotlight on Sandusky, more witnesses would come forward. More importantly, Sandusky would have been closely watched and children would have been safe. But that didn’t happen.

Instead, a predator was given three more years to victimize his prey.

No wonder the governor doesn’t want to answer questions.

So the stonewalling continues. There are still no answers as to why Bonusgate investigators were not ordered to work the Sandusky case, and why, sources say, Attorney General agents, including those in child predator units, were pulled from other cases to assist with that corruption probe.

♦

Gov. Corbett also failed to answer the Open Letter’s other questions, including why he did not consider it a conflict of interest to serve on the Penn State Board of Trustees while simultaneously investigating it, and why he approved the $3 million taxpayer grant to Sandusky’s charity, The Second Mile, when he could have simply done nothing or vetoed it without raising one eyebrow.

The latter is particularly compelling since $640,000 in campaign contributions were made from Second Mile board members and affiliates to Corbett’s Attorney General and gubernatorial races.

♦

The Open Letter received an astounding response from across the political spectrum. It was Facebooked and Tweeted thousands of times, published in media outlets and websites across the nation, and was the hottest topic on talk radio, with Freindly Fire discussing it from coast to coast. Most telling is that 99.9 percent of that dialogue had one common theme: why was there so much hesitation to act by Attorney General Corbett?

Rather than invoking “space aliens,” as he did in his response, Gov. Corbett would be better served by coming clean with the only thing that matters: the truth.

There is no such thing as “fair and balanced.” There is only truth and accuracy. It is time for Tom Corbett to tell the whole truth – accurately – regarding the very troubling Jerry Sandusky investigation.

The best place to start? Answer the questions. And the truth shall set you free.

 

Corbett’s Response On Sandusky Fails To Answer Questions

Questions For Corbett Regarding Sandusky

By Chris Freind

An open letter to Pennsylvania’s governor, who refuses to answer disturbing questions about his role investigating the Penn State sex scandal:


Bursting with righteous indignation, his cheeks flushed with rage, the governor banged the podium in disgust while berating a journalist – in fact, chastising the entire media – for the audacity to ask questions on the issue.

We’re not talking about New Jersey’s Chris Christie, who gets away with such outbursts because of his stellar track record and pure gravitas.

No, this tantrum came from Pennsylvania’s Tom Corbett after being queried about his incredibly long investigation of child predator Jerry Sandusky

And it backfired in spectacular fashion. Why?

Because Tom Corbett is no Chris Christie.

Since questions on this matter remain unanswered, it seems only fitting, on behalf of the media and public, to pen an open letter to Mr. Corbett.

For the record, no media commentator in Pennsylvania supported Corbett’s ideas more than Freindly Fire during the 2010 campaign, from increased Marcellus Shale drilling to school choice to liquor privatization. In fact, FF even backed Corbett’s decision to subpoena Twitter during the Bonusgate corruption probe – a highly unpopular position. Bottom line: this isn’t personal, and it’s not partisan. It’s only about one thing: the truth.

Dear Gov. Corbett:

Since there are a number of questions which you have failed to answer concerning your investigation of Jerry Sandusky, on behalf of the media and the public, I respectfully ask for clarification in the following areas:

1.  Based on a decade’s worth of evidence of Sandusky’s predatory activities, why did it take the Attorney General’s Office three years to arrest him? I fully understand that it takes time to conduct an investigation, but as numerous prosecutors have stated, you could have arrested him quickly and continued building the case.

Tragically, it is probable that Sandusky continued to molest victims during your epic investigation, as predators do not stop preying unless forced to do so. Had he been arrested early, (standard procedure in many cases with a lot less evidence), Sandusky would have had to post bail, had restrictions placed upon him, and, most important, been under an ultra-intense media and community spotlight – every minute of every day until his trial.

In short, children would finally have been safe. And contrary to your assessment, this would have created a much more favorable environment for additional witnesses to come forward, knowing their bigger-than-life demon could hurt them no more. Arresting Sandusky quickly would have in no way jeopardized the strength of the case.

One of two things seems to be true, as there is no third option. Either   you were an incompetent attorney general, which virtually no one believes, or the investigation was deliberately understaffed and drawn out because you did not wish to be the gubernatorial candidate who took down fabled Penn State – with its massive and intensely loyal alumni network – and the beloved Joe Paterno. Since doing so would have presented difficult campaign challenges, many are asking if politics was placed above children’s safety. Which leads to the next question.

2. Why was the investigation so understaffed? Yes, you just now claimed – after eight months – that media reports are wrong that only one investigator was assigned the case for the first 15 months. The real number, as you now state, was a whopping two. We know you were busy with Bonusgate, but political corruption never threatens anyone’s physical well-being, particularly defenseless children.

And the two investigators assigned were narcotics agents. While Sandusky’s heinous crimes were many, drug offenses were not among them.

Yes, they were former police officers. But wouldn’t the reasonable course have been to assign agents with experience in child molestation cases? Did their inexperience lengthen the investigation more than normal … say, past your election in November 2010?

Additional resources were available. Upon becoming governor, you placed state police on the case. You could have made that same request to Gov. Ed Rendell, and, given the stakes, there is virtually no possibility he would have refused. And since you are a former United States attorney, you undoubtedly realized that federal assistance was also available.

3. Do you believe ethical and moral lines were crossed when, after investigating Penn State as Attorney General, you then participated as a member of the Board of Trustees upon becoming governor?

In other words, knowing full well that the investigation was still in full swing, conducted by your handpicked attorney general successor, you nonetheless chose to sit on the very board you had been – and still were – investigating!

Did you ever consider recusing yourself from board activities until the investigation was concluded? Since governors rarely attend board meetings, this would have in no way raised suspicions.

4. As governor, why did you personally approve a $3 million taxpayer-funded grant to Sandusky’s Second Mile charity, given your knowledge that Sandusky was under investigation for multiple child rapes?

Your statement that blocking the grant would have tipped people off to the investigation is utterly disingenuous, particularly since the media reported on the investigation in March, and you did not approve the funds until July 2011.

Vetoing the charitable grant would have simply been viewed as another financial cutback in a budget full of slashed programs.

So one has to ask if the $640,000 in campaign donations from board members of the Second Mile, along with their businesses and families, had anything to do with your actions?

If not, fine. But how did such a massively significant point slip your mind – until the media brought it up? And was that question also out of line?

Since these are matters of grave concern, I and many others look forward to your immediate response.

The media talks about Penn State’s Big Four casualties: Joe Paterno, former President Graham Spanier, Senior Vice President Gary Schultz, and Athletic Director Timothy M. Curley. But perhaps they are missing the biggest: Tom Corbett.

He has always claimed to hold himself to a higher standard, and has roundly criticized Paterno and others for not doing more to stop Sandusky. But when it came down to it, when Corbett had the power to put a speedy end to Sandusky, he didn’t.

If mistakes were made, fine. People can accept that. But to stonewall reasonable questions on such an important matter, and then stalk off , is something that should not, and will not, be tolerated.

Tom Corbett has a choice, perhaps the biggest of his career. He can either answer now – or in 2014.

 

Questions For Corbett Regarding Sandusky

Man Faces Assault Charge After Argument

By Pattie Price

Walter Mau, 55, of Newtown waived a hearing Thursday before Magisterial District Judge Lee Hunter on the charges of simple assault and harassment. The charges stem from a domestic altercation 9:58a.m., April 12, at his Newtown Towers apartment in Newtown, Pa.

According to the affidavit, Newtown Officer Chris Barksdale said the complantant reported she had an argument with Mau over the television cables. She said the argument turned physical when he pushed her to the floor. The victim suffered a minor laceration to her thumb and an abrasion on her knee.

Mau was released on $5,000 unsecured bail. He is scheduled for a May 24 arraignment in Common Pleas Court.

* * * 

Sean Conner, 33, of Newtown waived a hearing on the charges of receiving stolen property. In exchange for the waiver, the charge of possession of drug paraphernalia was withdrawn. The charges stem from an incident 11:02a.m., Feb. 22, at his Rhoads Avenue apartment.

According to the affidavit, Newtown Officer Dan Dougherty responded to Conner’s apartment to assist Delaware County Probation and Parole to recover stolen property. Several credit cards and drivers licenses belonging to a West Goshen woman were located under Conner’s mattress. Conner said that someone gave him the items. 

Doughtery contacted West Goshen Police and learned that the victim’s Coach purse was reported stolen from her car while she was at the Gay Street Wawa, Oct. 18.

Also confiscated from the apartment were two crack cocaine pipes.

Conner was released and is scheduled for a May 24 arraignment in Common Pleas Court.

* * *

Shauna Kane, 30, of West Chester waived a hearing on the charges of DUI and lane violations. The charges stem from an incident 3:45a.m., Dec. 31, in the 3700 block of Goshen Road.

According to the affidavit, Newtown Sgt. Gary Sebra said a black vehicle that was traveling in front of him was swerving and crossed the center line on Goshen Road. He attempted to stop the vehicle at Echo Valley Lane but the driver did not respond. Sebra activated his siren and Ms. Kane came to an abrupt stop in the middle of Goshen Road near Crum Creek Road.

Ms. Kane had a strong odor of alcohol, bloodshot glassy eyes, slurred speech, was unsteady on her feet and failed field sobriety tests. A portable breath test revealed a blood alcohol level of .228 percent. Ms. Kane was transported to Riddle Memorial Hospital for a blood test.

Ms. Kane admitted consuming five beers and three mixed drinks with Crown Royal at her friend’s Upper Darby home.

Ms. Kane was released and is scheduled for a May 24 arraignment in Common Pleas Court.

* * *

Sean Stewart, 24, of West Chester waived a hearing on the charges of DUI and possession of a controlled substance. In exchange for the waiver the three charges of possession with the intent to sell drugs, seven counts of possession of a controlled substance, drivers required to be licensed, and operating a vehicle without an official registration were withdrawn. The charges stem from an incident 12:15a.m., Jan. 4, at Chestnut Street and Summit Avenue.

According to the affidavit Newtown Officer Dan Dougherty saw the male passenger standing outside a white truck with a flashlight. He said he dropped something and was looking for it. Dougherty saw two small straws commonly used for snorting narcotics on the center console, a piece of plastic with a white powdery substance, an American Express card with white residue, a small piece of metal with white residue, and a few pills in a cylinder.

The driver of the truck, Stewart, was removed from the vehicle and patted down. Confiscated from Stewart were one-and-a-half pills. 

The passenger admitted they were snorting a Percocet and when he dropped some and got out of the truck to look for them.

Stewart’s pupils were extremely dialated and his nose was running. He refused a blood test.

Stewart is scheduled for a May 24 arraignment in Common Pleas Court.

* * *

Eric Rathmann, 19, and Zachary Perales, 18, both of West Chester pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for an incident 1:40p.m., Jan. 5, at West Chester Pike and Bryn Mawr Avenue. In exchange for the guilty plea the charge of possession of a small amount of marijuana was withdrawn.

* * *

Charges of forgery, theft by unlawful taking or disposition and receiving stolen property were withdrawn against Sean Harper, 25, of Newtown. The charges stem from an incident 10:30a.m., Dec. 27, at his Woodhill Road residence.

Corbetts Colossal Cockiness Castrates His Credibility

By Chris Freind

“Stevie Welch sat on a wall (of cards); Stevie Welch had a great fall (winning a mere two of 67 counties). All of King (or is it Joker?) Corbett’s horses (jackasses), and all the King’s men (endorsements by 27 County Commissioners and 35 State Legislators), couldn’t put Stevie’s candidacy together again (4 of 5 Republican voters rejected the Welch-Corbett-Obama “ticket”).

And so Freindly Fire’s prediction that Governor Corbett-endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Steve Welch would come in a whoppingly-bad third place was proven correct, though it didn’t take a political genius to guess that result.  After all, asking — strong-arming, actually — Republicans to support the Obama-voting, Joe Sestak-supporting Welch was anathema to common sense and political savvy.  And the resulting carnage is everywhere: the endorsement of the state Republican Party is as meaningful as being valedictorian of summer school; getting backed by Corbett now carries substantial negative baggage, and GOP legislators will think long and hard about aligning themselves with the Governor on his signature issues (are there any?), fearing that his promises of support could be akin to political suicide.

And all of this occurred just 15 months after being ushered into office with a ten-point margin and solid majorities in the House and Senate. And ironically, so easily preventable.

Many insiders will claim the blow to Corbett’s prestige will be a fleeting, short-term event. As is most often the case, those “experts” will be wrong. The political reality is that next month, when the Governor wants his ill-fated and unpopular voucher plan for only low-income families (which ignores the middle class) to pass, he will fall short, as his Party walks away from him. When he attempts to garner support for his proposed education cuts in the budget, he will meet substantial resistance. And should he try his hand at privatizing liquor, many in his GOP caucuses will cut and run.  Very few will risk their neck for a Guv who in the best of times was invisible, preferring the shadows to the bully pulpit. Now, Corbett has become a liability.

(Sidenote: Corbett’s low-income voucher allies made that issue the only issue this election, losing all of the races in which they were involved.  In particular, they spent big money trying to defeat West Philadelphia State Representative James Roebuck and mid-state Senator Pat Vance –who only ran again because she was “not going to be pushed out by any Political Action Committee.”. Both won easily — another reason Corbett will have a difficult time with that issue.)

Not only is Corbett’s popularity plummeting, but his reputation has been cemented as a lightweight empty-suit who simply can’t deliver.  The fact that he poisoned his own Party and made it a national laughingstock is icing on the cake.

In addition to Corbett’s endorsement of Welch (and the fact the he personally recorded the voice vote of every State Committee member during the GOP endorsement process), he went to the mat for his boy through mailers, phone calls, fundraisers and speeches.  Yet his election night was a disaster. Consider:

-The Corbett- Welch-ObamaDrama Ticket had all the advantages going into the race. With Santorum out of the presidential contest, many conservative-leaning Republicans did not vote — and low turnout elections almost always favor the endorsed candidate (especially the hand-picked favorite of a Governor).  The Party’s organizational structure and resources are usually sufficient to propel the anointed candidate to victory, but many Party committee people rebuked the Governor by openly supporting non-Welch candidates.

– Even better for Welch, there were two other major candidates in the race (Tom Smith, Sam Rohrer), both of whom would split the anti-establishment, anti-endorsement vote (and the remaining two candidates, David Christian and Marc Scaringi, did the same, taking 18 percent collectively). It should have been an easy “divide and conquer” campaign for Welch. Instead, it was a Kamikaze mission.


-There was a large snowstorm the day before the election across much of western Pennsylvania — Smith’s critical home base. Any dampening of that vote should have proven beneficial to the endorsed candidate, but it was Smith’s supporters who out-performed the once-vaunted statewide GOP machine.

– It should have been a slam-dunk for Welch to raise millions from Corbett and the big GOP donors.  But he took in an embarrassing $150,000 in the entire first quarter —half of Smith’s total and, quite possibly, even less than Smith’s dog. That lack of gravitas is quite telling.

– There was one bright spot: Welch’s campaign consultants reaped the benefits of the $1 million Welch personally gave his campaign.  The effectiveness of how they spent that money is another story, since there was no Philadelphia broadcast TV, limited media, and, come to think of it, virtually no campaign at all — usually not the best way to win an election.

-By far the most surreal moment of the night was Welch crying poor, complaining about being outspent 5-1 —even though he is accurately described in every news article as being the self-funding millionaire entrepreneur.  All self-funders claim that they will only spend a fixed amount, and, of course, exceed that after consultants convince them they are “closing fast.”  That never happened with Steve.  The irony is that he was always perceived as a self-funder (and no one wants to contribute to a rich candidate), but he clearly wasn’t able to micturate (look it up) with the big dogs in the tall grass.  Playing the rich-guy card (against a really rich guy like Smith) without having the aces in your hand isn’t just a bad bluff. It’s a dead-man’s hand.

Kind of makes you wonder what the hell the point was in going for the endorsement — or running at all.

*****

So what happens from here?  Prosecutor Kathleen Kane, who whipped the whining Patrick Murphy despite his endorsements from all the wrong folks (career pols Rendell and Nutter), is in the driver’s seat to become the first Democrat Attorney General. And expect the Penn State scandal to be front-and-center in the fall election, with Kane pounding away about what former Attorney General Tom Corbett knew, and when he knew it.

Not only would a Kane victory reflect negatively on Corbett (since the Dems would have captured that prize on his watch, and in doing so, beaten the Governor’s hand-selected candidate in what should be a Republican-leaning election), but his image and effectiveness will be further compromised as more is learned — and publicized —about his role in how the Penn State investigation was handled.

From having it all just a year ago, Tom Corbett will witness his own Party run away from him on the issues and in the election — and helplessly watch as the Democrats make him the issue.

It took George W. Bush six years to get to that point.   If Tom Corbett’s goal was to best the former President, well…Mission Accomplished.

Corbetts Colossal Cockiness Castrates His Credibility

Why Can’t Corbett Seem To Anything Right?

Why Can’t Corbett Seem To Anything Right? — Gov. Tom Corbett  told a joint session of the state House and Senate, today, Feb. 7,  that there will be no change in spending from the current $27.1 billion budget. He said there will be no   increases to the sales or income tax rates, and no tax on natural gas drilling.

Of course, the Democrats are going to be upset with the lack of a drilling tax, and they are going to go positively nuts about his proposed cuts to education: 20 percent to $330.2 million for the 14 state-owned universites; 4 percent to $221.9 million to community colleges; 28 percent to $163.5 million  for Penn State University (that one should be cut $163.5 million more); 30 percent to $95.2 million for Pitt; 30 percent to $97. 9 million to Temple and the elimination of $100 million in accountability grants to public schools

What is surprising is that some of the better Republicans aren’t that thrilled with it either.

State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129) notes the governor was dead silent on the matter of property tax reform.

“Pennsylvania homeowners are struggling right now under the archaic and
burdensome property tax system,” Cox said. “They are at risk of losing
their homes. I am disappointed the governor did not address this issue
with a bold approach to completely replace the school property tax
system. This shows that those of us who want to replace the school
property tax have our work cut out for us.”

Cox did give kudos to the governor for his no-tax-hike pledge, and I’ll join him on that so at least Corbett might have done one thing right.

Other goals presented by Corbett include:

— a  $319 million decrease from the proposed elimination of cash payments for about 60,000 participants in the General Assistance program and new eligibility rules, including minimum work requirements, for about 30,000 General Assistance recipients who receive Medicaid benefits.

— a 20-percent cut to  $263.2 million for PennDOT which reflects cutss in federal funding.

— the elimination of state money for
rail freight assistance.

— a 4 percent cut to $260.8 million  for the Legislature.

— an 8 percent cut to $126.6 million for the Department of Environmental Protection

Cox noted that the governor’s budget speech simply  begins the process of adopting a state budget, and that the House and Senate will hold public hearings in the upcoming weeks regarding what to keep in or throw out.

“The governor has presented his proposal,” Cox said. “As legislators, we will now take some time to review the proposal and make alterations or improvements where necessary. What we are seeing today is far from a final product.”

And one further point of which the residents of this state should be aware: Pennsylvania spends far more than $27.1 billion annually.

Rogers Howard, who is challenging Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi in the GOP primary in the  9th District notes that when payments on bonds are included the outlay is actually about $65 billion.

Why Can’t Corbett Seem To Anything Right?

Corbett Twists Arms; Rohrer Twists Corbett

Corbett Twists Arms; Rohrer Twists Corbett
Senate candidate Sam Rohrer with his aunt Fran Coppock of Thornbury Township, Delaware County.

Corbett Twists Arms; Rohrer Twists Corbett — Sam Rohrer brought his freedom movement — the phrase he feels is more comprehensive than  “tea party” — to Newtown Square, tonight, Feb. 1, as he begins in earnest his campaign to be the Republican to take on incumbent Bob Casey in this fall’s U.S. Senate race.

The nominee will be decided at the April 24 primary election. The Republican establishment
has shamelessly endorsed Chester County businessman Steve Welch despite Welch having had voted for Barack Obama and given money to Democrat Congressman Joe Sestak.

Rohrer and others in the Knights of Columbus Hall on Route 252 described the apparently unprecedented pressure placed on the State Committee people by Gov. Tom Corbett and the party establishment to vote for Welch. Rohrer said he saw some of the committeepeople in tears from the intimidation which included threats of lost government jobs.

What was Corbett’s motivation? Rohrer —
who challenged Corbett in the 2010 gubernatorial primary —  wouldn’t say.

“Dig it out,” he directed.

Rohrer served 18 years in the Pennsylvania House representing the 128th District before stepping down for the governor’s race. Minnesota Congresswoman and recent presidential contender Michele Bachmann has credited him with getting her involved in politics.

Rohrer said his reasons for running is to return the nation to its moorings — he mentioned the recently passed
National Defense Authorization Act which arguably  gives the president the power to arrest people at will and hold them without trial — and to cushion the pain many feel is inevitable due to the policies pursued by both parties over the last two decades

“It doesn’t make sense for Congress to approve multiple increases in the debt ceiling,” he said.

Nor did it make sense for us to be dependent on others for energy.

“We have more energy under the ground than in any country in the world,” he said, and that Pennsylvania might have more energy than any other state.

Rohrer also noted  our unpayable debt. “Do we even have a sound currency?” he asked.

Rohrer said Casey needed to be replaced because “we can’t trust him.”

“He said he was pro life. His votes indicate he is not,” Rohrer said.

He said that  Casey, with words claims that he supports the Second Amendment but with deeds supports President Obama’s anti-Second Amendment appointees. He noted that Casey agrees with Obama that coal mines should be shut down and that drilling for natural gas should be made harder.

“You cannot have trust without telling the truth,” Rohrer said.

Rohrer estimates that in his career as a legislator he casts 120,000 votes.

“The single most important thing a person in elective office does is vote,” he said.

And he said everyone tries to buy it.

“The system has become so corrupt you could not even predict what a person would do,” he said.

He said that while in office he sat next to a Delaware County legislator, who told him ” I used to be able to go home at night, place my head on the pillow and say I did something good today. I can no longer do that.”

Rohrer said he developed a checklist for himself to protect him from that fate.

The first question he asks regarding legislation is “is it moral.” Rohrer noted that he has never voted to give funding to Planned Parenthood.

Question 2 is: Is it Constitutional?

Question 3 is: Does it strengthen individual freedom or does it strengthen government control over the individual? He noted he opposed the Real ID bill at the state level after asking this question.

Question 4 is: Is it inefficient or ineffective. He said many bills are so poorly written they can’t be understood.

The last question is: Do we have the money to pay for it?

Rohrer said that during his 18 years he never violated the principles of his checklist. He said he soon had six other legislators following it, a number which had grown to 16 when he left office. There are 203 members in the State House.

There were as of last week six other conservative candidates seeking the nomination and they would likely split the vote amongst them leaving Welch to walk away with the prize.

Rohrer was asked if conservatives should present a united front.

“I would like them to consolidate around me,” he said. He noted that he had more volunteers than any other campaign.


Corbett Twists Arms; Rohrer Twists Corbett

What Are The Rules, Governor Corbett?

What Are The Rules, Governor Corbett? — Reader bfbarbie has submitted this link to a PoliticsPa.Com piece regarding the ironic headache a recent action by the Pennsylvania Department of State is causing Gov. Tom Corbett.

The State Department, for which the Governor is responsible, dropped off reams of nominating petitions to every legislative office in the Capitol in an attempt to save $1,436 in postage.

Fine and wise EXCEPT having the petitions handled by staffers during work hours could be construed as the kind illegal politicking that Corbett made his bones prosecuting in his previous life as Attorney General.

Eric Fillman, who is the legal counsel on the House Committee on Ethics, issued a warning to all staff that the petitions be left alone.

 

What Are The Rules, Governor Corbett?

Corbett Role In Penn State Scandal

Pop Quiz: What’s the relationship between the following two statements which have appeared in recent news articles:

1) “Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s national profile rises in the wake of Penn State scandal.”

2) “Tom Corbett has been mentioned as a possible Vice Presidential candidate.”

Strangely,
they are inversely proportional. When one’s profile rises, that’s
typically a good thing. But as the nation learns about some very
disturbing actions of Corbett related to the Penn State scandal, his
Veep chances are plummeting. As a direct result, his chances of ever
being a heartbeat away are between zero and forgetaboutit.

At this rate, he may be lucky just to survive his first term.

Why
the cover-up, and how far up the ladder did it go? Why the lack of
swift action, from not just the University, but from law enforcement?
And how could football — no matter how storied a program — have
risen above the protection of innocent children?

These questions
were supposed to be answered by a thorough and unbiased investigation by
the state Attorney General’s Office. But as more information emerges
on that front, the less faith people have that justice has been — or
will be — served.

Enter Tom Corbett.

For better or
worse, Corbett has been a quiet, behind-the-scenes governor during his
first year in office. Yet he felt compelled to address the state and
national media on the scandal. In doing so, he said more in one press
conference than he had in his entire governorship, despite the fact that
he declined to answer most questions.

Interestingly, Corbett is
wearing three hats. He is the Governor of a state that contributes
millions to Penn State. He is a Penn State Board Trustee who
participated in Board decisions, including the firings of Joe Paterno
and University President Graham Spanier. And most significantly, he is
the former Attorney General who launched the child molestation
investigation of former football coach Jerry Sandusky in 2009.

Corbett has attempted to have the
best of both worlds: national publicity where he touts the virtues of
morality, and a free pass on accountability because of alleged
confidentiality issues. But that tactic has backfired, as the media
spotlight turned on Corbett himself. The more that is learned about
Corbett’s actions — and inactions — regarding the investigation, the
more his credibility tanks.

Consider:

1) It took
substantially longer for the Attorney General’s office to bring charges
against Sandusky than it did for numerous politicians to be indicted in
the Bonusgate corruption probe. Bonusgate was a very complex
investigation involving crafty politicians with the best lawyers money
could buy. Since much of what was being investigated in Bonusgate was
not run-of-the mill illegalities, the investigators had to overcome a
hefty, time-consuming learning curve to understand the subject matter.

So
how can such a complicated investigation come to fruition more quickly
than a black-and-white child rape case? And where is the rule against
making an initial arrest to get the molester off the street — and warn
the public — while continuing to build the case?

Given the
appalling nature of the alleged crimes, and the real possibility that
more young children were molested during the three year investigation,
why did the Attorney General wait so long to make the staffing level as
robust as it should have been from the start?

If the answer is
that resources were limited — sorry, try again. As bad as other
crimes may have been, such as those committed in Bonusgate, no one was
physically hurt and the welfare of children was never an issue. Giving
priority to children who are at risk of rape and molestation is a
no-brainer. But inexplicably, that wasn’t done.

The Governor
continues to defend his actions — scolding those who dare question him
— by stating that it takes time to build such a case and that he
can’t comment further, but three years? That’s an insult to everyone,
especially the victims. Again, you can’t have it both ways,
grandstanding for political points but clamming up when the questions
get tough.

And fair or not, many are now asking if the
investigation was delayed so that Corbett could avoid being the
gubernatorial candidate who took down Joe Paterno and Penn State —
both wildly popular among the hundreds of thousands of alumni living in
the state.

2) This one is simply incomprehensible.

In yet another instance of Corbett finishing what former Democratic Governor Ed Rendell started (others being $20 million of taxpayer money to renovate the Yankees’ AAA stadium, and $42 million to bail out the Philadelphia Shipyard to build ships with no buyers), the Governor personally approved a $3 million taxpayer-funded grant to Sandusky’s Second Mile charity — just four months ago!

That bears repeating. Tom Corbett,
with full knowledge that Sandusky was under investigation for multiple
child rapes, still approved the money to his charity.

How is that possible? And why on earth is the national media not yet running with this?

In
a response that was offensive to any rational person, here’s what his
spokesman said, as reported in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review:

“He
(Corbett) couldn’t block that (grant) from going forward because of
what he knew as attorney general…He couldn’t let on to anyone (including
the governor’s office) what he knew….”

That is so wrong that it begs the question as to the real motivation behind approving the grant.

First,
the fact that so many people had been interviewed by the grand jury
made the investigation anything but a secret. Second, the Harrisburg
Patriot News reported on the grand jury investigation —- in March.
Corbett approved the funds — in July! So not wanting to “let on” was
clearly bogus. The investigation was already well-established in the
public domain.

Secondly, there was an incredibly easy way to deal
with the grant without tipping off anyone: simply strike it. After
all, the budget Corbett signed cut everything else, so a grant to a
charity would have been seen as just another casualty of financial
cutbacks.

Veto the grant (why taxpayers are funding that in the
first place is obscene, but that’s another story) and be done with it.
It should have been that easy. But it didn’t happen.

Why?

Well, consider if the following may have had anything to do with it. According to the sports website Deadspin.com,
past and present board members of the Second Mile, along with their
businesses and families, have donated more than $640,000 to Corbett
since 2003.

That interesting — and massively
significant — point seemed to have slipped the Governor’s mind during
his press conferences. Go figure.

Something is rotten to the
core about how this whole affair has been investigated. It’s time for
the Feds to take the lead role in uncovering the whole truth, and that
includes possibly looking into the Attorney General’s investigation.

It’s
clear the Board of Trustees cannot be counted upon to conduct an
unbiased investigation, nor can the local police, and, sadly, even the
Attorney General’s office. And nothing emanating from the Governor’s
office on this issue can be taken at face value.

In discussing
why Paterno and Spanier were fired, the Governor said, “…the Board lost
confidence in their ability to lead Penn State through this time and
into the future.”

With all the opportunities Tom Corbett has had
to play it straight with the people of Pennsylvania — especially the
victims — on his dealings with the Penn State issue, he hasn’t done
so.

And that has caused an ever-increasing number of people to lose confidence in his ability to lead.

There
is a great scene in the movie The American President where Richard
Dreyfuss suggests that being president “was, to a certain extent, about
character.” And in classic Michael Douglas style, he replies, “I can
tell you, without hesitation, that being President is entirely about
character.”

Well, character isn’t limited to the Oval Office. It
resides in every one of us — and that includes Governors, Trustees,
coaches, police and investigators.

Moving forward, let’s demand that a basic legal and moral principle be followed to the very end:

Fiat justitia ruat caelum —“Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”

The victims deserve no less.

 

Corbett Role In Penn State Scandal